Old guy at the dog park gave me leash advice I ignored for 6 months

There's this retired guy named Jerry who walks his border collie at the park near my place in Denver. Back in March he told me I was holding the leash too tight and my dog would never relax on walks that way. I nodded and kept doing my thing. Fast forward to last week when my dog started pulling so hard on a squirrel chase that I tripped and scraped my elbow on the pavement. I loosened my grip like Jerry said and now she walks right beside me without any pulling. Has anyone else had some random stranger give them advice that actually ended up working?

2 comments

2 Comments

harperg765d ago

Took me a trip and a scraped elbow to learn what Jerry tried to teach me for free.

julia5492d ago

Wait, didn't Jerry also mention something about the type of leash or collar you're using? I've heard that a regular flat collar can actually make pulling worse for some dogs because it triggers their opposition reflex. A front-clip harness or a gentle leader might help even more now that you've got the loose grip thing down. Just a thought since I tried the same loose grip trick and it helped, but swapping to a harness really sealed the deal for my pup. Hope your elbow is healing up okay, that pavement scrapes are no joke!