Don't yank.
Yesterday's walk was once again the spur for a blog. Many times I have to record my blog ideas when they pop into my head (my memory is horrible) but sometimes it just happens on a walk the day before. As we wandered along the pathway of the park; a woman up ahead was yanking. She was blind yanking her dog.
blind - unwilling or unable to perceive or understand.
yanking - to pull or remove abruptly and vigorously.
I see this type of behavior from humans constantly. Said human is out on their walk without putting any attention on their dog. They are not interacting with their dog except for the constant blind yanking. The woman was getting annoyed by her dog's pulling so she pulled back. Think this works? Nope.
Have you ever yanked on your dog in attempt to stop them from pulling? They yank, you yank...it goes round and round with no results for anyone. Just annoying on both ends.
The dog involved in the yanking on this day was a Shiba Inu. He looked young and rambunctious and was diving in and out of the bushes as they walked. The dog was lucky that he sported a harness and not a collar. But even still he just kept getting yanked, blind yanked by his guardian. This is a really annoying behavior that humans inflict on their dogs.
So what are you to do when your dog yanks you? Stop walking and wait. Wait for some slack in the leash and then walk. DO NOT WALK when the leash it tight. It takes some work but typically dogs catch on pretty quickly to this rule. Pull and we stop - Give me slack and we walk.
If you are a yanker, please stop. Don't respond to your dog's yanking by yanking back. Teach them, yanking doesn't work; because it doesn't work for either species.