Walks with your dog are supposed to be enjoyable for both you and your dog, but a dog that fixates on the leash can make walks extremely frustrating. So let's break down why your dog bites the leash when walking (and what to do about it.)
Why Your Dog Bites the Leash When Walking
There are a few primary reasons dogs bite the leash on walks:
- Age/Development: a little tugging and chewing on the leash is completely normal in the first 5-6 months of a puppy's life. Puppies explore the world with their mouths, and this behavior is often outgrown in mild cases.
- Communicating a Need: we commonly see this behavior occur when dogs are being walked too long. Keep in mind that how long you should walk your dog varies based on your dog's medical history, age, breed, and individual preferences.
- Frustration: another common reasons dogs bite the leash is rooted in frustration. This can occur when the dog is being turned back towards home and they're not ready for the walk to be over, or if they're trying to get to a stimulus like a person, dog, squirrel, etc. and the leash is preventing them from doing so.
How to Stop Your Dog's Leash Biting
In order to most effectively stop your dog's leash biting on walks, you'll need to first determine the root cause. Is your dog very young? Are the walks too short or too long? Is your dog trying to get to a person or other dog?
If the behavior is age-related:
- Keep your walks very short – typically no more than 5-10 minutes for young puppies – and avoid walking in extreme heat.
- Bring food rewards on your walks and reward your puppy for behaviors you like, such as walking at your side or making eye contact with you. We want you to become more interesting than the leash!
- You can try using a back-clip harness to prevent the leash from dangling in front of the puppy's mouth.
- Do not engage your dog by tugging back on the leash or even giving them food to let it go – both of these could accidentally reinforce the behavior.
If the behavior is related to communicating a need:
- Try shortening your walks.
- Try changing your route and/or walking in a variety of different locations. Sometimes varying the environment in which you're walking can help break the habit of grabbing the leash.
- Consider making an appointment with your vet to ensure there aren't any medical issues making walks harder for your dog
- If you have a brachycephalic breed like a Bulldog or Pug, avoid walking in the heat and keep walks short.
- Keep walks fun by allowing your dog to sniff and rewarding for eye contact and for walking at your side. You can use verbal praise for this, too!
If the behavior is related to frustration:
- If your dog is chewing through leashes or is otherwise an extreme leash biter, consider using a chain leash (just the leash – not a chain collar) like this for safety and to help discourage the biting.
- Practice our leash reactivity protocol from a distance that doesn't trigger your dog's frustration-related behaviors. Even if your dog isn't barking or lunging, this protocol will be extremely helpful in reducing frustration and ultimately eliminating the leash biting.
- Try increasing your dog's mental enrichment. This could be as simple as providing a stuffed Kong toy before a walk or throwing the ball for a few extra minutes.
- When turning back towards home, practice rewarding a few easy obedience behaviors like "sit" or "touch" as you change direction so your dog is focused on you and not on the fact that you're heading home.
- If your dog is redirecting from the leash onto you and you feel you could be in danger of being bitten, a basket muzzle like this one is often a necessary step to eliminate this redirection.
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