My dog is barking and lunging and bananas on a leash!

Is your dog pulling on the leash during walks and making it difficult for you to enjoy your time together? Our leash training programs can teach your dog to walk calmly on a leash and make walks more enjoyable for both of you.

Leash reactivity happens when a dog barks, lunges, growls, or pulls intensely toward triggers like other dogs, people, or moving objects while on a leash. This often stems from frustration, fear, or overexcitement, as the leash restricts their ability to approach or move away freely. Many owners struggle with their dog suddenly exploding with barking and lunging, making walks stressful and unpredictable. To address leash reactivity, we focus on changing the dog's emotional response and teaching alternative behaviors. This starts with creating distance from triggers to keep the dog under threshold, where they can still think and learn. We use counterconditioning, pairing the sight of the trigger with something positive like treats, so the dog begins to associate it with good things rather than stress.

When dogs become reactive on leash, it’s usually due to one of three reasons.

1. They are frustrated because they can’t reach something exciting—whether it’s another dog, a person, or an interesting smell. This buildup of frustration and excitement can sometimes look aggressive, but it’s often just an overflow of stress and energy rather than an intent to harm. A calm, easy going adolescent usually has less (or a decrease in) impulse control right around 6-9 months old due to their brain development, and if they're SUPER happy to see their friends at daycare, not getting to their source of connection can be super frustrating.
2. A nervous dog would normally avoid conflict when given the choice, but a leash removes their ability to freely move away. When they can’t flee, freeze, or disengage, they may feel forced into a fight response as their last remaining option. Leash-reactive dogs are often friendly and social in other contexts, but the restriction of the leash changes how they respond to stress, because there is no other choice.
3. Aggression and Fear. A dog who is generally reactive to their environment would be trigger stacked enough to react while on a leash.