Leash Questions

[spivins]

My 7 month old red nose is my walking partner. In fact I got him to help keep me in shape. We walk/ run a circuit of about 5 miles dailey. Anyways, recently he has developed this habit of grabbing the leash with his mouth and pulls it and shakes it as we walk. He does it forever and it becomes a will stuggle to get him to stop. I was looking for some insight into this behavior. Your feedback is definately appreciated.

[LegendsMami]

Its a tug of war game to them. It can be annoying but dogs see it as a fun activity.
Gemyni used to grab the leash. Two things I have done with her to make her stop.
#1- spray Bitter Apple or something spicy on the leash.
OR
#2-Pull the leash INTO his mouth. Pulling out encourages the struggle. But pulling into doesnt feel good and your dog will stop.

*Each time your dog goes for the leash snap it firmly into his mouth. Pulling the leash out is more natural reaction but it only encourages a control struggle over the leash. Dogs view our hands as mouths. Since we're holiding the leash, they want to hold it too. For some dogs its a control issue for others its more of a copycat reaction. When theu do, however, the human reaction is to pull the lead out. Most dogs see this as fun, not discipline. And so they grab again and again. So its grab-pull-grab-pull. But if the leash is pulled back into the mouth sharply it doesnt feel good. He may try it a couple more times but stern reaction and consistency will let your dog know to just leave the leash alone!*
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[spivins]

Legends Miami, thank you that makes sense. You see that is the beuty of a message board. You get good insight from good people. Merry Christmas Legend. Thanks.