Teaching Your Dog NOT To Chew Dog Leads

Go straight to buying a Chew Proof Dog Lead.

Basics for teaching your dog not to chew a dog lead:

• Always pay attention to them. If you are stood talking to someone and your dog gets bored and starts to chew their lead, you will need to implement the following strategies you are about to learn. That means stopping for a moment, giving the command/instigating the alternative behaviour and making sure what you ask them to do is achieved.
• Teach the strategy in the absence of the trigger. Do this so the incompatible behaviour you are teaching, becomes fully learned and thus easier to action when triggered.
• Set up training sessions to teach the training behaviour with the lead on, but not under pressure (ie chatting in the street).
• Practice with a stooge or willing live trigger.

What are the behaviours I can teach to stop my dog chewing the lead?

Essentially it doesn’t matter what behaviours you choose to prevent your dog from chewing a dog lead. Examples would be eye contact/looking up at you, sit, stand nicely or down. Your aim is to choose something where they can’t do both at the same time.

Once you’ve established your incompatible behaviour, your job is to make it so reliable that you can introduce it in a training environment, a time to simulate a real case scenario.

This can be with a stooge friend, a real scenario but with someone who knows you are in training, or just a planned/controlled time that will potentially trigger your dog to chew their lead.

My dog chews the lead on dog walks

The key here is to learn and implement the above training technique, it is really simple once you know how.

How to stop my dog chewing a lead?

Prevention is better than cure as they say, so following our handy training tips above to teach your dog a behaviour incompatible with chewing the lead is relatively simple.

My puppy chews the lead

You have it easy! This is the best time to be stopping these types of behaviours before they become so engrained that you will get through dog leads once a week. Follow the instructions above to teach your puppy how to stop chewing its’ lead.

Why dogs chew leads?

I’ll make this easy for you.

• You allowed it.
• You thought it was cute until your leads look grubby or they fall apart.
• You weren’t determined enough nor cared that it was a real problem.
• You laughed or failed to stop it happening.

What you need to know about dogs chewing leads

• Dogs have teeth like scissors.
• They are determined – more so that you preventing lead biting.
• People often blame the supplier saying the leads fell apart (that doesnt happen, they get chewed).
• Chewing behaviour is self reinforcing, it is also reinforced by you ignoring it or failed attempts to stop it.

When does leash chewing happen?

• When they are bored.
• When they are excited.
• When you leave them alone.
• When you ignore them.

So, dog lead chewing training IS possible, but as with all dog training to prevent behaviours, it is hard work.

Failing all of the above, have a look at our chew proof-anti chew dog leads.