Going on a walk with your Frenchie can be one of life’s everyday pleasures, but what if that time is fraught with stress from your dog pulling on the leash and trying to run off every two seconds? We may have a solution if this sounds like your dog.
Our favorite leash is one designed with a pressure-release structure, such as this one from Amazon:
The best type of leash for Frenchies, in our opinion.
We use this as the first leash for training, and it teaches dogs that when they pull on the leash they’re pulling on themselves, and when they stay by your side the pressure is released. In our experience, using other leashes for training, like chest harnesses, result in your dog gaining unbalanced strength and muscle in the legs and chest. Starting off with those leashes give your dog a workout so that they can pull on you even harder over time! Swoll-chested Frenchies are cool, but not easy to control when a cat runs by or they get a whiff of another dog at the park 200 yards away. That said, harness and regular collar leashes can be great later down the road once the pressure-release leash has trained them not to drag you across the yard.
When using a pressure-release, be sure to put the leash high up on the dog’s head (right behind the ears) and not down on their neck. Then, use short tugs while walking as corrections to pulling. Soon, you should be able to keep the leash loose at all times. This has worked wonders for our Frenchies when we’ve started leash training. Frenchies are so smart and easy to train, so this method isn’t difficult for them to learn quickly.
We would recommend this method once your puppy is about 12 weeks old. Before then, you can use a harness or regular collar. These can quickly develop bad pulling habits for your pup, however, so be sure to switch to the pressure release when you feel your dog is ready. So, to recap: Use any leash you like when they are little pups, switch to pressure-release leashes when it’s time to train, then use whatever leash you like when they are a good doggy that doesn’t pull anymore.
Good luck with your training and feel free to share you experiences with leash training in the comments!