Pulling On The Leash: Consequences For Your Dog’s Health

A common problem that many people encounter when walking their dog is that it pulls on the leash. In fact, it is common to go down the street and find drowned dogs pulling on their owner. However, it is important for the furry ones not to pull on the leash. Not only for comfort when walking, but also because the pressure of the collar on the canine’s neck can cause serious health problems.

The importance of the neck when pulling on the leash

When the dog pulls on the leash, the collar tightens. The neck is a very sensitive place, with many nerve endings, several important glands for your health, arteries … In addition to the place where we find the esophagus and the trachea. Prolonged pressure of the collar in these areas can damage them, affecting the general health of our dog.

This is the first reason why it is recommended to use a harness instead of a collar. If the dog pulls with the harness, the pressure is received by the chest and sternum. These are bones, rather than soft parts essential for health.

Back problems from strap pulls

Dogs that pull on the leash almost always have back problems. The pressure of the collar on the vertebrae can damage the rest of the spine. Practically all dogs that do not know how to walk without tension, with the forced posture of pushing, have back contractures or other muscular problems.

If, in addition to the dog’s jerks, the owners give him a jerk from time to time to correct them, the blow of the collar on the neck goes directly to the nerve endings. As we have said, these are housed in the neck, and are distributed throughout the spinal cord. All this causes a cramp that runs down the spine and branches in all the extremities.

Hernias or impingements in the spinal cord can also appear, sometimes leading to neurological problems.

Hormonal problems

The neck is a very sensitive area that houses hormonal glands, such as the thyroid. The punctual or constant pressure on these glands causes them to stop working properly, generating serious problems in the general health of the dog. In addition, the lymphatic, circulatory and nervous systems can be affected, or autoimmune diseases appear.

Other problems

Many health problems related to pulling on the leash can appear. The most obvious are respiratory problems and the appearance of a chronic cough. The trachea is constantly pressed and forced. The dog, when pulling, cannot breathe normally. The brain may even get less oxygen than it should. The windpipe can become crushed.

Eye problems are common, especially those related to increased pressure in the eye.

Damages can also appear on the skin: irritation, pain, wounds or false skin allergies due to the continued rubbing of the collar.

Behavior problems

Some owners say that pulling on the leash is a behavior problem. But these do not take into account that other dog behavior problems can be derived from these jerks. As we have seen so far, there are many different health problems that can appear: contractures, hernias, breathing difficulties, and even hormonal disorders. All of them cause pain or discomfort in any body.

A dog in pain cannot be of good character. Aggression towards people or other dogs is often related to pain. Bad mood, irritability … They can also be derived from pain.

It is common for dogs that do damage at home, that do not obey or do not allow themselves to be touched, feel some kind of discomfort or pain that they cannot relieve. Even in some cases, the pain can be attributed to the dog barking uncontrollably.

A dog that pulls on the leash cannot go out or interact with other furry normally. He cannot do the greeting rituals and the other dogs will have bad reactions in front of him. Sometimes they will be small fights, but their relationship with other dogs can be deteriorated, and it can lead to aggressiveness with canines.

With necklaces of punishment

All this we have said applies to normal necklaces. But these health problems multiply when our dog wears a spiked collar, link collar, a lasso, a martingale or an electric or anti-bark collar. In fact, they are prohibited in some parts of Spain, because just by wearing them, the dog feels pain.

The furry does not have to pull on the leash to hurt himself with these collars. That is, they hurt simply by wearing them. Its use is completely contraindicated.

A dog that pulls on the leash with a fixed collar can have some of the problems described above. A furry man with a punishment collar (also called training badly ) is going to have them at some point in his life.

Teaching your dog to walk without pulling on the leash is not difficult. If you cannot or do not know how to do it yourself, contact a positive canine educator (who does not wear punishment collars and who does not teach by pulling) and he will teach your pet. Leash pulls are dangerous and will take your dog to the vet.