How to Stop a Dog Biting the Lead

We all know how fun it is when a dog bites the lead, watching them play with it or even get annoyed and try to grab it while pulling on it. Even more so with innocent puppies, so sweet and playful, but… is it actually healthy?

Here at SoyUnPerro we're going to explain the reasons some dogs pick up this kind of behaviour, and of course, what we need to do to fix it.

Reasons a Puppy Chews the Lead

We're talking about puppies because they're the ones who pick up this amusing behaviour most easily, but plenty of adult dogs do it too, so we can apply this advice to puppies and adult dogs alike.

Dogs use their mouth for practically everything — eating, biting, playing, licking, picking things up… so it's entirely normal for them to try chewing the lead now and then, but why do they do it?

• Curiosity and wanting to play is one of the main reasons they chew the lead
• Tooth pain, mainly seen in puppies going through their teething period
• Not liking the walk or the lead, an act of rebellion where they gnaw at the lead as a protest
• Hunting instinct, some dogs may see the moving lead as prey to chase/bite

The Dangers of Chewing the Lead

At first it poses no danger for a dog to bite the lead, since at most they'll end up breaking it and we can buy a new one. Even so, this behaviour is only the start of a series of problems that can follow.

The most immediate danger is the lead breaking and our dog getting away; if they're very mischievous they could run off and cross busy roads, putting both their life and drivers' lives at risk.

If they bite the lead they'll also tug at it, which could catch us off guard at some point and knock us to the ground. This could be a simple silly fall, or it could genuinely hurt us.

Letting them bite the lead as they please is the same as letting them think they can do whatever they want, which can make their pack-leader ego grow too much and create serious behavioural problems.

It could even happen that they start with the lead but move on to shoes and end up biting us, in principle playfully, but accidents can always happen. We need to stop our dogs biting us, whether in jest or not.

What to Do to Stop This Behaviour

Without doubt, letting the dog bite the lead isn't advisable, whether they're a puppy or an adult dog — it's a behaviour we need to eliminate. To do that, though, we need to know what motivates the dog to bite it, and act accordingly.

• Play: If our dog chews the lead simply because they want to play, we need to stop dead and correct them, wait for them to let go of the lead and then carry on with the walk. They need to understand the lead isn't a toy and has to be respected.
• Pain: Young puppies especially tend to suffer a lot of gum pain from the change from milk teeth to adult teeth. This drives them to want to bite something constantly to ease the pain. Try to carry a toy, and when they bite the lead, give them the toy to chew instead.
• Discontent or hunting instinct: Just as we did with play, we need to stop this behaviour, halt dead and wait for them to let go of the lead before starting to walk again.

As you can see it seems very simple, but the reality is they can be very stubborn, and at some point you'll need to scold them so they understand this behaviour isn't okay.