Why Your Dog is Still Pulling on Leash
Written by Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA, DDP
Photo: Black lab on leashed walk with person.
You’ve read the articles. You’ve watched the videos. You’ve worked with a trainer. You’ve bought the right harness, stocked up on treats, practiced in quiet places and yet, your dog still pulls on the leash. And if you’re being honest, you might be feeling frustrated, discouraged, or even like you're failing your dog somehow. You’ve been consistent. Patient. You’ve done the work. So why does it still feel like a tug-of-war every time you go for a walk?
Here’s something that’s rarely talked about, but incredibly common:
Your dog might be pulling because they’re uncomfortable.
Not dramatic, limping-all-over-the-place discomfort. But subtle, quiet discomfort that makes the very act of walking slowly by your side harder than anyone realizes. That pulling might not be about stubbornness or lack of training. It might be about relief. Moving faster may feel better. Shifting their weight forward might be more comfortable. And holding that slow, steady pace next to you, especially in a traditional heel position, might actually be painful to sustain.
So if it feels like something deeper is going on, you’re not imagining it. Let’s dig into what might really be behind your dog’s leash pulling, especially if the usual training approaches just aren’t cutting it.
The Real Challenge of Loose Leash Walking
Photo: Golden Retriever on leashed walk.
Loose leash walking isn’t just about "not pulling." It’s a self-regulated behavior that asks your dog to:
Match your pace (which is often slower than their natural gait)
Ignore environmental distractions
Maintain a specific body position (often by your side)
Resist the impulse to follow exciting scents or movement
It might sound simple, but in practice, this is a highly demanding skill for many dogs. It requires physical control, focus, and coordination; skills that are often compromised when a dog is in pain or discomfort. Let’s break down the first piece: walking at a human’s pace.
The average pace on dog walk with a person is a slow ~25 minutes per mile (1). In contrast, dogs typically prefer a trot as their default gait and to maintain this pace, they need to be moving around 12 to 17 minutes per mile (2), depending on their size, breed, and conformation. This may not seem like a major difference. But for a dog, it means they must constantly adjust their natural gait to move more slowly than they were built to move.
To do that, your dog has to shorten their stride, engage more stabilizing muscles, and maintain constant awareness of your location.
Now layer that with excitement from the environment, new smells, other dogs, or daily stress, and it becomes even more complex. This isn’t just physical, it’s emotional and cognitive work too. Imagine doing all that with discomfort in your hips, stifles (knees), spine, or lower back. That’s what many dogs are up against. Moving at a slow, regulated pace can actually be more uncomfortable for dogs with undiagnosed hind end issues, because it requires controlled movement and weight distribution that they may be actively trying to avoid.
So when your dog surges ahead, it might not be a training failure. It might be a coping strategy to reduce strain on their body.
Your dog’s hind end, which includes the pelvis, hips, stifles (knees), hocks (ankles), and lower spine, is the powerhouse of movement. This region is responsible for propulsion, balance, and the ability to start, stop, and adjust direction. Even mild discomfort here can create a ripple effect throughout the entire body. When something in the hindquarters hurts, your dog may unconsciously adapt how they move to avoid that discomfort. This leads to compensation patterns that can worsen over time and cause new areas of discomfort. It’s not just about limping. Many dogs show subtle signs that are often mistaken for behavioral quirks or poor training.
Discomfort or pain in the hind end can show up as:
Shortened stride, particularly in the rear limbs, or toe scuffing
Weight shifting forward, overloading the shoulders and forelimbs
Avoidance of certain positions, like sitting square or lying fully down
Increased restlessness, fidgeting, or difficulty relaxing
Fatigue, even during walks that used to be manageable
Reluctance to walk slowly, change pace, or transition between positions
Because dogs can’t tell us they hurt, they communicate through movement. They may sit “sloppy” with one hip kicked out, stand with more weight on one leg, or subtly drag their toes. All signals something deeper is going on.
When asked to walk slowly at a handler’s side, a dog with hind end pain is being asked to:
Bear more weight on the hind end, engaging the hips and lumbar spine more intensely
Use fine motor control, which requires stability from sore or inflamed joints
Extend the duration of the walk, prolonging discomfort due to the slower pace
From their perspective, pulling ahead may simply be a form of relief. Moving forward at a faster pace may shift load distribution to the forelimbs and allow more momentum, which reduces the time their rear limbs are bearing weight. This is why so many dogs labeled "stubborn," "disobedient," or "overly excitable" on leash are actually coping with something physical beneath the surface. Recognizing this early can make all the difference in supporting both behavior and quality of life.
In short, pulling might not be defiance, it may be the most comfortable way they can move.
Photo: Black pug on leash, standing on person’s shoes.
In traditional heel work or structured loose leash walking, dogs are expected to maintain a controlled position, typically just behind or beside the handler’s leg. This may appear calm and orderly from the outside, but biomechanically, it's demanding. This position requires sustained posture, controlled pace, and precise movement. All of which place additional physical demands on the dog’s body.
Maintaining heel position requires the dog to:
Regulate their stride and cadence to match an unnatural pace
Remain close to the handler’s leg, which may limit natural lateral (side-to-side) sway
Bear more consistent weight on the hindquarters to remain balanced and aligned
According to gait and conformation experts, this type of controlled movement demands continuous engagement of the glutes, hamstrings, iliopsoas, and deep core stabilizers; muscles essential for maintaining strength and balance from the rear. For dogs with even mild discomfort in the hips, stifles (knees), pelvis, sacroiliac joint, or lumbar spine, this posture becomes fatiguing or even painful. Dogs don’t communicate with words, they compensate with movement.
You may start seeing signs like:
Pulling ahead suddenly or repeatedly, especially after stopping
Zigzagging or crabbing (sidewinding gait) to shift weight laterally
Leaning on the front end, resulting in a cranial weight shift that overloads the shoulders
Lagging behind, stopping, or refusing to walk unless allowed to move at their natural pace
These aren’t training failures or behavioral issues. They are often the body’s way of saying, “I can’t move like this anymore.” When we push dogs into heel work without first understanding how they feel physically, we risk teaching them to mask pain or simply give up. Recognizing the mechanical strain heel walking places on the rear assembly allows us to be more fair and more effective in our training.
For dogs with known or suspected discomfort, teaching a functional, relaxed loose leash walk. One that allows for slight variance in position and pace, may be more humane and achievable than a rigid heel.
When Training Isn’t Working
If it’s been more than three months of focused leash training, and you’re still stuck, especially if your dog is also showing signs like:
Avoiding sitting or laying down
Hesitating on stairs, jumping into the car, or putting on gear
Acting reactive, distracted, or frustrated on walks
Doing great at home, but struggling consistently outdoors
…it’s time to pause and reassess.
Because sometimes pulling isn’t a behavior problem. It’s a physical one. Sometimes, your dog isn’t ignoring the training. They’re doing what their body allows. And when walking at a slower pace or holding a heel position is uncomfortable or painful, no amount of treats or correction is going to fix it. Because the issue isn’t motivation. It’s movement. Pulling may be the only way they know how to cope.
If this sounds like your dog, don’t give up. You haven’t failed. And neither has your dog. But it might be time to stop asking, “How do I stop the pulling?” and start asking, “What might this pulling be trying to tell me?” That’s where true progress begins; with understanding, not just obedience. When we stop fighting against the body and start working with it.
Let’s help your dog feel better, so they can walk better too.
Because when the body hurts, even the best training can’t override it.
Okay, I’m Convinced. Where Do I Get Help?
Photo: Dog walking on leash next to person through sunflower field.
At Faithfully Yours Dog Training, we offer Integrative Behavior Assessments that combine behavioral consulting with posture, gait, and movement analysis, so we can understand the full picture.
This process is fully virtual. You’ll send video and photo footage of your dog moving through everyday life, so we can assess how they move in real environments.
This isn’t about skipping training. It’s about recognizing when training alone isn’t the answer. And creating a plan that truly supports your dog’s well-being.
Because no dog deserves to be labeled “difficult” when what they really are is uncomfortable.
