This page is a component of the Glossary of the Dog Science, CBC
Dog Training Workshop, and an element of the Dog Science Network
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Popping the Lead
The term popping the lead, refers to the practice of snapping your wrist suddenly upward as you walk your dog on leash. Thereby, sending energy along the lead and into your dog's collar.
When dealing with a dog that pulls, your best course of action is to fit the animal with a prong collar, also called a pinch collar. Then, when the dog pulls, you should respond by popping the lead as described. Thereby, causing an uncomfortable pinching of the skin along your dog's neck.
Popping the lead should be combined with a verbal do this - not that, procedure. Or, at the very least, you should loudly proclaim the word no, just an instant before you deliver the pop. The same as you would just before delivering a corrective tap or a punishing spray of watery mist.
While popping the lead is the perfect intervention for a pulling dog who is wearing a prong collar, there are some other types of collars for which it is essential that you never pop the lead. You must make it a point to know which is which.