The Equalizer
Before getting into how to stop leash chewing, it helps to understand why I recommend using what I call The Equalizer — a dragged indoor/outdoor leash — in the first place.
If you’re already familiar with my approach, The Beautiful Balance: Puppy and Dog Training with Nature’s Template, you know that The Equalizer is one of the tools I recommend to make supervision and teaching easier on both puppy and owner during a puppy’s early education.
If you’re new to my work and are wondering why I would recommend a puppy drag a leash around at all, I’ll be covering that in a separate article, The Equalizer: If a Puppy Can’t Be Caught, a Puppy Can’t Be Taught. The broader philosophy behind it is explained in my puppy and dog training DIY book, Puppy and Dog Training with Nature’s Template: The Beautiful Balance.
For now, let’s focus on one of the few drawbacks of using The Equalizer: preventing it from becoming a chew toy.
Why Puppies and Dogs Chew Their Leashes
Leash chewing is one of the more common frustrations puppy owners encounter. While it can occasionally develop in older dogs, it’s primarily a puppy behaviour and, in most cases, is perfectly normal. However, normal doesn’t mean it needs to be allowed.
Puppies explore the world with their mouths. They chew because they’re curious, they’re teething, they’re experimenting, and sometimes simply because something happens to be there.
Unfortunately, a leash often becomes the perfect target. It moves, it’s close to the puppy’s mouth, it’s easy to grab, and if the puppy is dragging it around the house, it’s available whenever the opportunity arises. The more opportunities a puppy has to to perform the behaviour, the more likely it is to become a habit.
The good news is that leash chewing is usually one of the easier puppy habits to prevent from becoming established. The best strategy is to catch them in the act, but that’s not always possible so having a passive way to discourage the behavior from becoming a habit is to make the target unsatisfying to chew. Later in the article we’ll talk a bit more about actively discouraging (caught in the act).
The Difference Between Puppy and Dog Leash Chewing
Puppies usually restrict their chewing to the first 18 inches or so of the leash, whereas older dogs just getting used to dragging a leash around can also target the rest of the leash as well. As a result, the strategies provide guidance for both scenarios.
- Short Length — usually sufficient for most pups
- Total Chain — for more persistent or habitual chewers; noisy on the floor and hard on the hands
- Cable Based — for more persistent or habitual chewers; not noisy and a little easier on the hands
The 3 Passive Options For Discouraging Leash Chewing
1. "The DIY Leash-ette" Recipe - Suitable For Most Puppies
Ingredients
- One quality choke chain that, end to end, is about as tall as your dog’s current height. (Any longer, is usually unnecessary and it will be noisy on hardwood floors.)
- One Carabiner (preferably locking).
Instructions
Attach the carabiner to one end of the choke chain and your leash to the other end, and voila, you have a “leash-ette” that, in most cases, passively discourages leash chewing.
- Click Here For An Amazon Link To Choke Chains (Affiliate link — supports this site at no extra cost to you)
- Click Here For An Amazon Link for Locking Carabiners, (preferably locking). (Affiliate link — supports this site at no extra cost to you)
2. Total Chain Leash
A total chain leash will do the job for the dog that targets everywhere on a dragged leash for chewing. The downside is that it’s a bit nosisy on hard surface flooring, and when you want to do a bit of actual training you’ll want to switch it with a more comfortable on your hands training leash like my Power Steering Training Leash.
Click Here For An Amazon Link to Total Chain Leash (Affiliate link — supports this site at no extra cost to you)
3. Cable Leash
This is a lot less noisy. If you’re shopping around, remember that if it’s plastic-coated instead of straight cable, it’s chewable again. The one below has the plastic, but only on the handle. It’s perfect for dragging around, but when you’re going to do some training, switch back to the Power Steering Training Leash.
Click Here For An Amazon Link to Cable Leash (Affiliate link — supports this site at no extra cost to you)
Catching In The Act
For many dogs, the passive management strategies on this page are all that’s needed. By reducing the opportunity to chew the leash, the habit doesn’t start in the first place or often fades away before it becomes a serious problem.
However, if your dog has developed a persistent habit of grabbing, chewing, or attacking the leash, management alone may not be enough. At that point, your dog needs training, not simply a different leash.
I’ve intentionally not described the active training techniques here. The reason is simple: they’re practical skills that are difficult to teach accurately in a written article.
Just as two children may require different approaches when being corrected, dogs differ in confidence, sensitivity, persistence, and temperament. The goal is always the same, to clearly communicate that chewing the leash is unacceptable, but the way that message is communicated should be appropriate for the individual dog. Too little response may fail to make the point. Too much may unnecessarily reduce the dog’s confidence. The skill lies in finding the appropriate response for the dog in front of you.
Choosing the Right Trainer
If you decide to work with a trainer, ask one simple question:
“How will you teach my dog that chewing the leash is unacceptable?”
Be cautious if the answer consists entirely of distracting the dog, redirecting them to a toy, offering treats, or simply managing the environment so the behaviour doesn’t occur. Those approaches may interrupt leash chewing in the moment, but by themselves they often fail to teach the dog the more important lesson:
“Do not chew the leash.”
Every dog owner eventually faces the same challenge: not simply stopping a behaviour, but teaching the dog that some behaviours are acceptable and others are not.
That lesson should be communicated fairly. The objective is not to frighten the dog, intimidate the dog, or damage the relationship between dog and owner. The objective is to communicate a clear behavioural boundary in a manner the individual dog understands.
The idea of saying “No!” has only become unusual in some corners of the dog-training world. Elsewhere, it remains a normal part of parenting, teaching, coaching, and social living.
Look across social species and you’ll find the same basic pattern repeated. Puppies experience it from adult dogs. Young wolves experience it within the pack. Young apes experience it from older members of the group. Human children experience it from parents and other adults.
The details vary from species to species, but the underlying concept is remarkably consistent: there are times when an older, more experienced member of the group communicates a simple message:
“I’m not asking anymore. I’m telling you.”
That communication doesn’t have to be cruel. It doesn’t mean the youngster is bad. It doesn’t mean the relationship has been damaged. It simply establishes a behavioural boundary.
Most of us experienced that from our mothers growing up. We occasionally pushed too far, a clear “No!” was communicated, we understood the message, and life went on. Our self-esteem wasn’t destroyed, nor was our relationship with our parents.
That is the same principle I believe should guide dog training. The objective is not punishment, intimidation, or damaging trust. The objective is to communicate a clear behavioural boundary fairly, confidently, and in a way the individual dog understands, taking into account that dog’s individual temperament, confidence, and personality.
A competent trainer should be able to explain not only what they would do, but why they would do it, and how they would adjust their approach for a soft, sensitive dog versus one that is more persistent, confident, or determined.
If you can’t find someone locally who can clearly explain and demonstrate that process, I’d be happy to help. I offer Zoom consultations where I can assess your dog’s temperament, explain the principles involved, and show you how to communicate behavioural boundaries in a way that’s appropriate for your individual dog.
One of the things I teach is what I call “The Rule of Three”. It’s one example of how an owner can communicate “No!” clearly and fairly without resorting to the sort of drama an adult dog might use when correcting a puppy. I won’t try to explain it fully here because it is best taught in context. I’ll be expanding on that in a separate article, The Rule of Three: How to Communicate “No” Clearly and Fairly. It is one of the ways I help owners get the message across without overdoing it, underdoing it, or turning a small problem into a larger one.
Everything I write is guided by an approach that embraces science and common sense, combining the best available evidence with more than 35 years of practical experience and careful observation of how dogs naturally learn and communicate.
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– John “Ask the Dog Guy” Wade
