May I introduce to you - the leash. Great and absolutely necessary for taking your dog for a walk, but this isn't only an outside tool. You can and should be using your dog's leash INSIDE as well. The leash is the easiest way to communicate with your dog and one of the easiest ways to manage your dog quickly, even if they are big leash pullers.
I get contacted on a regular basis about dogs who jump on guests who enter their homes, who counter surf, or bark incessantly when someone walks by the house. The leash can help with all of those behaviors.
Let's say your in-laws are coming over and they gripe and groan every time because your dog jumps all over them. You think it's cute because you love when you come home and your dog greets you excitedly! I get it, I love when dogs jump on me because I love the attention and I love not having to bend down to greet my dogs. I don't love hearing other people complain about my dogs and I definitely wouldn't need another reason for a mother in-law to think less of me. So instead, you hear the car pull up, you clip your dog to their leash, and when the door opens, instead of your dog jumping all over your guests, their contained to the length of the leash. They're probably still going to be trying, but this is where you can implement other training techniques (marking and rewarding for engagement, working on your pressure and release training, etc). At the very least, the complaining about the jumping is minimized.
Or, let's say your dog is barking out the window because the Amazon truck just pulled up. You're yelling because you're trying to recall your dog off of the window and the delivery driver is taking their sweet time. Now everyone is yelling! Instead, clip your dog to their leash, take them away from the window, and engage them in a different activity. Of course, the first time you do this, the success rate isn't going to be very high. Your dog is probably going to be fighting you on this. But the more you try, and the more rewarding you make it for your dog to leave the window, the easier it will be.
There's another issue at hand here - a lot of times when your dog sees their leash the go absolutely bananas. Because, of course they do. The leash means they get to go outside! They get to go explore, they get to go for a walk, they get to go spend time with you! So there may be some time that you'll have to spend desensitizing your dog to the fact that now, we're using the leash inside too. What this will look like for you is just taking the leash out and pretending like it's not a big deal - because it isn't. It's just a leash.
ALSO, getting all of your dog's gear on can be a hassle. If that's the case, get something easy, like a slip leash. That way, when you want to utilize the leash in your house, you can just throw it over their necks, slide the tab down, and do what you need to do. There are lot of options on the market, but my favorite brand is Mountain Dog Products.
So, go forth, try out these dog training tips, and use the leash inside of your house! You won't regret it.
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