Last updated on December 11th, 2020 at 05:57 pm
Taking poodle puppies for a daily walk will benefit their health and happiness. A poodle puppy will most times get excited about going on a walk, and she might chew and tug on her leash. This is no surprise because the way our puppies often relieve built-up stress or excess energy is through chewing, tugging, or jumping. However, chewing on the leash is bad behavior that you have to stop immediately.
When your poodle becomes excited, she chews her leash, treating it like some tug toy. Also, when your poodle puppy is hyper, playful, and can`t calm itself when overwhelmed, it tends to chew on her leash.
Chewing on the leash can look cute when your poodle is still a puppy. However, as your poodle puppy grows, this behavior can be annoying and embarrassing. It gives your poodle the impression that your poodle is unruly. It makes the poodle feel like she is the one in charge when you take her on walks.
So, how can you teach your poodle to stop chewing and tugging on her leash? Well, it takes training and patience to stop your poodle from mouthing and chewing on her leash with adequate training and patience.
Based on my experience with my poodle and advice I got from veteran poodle owners, I will give you tips that you can use to stop your poodle from chewing on its leash.
Before diving into how to stop your poodle from chewing on her leash, let us talk about why your poodle puppy chews on her leash.
Why Do Poodle Puppies Chew On Their Leashes?
As you know, you need to identify the cause of a problem before you can solve it. So, there are many reasons why your poodle puppy keeps chewing and pulling her leash. Some of the most common reasons why your poodle chews on its leash are:
- Just for Fun – Poodles like to play. Your poodle puppy might want something to play with. If she isn’t provided with enough toys to chew on, she will probably turn to her leash to derive satisfaction.
- Curiosity – Poodle puppies are highly inquisitive! Your puppy might be attempting to figure out what is attached to her and why.
- Attention – Your little rascal might be chewing on her leash to attract attention. When she’s calm and led on a leash, no one pays attention to her; however, she draws an enormous amount of attention when she acts out.
- Frustration – Nobody wants to feel trapped, including poodle puppies, and a leash gives your puppy that feeling. Your puppy is obviously on a leash for her safety, but she doesn’t know that.
Now that you understand why your poodle puppy could be chewing on her leash, you’re probably now looking for solutions to save the leash, and train your poodle to be of good behavior. We have some options lined up for you.
Why You Should Stop Your Poodle From Chewing on Its Leash
You should stop your poodle from chewing on her leash for the following reasons:
- It is bad dog behavior to chew on the leash. In public, it makes it seem like you do not have control of your dog
- Your poodle will damage the leash if she continues to chew on the leash
- To people not very familiar with the poodle breed, your poodle chewing on a leash gives the impression that poodles are wild, unruly, and out of control.
- Your poodle chewing and pulling on its leash may cause damage to your poodle`s throat/esophagus.
- It makes it hard for you to let other people walk your poodle. It will be hard for other people to take your poodle for a walk when all your poodle does is to chew on her leash. You need to train your dog in a way they will behave if you are not the one caring for them.
Tips to Help Stop Your Poodle Puppy From Chewing on Its Leash
As you`ve figured out why your poodle puppy is chewing, you can use any of the advice below. Don’t hesitate to combine these tips to achieve better results in training your poodle. Here are some tips to help you eliminate this unwanted leash-chewing habit.
Establish Consequences
It’s hard to eliminate leash-chewing in your poodle puppy when you condone this bad habit. If she does it and you ignore it, she won’t know that chewing on a leash is a bad thing. Consequently, it’s likely that your puppy will continue this bad habit.
Introducing consequences switches the narrative. For instance, if you`re walking her or playing with her, and she chews the leash, end play, and take your poodle back home or back to her crate. When you consistently end play when your poodle chews on her leash, your poodle puppy will begin to associate leash-chewing with an end to fun things.
She`s more likely to quit this behavior to get more treats, playtime, or whatever it is that you take away from her when she chews her leash. However, try not to go overboard with this technique. Your poor puppy doesn`t know better. It`s your job to teach them the difference between right and wrong with proper training.
Invest in Chew Toys
Sometimes, chewing is a way your puppy lets out excess energy or frustration. Give your poodle puppy an alternative to let out her excess energy or frustration. So, instead of letting her chewing her leash, give her something else to hold in her mouth or chew on when you take her for a walk on a leash.
You can hand her a stick to hold in her mouth. This will distract her from chewing on her leash.
Also, you can give her a chew toy that she can chew on. Chew toys are perfect for poodle puppies, particularly during the teething stage, as they calm your puppy`s sore gums. Consider buying your puppy chew toys to prevent going to town on her lead!
Below are some excellent chew toys that we found on Amazon:
- Nylabone Power Chew Textured Dog Chew Ring Toy: This is an excellent option if you are looking for chew toys with soothing capabilities. Click here to check on Amazon. Watch my poodle playing with her Nylabone chew toy.
- Benebone Real Bacon Durable Wishbone: This chew toy comes in various sizes and has a bacon flavor. It’s also lightweight, making it the ideal choice for poodle puppies. Click here to check on Amazon.
- Nylabone Puppy Teething & Soothing Flexible Chew Toy Chicken Flavor: This chew toy has a fantastic chicken flavor that your puppy will love. It also cleans and freshens your poodle puppy’s breath. Click here to check on Amazon.
With a toy or a stick in her mouth, your poodle won`t think about chewing on her leash. Continue this practice until your poodle puppy outgrows her leash chewing behavior.
Teach Proper Leash Practices
You might notice your poodle puppy chewing on her leash or pouncing on your feet during walks. If this occurs frequently, an excellent trick to stop this habit is to dangle an appealing treat the next time you’re on a walk with her.
This approach ensures that you shift your poodle puppy’s attention to the treat, and she becomes less likely to chew on the leash or pounce at your feet. However, be careful with this tip as you don`t want this treat to reinforce incorrect behavior.
Never dangle the treat right after the puppy chews the leash or pounces on your feet. Doing this will increase the chances of your poodle puppy associating leash-chewing or pouncing on your feet with a treat and will continue doing it. The most effective approach is to dangle the treat at the beginning of your walks to train her on how to walk responsibly.
Use a Harness
Using a harness is an easier way to manage your poodle puppy even though she has less than ideal leash manners. Harnesses discourage pulling and are an excellent solution if your poodle puppy is consistently attempting to wriggle out of her lead.
It`s also an excellent tool if she hasn`t yet mastered walking on a leash as it can prevent her from being tangled up and consequently causing herself harm.
Use a Short Leash
If you use a short leash, then your poodle won`t have the dangling part of the leash that poodles like to chew on.
Use a Metallic Leash
Walk your poodle with a leash that has a metallic chain lead. It is no fun to chew a metallic leash
Spray the Leash
We all have that drink that irritates our taste boards, right? So does your poodle puppy. You could apply this tactic when trying to teach ideal leash manners to your little friend. Spraying a small amount of sour drinks like bitter apple, vinegar, or any other drinks your poodle does not like is a good way to prevent her from having a bite at her leash again.
Make Your Poodle Run/Excercise Before a Walk
Make your poodle run or exercise before taking her on a walk. That way she won`t have the excess energy that could make her chew on her leash.
Keep Your Poodle Calm
Poodle puppies also bite or chew when they’re tired, anxious, or stressed out. If you notice that she’s cranky and can`t stop chewing or biting, there’s an increased likelihood that your poodle puppy is tired or anxious. Consider giving her some time to relax and calm down.
You can do this by taking her back to the crate and giving her some alone time. When she isn`t further aggravated, she`ll settle down and be less cranky.
It’s important to ensure your poodle puppy doesn’t begin to associate her crate with punishments. You can make sure that this doesn`t happen by selecting different spots for her cooling down sessions.
Reinforce Positive Behaviour
Your poodle puppy will heed your command. While training your puppy to stop chewing her leash, it’s also equally important to reinforce the positive habits you want her to adopt. When she`s calm and relaxed, give her a treat accompanied by verbal praise, say “good dog.” When you consistently do this, your poodle puppy will begin to understand and differentiate between the good and bad habits by knowing which practices earn her a treat. This will eventually help you achieve the success of getting your poodle to stop chewing or biting her leash.
Establish Yourself as the Pack Leader
As your poodle puppy gets older but keeps chewing her leash, you’re going to need to establish some proper authority. You can`t let her have it her way because doing so will encourage more biting, chewing, and pulling. To ensure that your poodle puppy behaves appropriately, you need to establish structure.
Your puppy has to understand that you play with, walk, or feed her at the appropriate times and intervals, not when she wants to. By doing this, she’s able to pick up some basic commands and obey them. The same can be applied to stopping leash-chewing.
Poodle puppies and dogs generally that obey their owners` commands are more likely to drop bad habits faster than poodle puppies that don`t recognize authority. Teach your poodle puppy that you’re the authority from the onset as waiting longer will make it harder to pick up positive habits, including not chewing her leash. Remember, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Avoid Physical Punishment
Without a doubt, your poodle puppy chewing and pulling her leash during walks is downright annoying. It’s understandable why you would hit her when she does; however, as annoying as it might be, resist the temptation to hit her.
Physical punishments increase your puppy`s stress levels, causing her to become more aggressive, which might make the chewing and pulling persistent. If you`ve attempted everything possible to stop this habit and she continues chewing the leash, consider hiring a dog trainer.
Professionals are always better placed to recommend the best way forward. Additionally, they’ll know exactly what to do to eliminate this bad habit.
Socialize Your Poodle
Poodle puppies that don’t often go out are more likely to have severe bite intensities, become stressed out and aggressive. Socializing your poodle puppy with other puppies eases her tension, thereby reducing the amount of tension she will exact on her leash if she mistakenly bites it.
Hire a Dog Trainer
If you tried all the tips above and your poodle did not stop chewing on her leash, then you might want to consider hiring a professional dog trainer. Dog trainers are experienced in dealing with dogs that won`t listen.
Wrap Up!
Always remember, puppyhood is fast and is gone before you know it. Ensure you take the time to teach your poodle puppy the habits you desire and want to see her exhibit as she gets older. Failing in this process means dealing with a leash-chewing poodle dog amidst other bad habits.
