Your dog drags you over to greet people because arriving at them is the reward

Somebody appears 30 feet up the pavement and your dog is already leaning. By the time you arrive you are apologising, and a stranger is being licked.

This is a friendly dog with no brakes, not a rude one. It is also the easiest habit in the world to accidentally pay for.

Why it keeps happening

The reward for pulling is arriving at the person. Every drag that ends with a hand on your dog's head has been paid, and paid well.

Adolescence makes it louder. Responsiveness to a caregiver's cues drops around the onset of the stage, and comes back later in it. Your voice competes badly with a new person.

Practise passing at a distance your dog can manage

Working below the threshold at which your dog reacts is the condition that lets learning happen near a trigger. For most dogs that distance is further than you think.

1. 1

   Stand 30 feet back from a path with people on it. Feed 1 treat down by your leg every time somebody passes, whether your dog looked at them or not.

2. 2

   The test is whether your dog can still eat and then look back at you. If food is refused, you are too close. Add 10 feet.

3. 3

   Halve the distance only once 2 sessions have been easy. Then walk past at that distance rather than standing still.

4. 4

   Keep it to 5 minutes. The management is the distance, the reinforcement is the food at your leg, and behaviour change needs both halves together.

Make the greeting something you grant

1. 1

   Stop 6 feet short and wait until the leash hangs in a loose U. A tight leash means the greeting does not happen yet.

2. 2

   Release your dog with a word, so the greeting arrives from you rather than being taken.

3. 3

   Count 10 seconds out loud, then call your dog back and feed at your knee. Short greetings almost never go wrong.

4. 4

   If the leash goes tight at any point, walk on quietly. No telling off, and no second attempt on the same person.

Ask first, and it is fine to say no

Ask before your dog greets anybody, every time. Plenty of people do not want to be greeted, and some are frightened of dogs for good reasons.

It is also fine to say no when somebody asks to pet your dog. Today might be a day your dog cannot manage it, and you do not owe anyone an explanation.

If the same dog also drags you toward other dogs, or lands on guests indoors, work on 1 of those at a time.

Today's version, in one line: 5 minutes of feeding at your leg while people walk past at 30 feet, and no greetings tonight.