Pulling like a train

[lickyalips]

Monty is 9 months old and is generally well behaved. He is a friendly non-aggressive rottie who thinks everybody knows him.

However, he has one fault I cannot control despite having him attend obedience classes.

When I take him out on a leash for walkies, he pulls like a train and refuses any commands to heel. I`m a big guy and he has already pulled me over in the park.

Any advice on how I can get him to stop pulling would be greatly appreciated as walking him out is no fun for me.

Regards from London, England.

[RottiMomCT]

Has your obedience instructor given any advice on this?? Do you attend classes with him?!?!

Try a prong collar...

Or, use food to keep him near you - also, don't let him get more than 1 foot in front of you - if he gets past that point, he is walking you, not the other way around.

If he really pulls like an idiot, stop walking. Don't move until he relaxes and will walk calmly.

Also, when walking, use a short leash, 1-2 feet, and use a brisk pace - if you walk slowly he'll feel he is allowed to sniff, and get ahead of you.

A brisk pace requires the dog to pay attention.

[rottgirl]

We had a similar problem with Paradise, our instructor was totally against prong collars and suggested we enforce "no pulling". (I do have one and use it sometimes). When we would walk her and she stared pulling I would stop and let her go to the end of the leash while repeating "no pulling". It took awhile but she finally realized I was in charge not her and probably got tried of me yanking her neck. I also do turns and change the pace of my walks so she needs to pay attention and focus on what I am doing.

Good luck and you need to let the dog know you are in charge!

Michele

[scooterjohansen]

The pulling is due to him wanting to take control. Before walking off the property or even leaving the house, let him know the rules of the walk and stick by them. You can use all the collars in the world and still, if you dont have the rules in place the collars will be frustating.

We use the word. Slow. This slows him down. Then reinforce we use Braver Hund then Good boy.

Hope this helps you..

[MonteRiehl]

Originally Posted by RottiMomCT

Has your obedience instructor given any advice on this?? Do you attend classes with him?!?!

Try a prong collar...

A brisk pace requires the dog to pay attention.

I agree with Anne, however, I don't think that you can use a prong (also called pinch) collar in the UK. There is a law on the books prohibiting use, even tho' it's safer than a standard choke/check chain.

Best advice I have is to talk and work with your obedience instructor. It sounds like your dog does understand the "heel" command, and you should now start to "enforce" your commands somehow. Do not tollerate being pulled around. What happens if he pulls himself and you into traffic?

Some dogs are very highly food and play oriented, so you may be able to keep your dog's attention and remain at the heel position with a cookie/treat or a toy.

I personally use the Treat/lure to make sure that my dog understands the commands, then start to phase out the treat/toys. I am 100% sure he understands the command when I start the phase out, and then I also begin to give a good correction for moving out of position, and pulling on the leash.

The brisk pace is a "magic" training tip for most. The speed keeps the dog interested and right with you. It makes them think that they are moving with purpose, and on a mission. If they stop for any reason while at a brisk speed, the inertia when they hit the end of the leash also motivates them to keep right along beside you. If for no other reason than to keep near their head

[scooterjohansen]

[quote=RottiMomCT]Does he read them or do you read them to the dog ?? I'm not quite sure I understand this one... QUOTE]

Of course he reads them first. Then he gets them read back. When he agrees on the rules we walk out the front door. If he, while on the walk 'forgets what we talked about' Then he gets a threat with " well there will be no more walks for you." This usually snaps him out of his sillyness and the walk continues.

[RottiMomCT]

Smart dog ya got there scooter!! Mine can't read a lick...unless its a dog food bag - and even then they think it says EAT IT ALL IN ONE SITTING!

Back to the OP...talk to your obedience instructor about the pulling when out for walks. Explain that while he is great at home inthe houese or in class, when out for a walk it all goes out the window, and you need help getting it figured out. I had the same problem with our newest addition (he's been here a year now), and nipped that in the bud quickly - he is a pleasure to walk now. Plus, I like my arms to be reasonably the same length!

Don't let the dog get so far out ahead of you that he is pulling you. Keep a short leash on him and he will learn that calmly walking next to you gets him further must faster than him pulling you. Plus, the walks will be much more enjoyable for both of you!

[scorpio]

use a gentle leader or a gentle leader harness. it works miracles! u have control over your dog and will no longer pull. if he starts to walk ahead of you, you can tug on the leash and it will make him stop immediatley.

[Rott'n'lab Mom]

Originally Posted by RottiMomCT

Has your obedience instructor given any advice on this?? Do you attend classes with him?!?!

Try a prong collar...

Or, use food to keep him near you - also, don't let him get more than 1 foot in front of you - if he gets past that point, he is walking you, not the other way around.

If he really pulls like an idiot, stop walking. Don't move until he relaxes and will walk calmly.

Also, when walking, use a short leash, 1-2 feet, and use a brisk pace - if you walk slowly he'll feel he is allowed to sniff, and get ahead of you.

A brisk pace requires the dog to pay attention.

When we adopted our girl nearly four years ago she was about 9 months old. She had no leash manners and would pull like crazy. Our obedience instructor's method which worked very well for us was to simply not move every time she pulled. This method worked very well for us and we just had her in a flat buckle collar. She literally learned to not pull within one week.

Have you tried a method similar to this?

[mrsgrubby]

I too would suggest a gentle leader head harness. I used one on my rottie puppy from the time she was 5 months until she was 10 months. All the time I was using it I worked with her to teach her "heel" as well as "loose leash walking". Now at 11 months she can walk on any collar without pulling.,
I am pretty small, so the gentle leader worked as a tool to keep us safe and teach her to listen to me, while I continued to teach her.

[Judi W]

I am going to offer something you should think about. I have found that sometimes, the big guys like yourself neglect the techniques of teaching their dog even though they attend training classes. This is not done deliberately, but by accident because they are quite confident they can physically restrain the dog (which is of course quite true) so some of the more subtle things that help the dog learn get lost in the work. Sometimes the instructor doesn't even notice what is happening because to their eye, things look pretty much under control and they don't notice that you are doing the control with physical power.

Think about this idea and see if it might not apply to your situation, then concentrate more on technique and mental influence instead of physical strength.

I'll bet when he took you down it was like a tree being felled to the lumberjack's ax! Bam! Makes me smile.......... (but of course not you)

[cgrubb]

I TOTALLY agree with RottiMomCT! Invest in a prong collar.

They may be look very intimidating and downright cruel, but not only are they are far better for training than your average choker chain, they are also better for your pup. For example, autopsies performed on dogs who wore the chokers had far more scar tissue in that area than those who wore the prongs.

When the pup pulls ahead of you, gently tug on the leash and use the "heel" command. Of course, when he/she obeys the command, give praise, praise, praise!

:)

[scorpio]

I think gentle leader headcollars and/or harnesses work just as well if not better than prong collars. The dogs immediately stop walking ahead and it forces them to look at you. These are training tools as well and they won't cause any scar tissue. Try it out.

[MonteRiehl]

Originally Posted by scorpio

I think gentle leader headcollars and/or harnesses work just as well if not better than prong collars. The dogs immediately stop walking ahead and it forces them to look at you. These are training tools as well and they won't cause any scar tissue. Try it out.

Here's a question for Gentle Leader and Halti fans, (and SCORPIO!)
What happens when your dog's "prey drive" unexpectedly kicks in, and it charges full steam at the "prey" and "hits" the end of the leash? I've seen this prey drive snap flat collars, break choke chains, and destroy prongs. (collar fails with usually very little damage to the dog)

This happens alot with (young) rotties who have not been completely trained to overcome their prey drive in all situations. The Gentle Leader/Halti acts like a lever on the head/neck and with the amount of force applied by the intertia, this is a neck injury.

IMO, Gentle leaders and Halti's work very well with breeds of dogs who have longer noses, and less pronounced "prey drive". Kind of like Gentle leaders don't work on boxers and bull dogs.

There are also alot of rottie's who are experts at removing their GL/Halti at will.

I'm not saying that they are not good tools, but like I aways say, training your dog (to do anything) is not about the tool.
There are advantages and disadvantages of every tool.
Training is about the correct application of knowledge and relationship towards the goal.

[scorpio]

I agree [QUOTE training is about the correct application of knowledge and relationship towards the goal].
I believe these tools in combination with knowledge and verbal training can help achieve the goal. I'm sorry but I'm against using prong collars. I've read about studies that show tracheal damage from using those tools. This is my opinion and of course anyone is free to use any tools they please.
True, gentle leader headcollars may not fit on all rotties but there are also harnesses.
As for the prey drive, I have been able to keep my boy under control in these situations. I have not experienced snapped collars, gentle leaders or harnesses.
All of these tools need to used in combination with verbal and mental training. One can't rely solely on the tool itself.
I guess my advice to lickyalips is to try these tools out and see which works best for you and your dog.