Still pulling on lead

[jackdee]

MY 11 month Bella is a sweetheart really,,, But as much as I try she does not want to walk nicely on a lead, wants to go see EVERYONE, just doesnot want to listen. NOW I train every day, no BS I am not slak , If I say sit , I make her sit . When I say come I always have a treat and praise ,and make her come . Whats going on Should I just back off? --Yea , no dont back off, I hate to have a pinch collar on her ,, but she dosent even care about it. she still wants to pull, is this the age or what ? Yea , someone might say , she needs a good yank on that pinch ,, but I dont want to pick her off the earth and flip her over to my side airborne. then theres times I have to grab her by the scruff of her neck to stop her from hurting herself and then I feel bad... Whats up ????

[Excitium]

Take her outside and as soon as she pulls go the other way or stop dead in your tracks and dont move until she stops pulling. She needs to learn that pulling will cause her to not be allowed to move or will cause movement in the opposite direction. It likely wont take long before she realizes pulling will get her no where.

As for the "pinch" collar are you referring to a choker or a prong collar?

[jackdee]

The prong collar ,,I,feel they are safer than chokes.

[Excitium]

Originally Posted by jackdee

The prong collar ,,I,feel they are safer than chokes.

Most dogs do very well with a prong collar, How is the collar fitted? Is it high on the neck up under the jawline? Regardless of the collar used if you refuse to let the dog go where it wants by stopping or going in the opposite direction it will come around.

[jakesfostermom]

Jackdee - I am currently working on the same thing with my newest male. Our trainer has 'empowered' me with a technique that is making a BIG difference. In short, when he starts to pull, I immediately turn into him, and place myself in front of him, facing him, and walk forward into him (which means he has to back up and I don't speak to him during this time). Our trainer calls this 'taking his space' - and puts him back into a pack role, where he can recall that he is to respect my lead. He does refocus and gets back to walking on a looser lead. (we always use a prong/pinch collar when walking)

We tried all the "stop like a tree" - "turn and go the other direction" - "mark/reward any loose lead walking" and nothing seemed to make a difference for any length of time. We walk for two very different reasons - one for training - so that is done on a short lead (I use 2' and 4' leads for this), walking nicely alongside me, with his head at or about the side of my body while moving. The other reason is more for 'him' - so he can move along at a decent pace and get some exercise - I call these "free walking" - he knows when he is given the full 6' of lead, we are free walking. I don't require as much 'discipline' from him during these walks, so this is when he would most often pull (still does at times, but we are progressing)........as a result, we are doing less 'free walking' until we are fully reliable at loose lead walking during our training walk with the shorter lead. Nonetheless, the turning into my dog, facing him and walking into him, has made a BIG difference in our walks. He goes from being a bit strong willed, pulling, and excited to somewhat submissive, attentive and ready to listen to me again. (I always feel as if I should put a disclaimer on my posts because you will note that we are in formal obedience classes and using a trainer - so attempting this without some guidance may have NO impact on your walking experience with your dog.)

[Murphyab]

I also have tried the stop like a tree to no avail. Murphy is quite strong now and does pull. I'm going to try what you suggest as far as stop and turn into him without talking. Hopefully, this works.

[Anne]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

Jackdee - I am currently working on the same thing with my newest male. Our trainer has 'empowered' me with a technique that is making a BIG difference. In short, when he starts to pull, I immediately turn into him, and place myself in front of him, facing him, and walk forward into him (which means he has to back up and I don't speak to him during this time). Our trainer calls this 'taking his space' - and puts him back into a pack role, where he can recall that he is to respect my lead. He does refocus and gets back to walking on a looser lead. (we always use a prong/pinch collar when walking)

We tried all the "stop like a tree" - "turn and go the other direction" - "mark/reward any loose lead walking" and nothing seemed to make a difference for any length of time. We walk for two very different reasons - one for training - so that is done on a short lead (I use 2' and 4' leads for this), walking nicely alongside me, with his head at or about the side of my body while moving. The other reason is more for 'him' - so he can move along at a decent pace and get some exercise - I call these "free walking" - he knows when he is given the full 6' of lead, we are free walking. I don't require as much 'discipline' from him during these walks, so this is when he would most often pull (still does at times, but we are progressing)........as a result, we are doing less 'free walking' until we are fully reliable at loose lead walking during our training walk with the shorter lead. Nonetheless, the turning into my dog, facing him and walking into him, has made a BIG difference in our walks.

Question here: How can you turn into the dog and take his space if he is 6ft in front of you and pulling? I'm trying to imagine how it's done other than pulling the lead up short and virtually having the dog stop in it's tracks and then stepping into his space, I can't figure out how it's done.

Can you explain the technique in more detail please. I'm sure it will be very helpful for those of us who have pulling dogs.

[jakesfostermom]

Anne - this has to be done with the shorter leads that I mentioned (2' and 4') with the dog walking close to you - and that's why I said we have reduced our 'free walking' while using this, so that we can address the pulling as it is happening.

[LauraL]

We had the same problem with Kiera,it was a nightmare to go out on walks, this was our solution and please bare with me as i am no where near up to speed with all the lead types etc

anyway our trainer uses slip leads on all dogs in his classes (the ones with the bit leather or stopper thing the bit that stops it from becoming really loose) any dog from large breeds to small he fastens them up not around the neck like a coller but more in the position as if you were showing the dog around the jaw bone (i hope you know what i mean ) anyway she gets no loose lead the lead is held directly above the dogs head and quite short at that when she walks in front she gets a quick tug on the lead (which makes it tight)with what ever word you use to correct her and when she is good she gats slack and lots and lots of praise for doing well,They soon realise being bad means tight lead being good means slack lead,

It's like a different dog we can walk her with one finger now (dont get me wrong she has her moments) but a tug on the lead and she gets the picture
i hope this helps

[Dimitri]

everytime i walk my dog on the sidewalk he is in almost perfect heel position just slightly behind me. that is where i wanted him to be at all times. good thing is when i stop so does he and he waits till i give the heel command and start our walks together. one way that may be good is when your dog is pulling on the leach, just change the directions with the heel command. when they catch up to you and pass you again, change directions and say the word heel. slowly this should solve the problem with him pulling on the leash.

[Dieselpup]

Glad to read this post! Stopping dead in my tracks worked for Busta; he now walks on heel everytime we're out (I, too, had issues with him pulling on the leash at about 7-9 months). The prong helped a GREAT deal, so did taking away his "free walks." Busta is a very dominant dog with high rank drive.

The stopping dead, however, does NOT work on the nearly 3-month-old White GSD that I'm currently training. I just came back inside with her from trying to walk on a loose leash and she was pulling ahead, infront, and everywhere else. I've been using this technique for several weeks now.

I'm going to try moving into her space. Thanks for the tips!

[JemarsSerena]

If she is pulling on the prong collar, she is getting no correction. Next time you use it as soon as she steps in front of you give one hard pop and then immediately release the pressure. Serena hardly reacts to the pinch because of her drive. You have to give the correction like you mean it, but then immediately release the pressure. Is she going to formal training with a professional trainer? You've talked about going to schutzhund training, is this happening. Rottie training is not easy to self teach. I tried and failed. With advice from a trainer we have had much better results. We now train with a professional experienced trainer EVERY WEEK. It has become loads of fun for both me and Serena. I used to be uptight and nervous when training and now I don't care if people see Serena and I having a party when she gets something right. Make it fun but be firm at the same time if that makes sense.

[KimG]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

J In short, when he starts to pull, I immediately turn into him, and place myself in front of him, facing him, and walk forward into him (which means he has to back up and I don't speak to him during this time).

I'm going to try this. It sounds very good.

We don't practise much anymore because we stay home more now but last year when we weould take him to Saturday morning soccer, if he saw something and started to pull, I would start walking in the other direction. Then I would change directions suddenly (always into the dog so that I could push his front quarter with my leg - maybe kind of like what you're saying).

I would walk with purpose for several steps and then change direction into him again.

After I got his attention (with practise we got this down to one turn), then I would change it up a bit and turn 'away' from him so that he had to focus more on me because he wasn't being pushed.

It became a bit of an 'attention' getting game and after the first few Saturdays in the field, he would enjoy our 'cardio walk workout' and almost ask to do it by sitting in front of me in anticipation.

I haven't read the other replies yet, but am looking forward to seeing what other people do. :)

Kind regards,
KimG

[jakesfostermom]

Originally Posted by KimG

I'm going to try this. It sounds very good.

We don't practise much anymore because we stay home more now but last year when we weould take him to Saturday morning soccer, if he saw something and started to pull, I would start walking in the other direction. Then I would change directions suddenly (always into the dog so that I could push his front quarter with my leg - maybe kind of like what you're saying).

I would walk with purpose for several steps and then change direction into him again.

After I got his attention (with practise we got this down to one turn), then I would change it up a bit and turn 'away' from him so that he had to focus more on me because he wasn't being pushed.

It became a bit of an 'attention' getting game and after the first few Saturdays in the field, he would enjoy our 'cardio walk workout' and almost ask to do it by sitting in front of me in anticipation.

I haven't read the other replies yet, but am looking forward to seeing what other people do. :)

Kind regards,
KimG

KimG - this is the EXACT technique we are using and it not only stops the pulling, but as you say and have seen, it improves the 'attention' we get from our male. And as you said, once you get some nice loose lead walking this way, when you quickly change directions, the dog is much more responsive and pays closer attention to you, in anticipation of your next turn. I'm glad to see someone else using this, and having good results as well.

[KimG]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

KimG - this is the EXACT technique we are using and it not only stops the pulling, but as you say and have seen, it improves the 'attention' we get from our male. And as you said, once you get some nice loose lead walking this way, when you quickly change directions, the dog is much more responsive and pays closer attention to you, in anticipation of your next turn. I'm glad to see someone else using this, and having good results as well.

Very good. I thought it sounded similar. I just couldn't get in front of my guy, which was why I went with pushing his shoulder with my leg.

It is nice to hear it works for someone else too.

It does require 'choking up' on the lead though so that the dog's front shoulder doesn't get ahead of your thigh.

I'm 5'4", was very pregnant that summer and he's a big boy (about 100lbs) but it was very doable and effective for me.

I liked it better than the jerk method which didn't work very well for me... not strong enough in the arm (maybe) to get his attention. My leg is plenty strong enough to get his attention though.

It is very interesting to read how different people handle these situations... and very reassuring to find other people who enjoy the same success as the methods I've chosen.