Lead Walking - Broken man

[woody]

Hi,

I am a broken man (well not quite) & need some help.

Fritz is 2 years old, we got him at 10 months & ever since that time I have been working hard to improve his lead walking, with to be pretty honest very little improvement.

I used a gentle leader for a while but he continued to pull. I have tried stopping when he pulls & then only moving on when he backs up, but again he never seems to get the message. I am currently using & have for some time a check chain (formerly known as choke chain) & used various techniques with the chain to get him to stop pulling, but, alas, he still pulls as if the choker doesn't affect him at all.

Here is an example, yesterday I took him for a 12k walk through the woods & for the entire time he was pulling on the chain, didn't let up at all!

However, if I drop the lead, he will stop, turn around & trot right back to me like a good dog, with a look on his face that says......yeah aren't we having lots of fun!!!!!!!

He gets a lot of exercise, for instance over the last 3 days it has gone something like this, sat - 3 hours uphill hike through the woods, Sun - 2 hour uphill hike through the woods, Monday - 12k walk as mentioned above. I always make sure he is calm before leaving the house.

Any advice would be great, I'm running out (run out) of ideas.

Cheers

[Cassidy's Mom]

Here's how I taught Halo loose leash walking: Short Leash?

[sagelfn]

I know a lot of people have had success with a sense-ation harness or a prong collar.

I used the gentle leader and it worked but it only taught him to not pull when it was on. I started using the clicker and put him in a heel position (did not give heel command because I want focus on me for that command) and walked clicking and rewarding him for keeping the leash loose.

[Stosh]

If his recall is good why not let him off lead? A prong collar would make it easier to control him if you're not physically able.

[onyx'girl]

Does he ever get to run around? Walking with a loose lead for 12k would be pretty boring, as most dogs want to run, and sniff.
If you can get some of his energy out thru fetch before the walk, it may be easier on you. I have a dog that pulls me on walks and I don't discourage it as it builds muscle for both of us! But he knows at some points I want him to not pull and a couple pops on the collar will bring him back on the loose leash.
I wouldn't pop a gentle leader, however!
Have you tried a prong collar? Fitting it just below the ears so it can't slide down, most dogs will not pull with a prong.

[woody]

He gets to run around on other occasions when I take him to the park or to a near by farm where he can run & explore. On the particular walks mentioned he is not allowed off lead unfortunately. I will probably give a prong collar a go & see what happens.

[onyx'girl]

You could have a prong and a flat(or collar of choice) and run two lines.
Use the Prong only when needed so it isn't constantly "on". I do this when on the busy walking trails, I have a short tab leash on the prong and the longer line on the flat collar.

[jmoney]

sounds like you need a prong, make sure you attach it properly. It should be snug and right under the jaw and behind the ears...here is a good photo on how to do it

Leerburg | How to fit a Prong Collar

scroll down a bit for photos.

Like they said above, be sure that he isn't keeping the leash tight, usually they will sense it and back up automatically, our pup was a bit more stubborn and got very light corrections when she tugged.