A serious cry for help

[fuzzybunny]

Jazz is a puller as well. I tried to no avail to train him to walk properly but nothing seemed to work. I use a prong which helps a lot. it's really helpful if I let him run off leash initially before putting him on leash. He tends to walk well on leash after that. I'm not sure if you have that option though. I'm lucky because I have a field nearby where I let him run.

[msvette2u]

The Canny Collar - The Best Collar to Stop Dogs Pulling on the Lead

Go get one of these. It works out perfectly as they are in the UK.

Originally Posted by dylano

I know this may sound silly or minor or my fault but ive tried everything i could. Kai can NOT walk on the lead properly. He pulls all directions, pulls at people (children and they get scared). This isnt an aggressive mannor but just wants to say hi.

On to what i have done. I took kai to puppy classes mainly for leash training and to meet other dogs. It made no effect on kai walking on the lead even after doing what they told me to. Ive watched countless videos on leash training. (when he pulls, walk the other way..reward the good walking ignore the bad). Ive being doing this for the past 3 months and ive seen no difference.

Im started to get frustrated on walks now because im not enjoying them. He pulls so much that i hear him wheezing. I do not enjoy the walks and i dont think he does. At the time i cannot afford a 1 - 1 traininer as in london they are stupidly overpriced (£90-£150 ph!!)

Please im in need of help, im in need of honet responces thanks so much in advance

[carmspack]

how connected is the dog to you?

it is not about equipment but the relationship .

when I start my dogs on leash I use a jewellery fine or lightest , smallest links chain slip lead , and the lightest show-lead type leash .

one of the dogs , "Joker" was trained by my son with a rather long hockey skate lace , while the adults were digging post holes for the horse paddocks.

I would make every position outside of the desireable correct one uncomfortable - the dog, like water, will quickly pick the path of least resistance - the easy (right) one.

[dylano]

Originally Posted by JakodaCD OA

from past posts I'm getting he was 6 months old on the 5th.


How much exercise is he getting? I am talking running around exercise? I would burn off some of that energy before you take him for a walk and then walk him.

What kind of collar are you using? I know prongs are illegal over there (I think), how about a martingale?

I also read in one of your past posts Kai has been pooing in the house? it sounds like he needs more OUTSIDE time, and more exercise ..

When I have a yanking dog, I usually do this, put the dog in the position you want, start to walk, if he pulls, immediately change directions, SAY NOTHING< change directions, if he pulls again, CHANGE DIRECTIONS,,when the dog is IN the position you want, PRAISE & TREAT, otherwise say nothing..

Yes you might get dizzy from changing directions, you want to work on this with NO distractions, later lead up to distractions.

Work on it a few times a day, short sequences, when he doesn't pull reward/treat, and always end on a positive note

Kai's 7 months old. Prong collars can not be bought here from a normal pet shop. He has a regular flat collar. Kai used to be able to run around in our garden but due to the weather there is about 3/4 of a foot of mud so he gets all muddy while eating the mud. I've started doing the change direction thing today
Thanks for your input


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[dylano]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

The Canny Collar - The Best Collar to Stop Dogs Pulling on the Lead

Go get one of these. It works out perfectly as they are in the UK.

Sorry get one of what?


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[msvette2u]

Click on the link...

[Freestep]

A prong collar, head halter (Halti or similar), or easy-walk harness (the type that clips to the leash in the front) are equipment that will make your walks a lot easier. I think you said that prong collars are not availble to you, so I'd try the harness or Halti first. Be sure he is getting enough exercise, you could try wearing him out a little bit before his walk by playing fetch, tug, or flirt pole.

At 7 months old, he sounds pretty typical... it can be frustrating at this stage, but keep walking! Does he have a favorite toy? You can try taking that along, to get his attention and focus on YOU instead of everything else.

Here's one way to look at it... you have a friendly, outgoing, confident pup, and that is a GOOD thing!

[Bear GSD]

I agree with Freestep. You need to try and tire your pup out a little before walking and that will make your walks a little more manageable. As I suggested in a couple of posts below try the front clip harness, it really does the job and will make your walks soo much easier.
Since it's too muddy to talk him in the garden then do some basic obedience with him in the house or play games like "find it" or "Hide and go seek" with him before your walks.
I also made a mini flirt pole for my pup and a few minutes with that and he gets rid of the excess energy that he definitely has.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by JeanKBBMMMAAN

Have you tried the silky leash method? Leash Walking Ahimsa Dog Blog

Did you click on Jean's link? I didn't start seriously working on leash skills with Halo until she was 7 months old, and I used the Silky Leash method as well as the other loose leash walking methods on that page, and a plain flat collar. It is NOT an easy fix, and you have to be wiling to spend more time training than actually "going for a walk", but if you're committed and persistent, it will work.

You start training indoors, in a boring low distraction location. If you watch the videos, she actually starts training in a bathroom! The goal is to teach the dog to yield to gentle pressure from the leash, making it a cue for the dog to move in that direction, relieving the pressure. It's the opposite of what your dog is doing now, which is pulling against pressure of the collar against his neck. You want to train this new response BEFORE you get out into the big wide world with all the interesting, exciting things to see and smell. If you need to be able to take your dog for a walk too, front hook harnesses work well. Traditional harnesses with the leash connection on the back of the dog will only encourage pulling, so I wouldn't recommend that.

The other things I did once we started going for walks were #2 - rewarding for eye contact, #3 - rewarding for the sweet spot, and #4 - the Canine Cha-Cha. #9 is very important too:

Set your dog up for success. For all of the above techniques, work in situations where your dog will be successful. If you take him out to train and he is just a basket-case, pulling every which way, he is not going to learn, and you will just become frustrated. Believe me, I’ve been there!! Back up a step or two — work at home, inside, with only a few distractions. Then work in the yard. Next, work in front of the house. Make your training walks longer and longer. Avoid distractions that your dog is not ready for: if you can make it to the park, but not through it, for example, bring along one of the management tools below for the currently-impossible stage of walking nicely through the park.

Before all this, I did do some work with Halo off leash, in the house and also the dog run outside. I always teach hand targeting as a foundation skill when I bring home a new puppy, so it's easy to use that to get them to follow along at your side, turning when you do, etc. I taught her (again, off leash at home) to sit automatically whenever I stopped, by luring her to walk next to me and then bringing the treat up in front of her nose so her butt dropped down.

Another thing I did was something I think I heard about from Ian Dunbar - the wedding march. You take just one step at a time, stop and sit (the dog, obviously!), then one more step, stop and sit, over and over again. Lure with food, if necessary. I did this on and off leash around the house and in the dog run outside. There's no point in the dog pulling if you're going to stop after every step. If we were working off leash and she got ahead of me, I'd stand there and pat my leg, encouraging her to come back to position, and then we'd try again, taking one step forward. You can gradually add steps - 2 steps, stop and sit 3 steps, stop and sit, etc, once he's automatically stopping and sitting every time you stop.

I did lots of turns, so she learned to pay attention to what I was doing and follow along. Right turns I lured with a treat, for left turns I stepped in front of her and quickly turned, so she would run into my leg if she didn't pivot. I said "turn" right before I did that, and eventually she learned to turn as soon as she heard the cue, so she wouldn't bump into me. Many times we'd just stand in one place and do circles in each direction, 1/4 turn at a time.

[Lucy Dog]

What else is the pup doing besides walking? What kind of off leash time is he getting? Does he ever really get to burn off some of that energy outside of just walking?