For puppies I like the Sense-ation harness: SENSE-ation Dog Harness

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I purchased the gentle leader, and while it seemed to work quite well, I don't like that I can't attach the leash to the collar as well, since it seems a bit flimsy.

 

Gentle Leader head collar, or Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness?

 

I like the gentle leader, it's worked wonders for Delgado

 

I don'y like the idea of a gentle leader put in such a young dog, even less in the hands of children. Accidents can happen that may damage the pup, or he can be put into submission without noticing.

I second the sense-ation dog harness.

 

I use an Easy Walk harness on young dogs that pull, before the prong collar (4-8 months-ish).

 

I used the Sense ation front hook harness on Benny from about 6 months to a year. It is similar to the Easy Walk
Amazon.com: SENSE-ation No-Pull Dog Harness - Purple Medium/Large (Wide): Pet Supplies

 

I agree with the others. If the dog starts pulling when around other dogs I don't like the head halter just because they can lunge and injure their necks/spines from being jerked back. I do not like the idea of the gentle leader in the hands of kids there are too many things that can go wrong. I definitely second the harness. I have never used the sense-ation harness I have however used the easy walk harness from the people that make the gentle leader and absolutely LOVE it! Definitely recommend it for any situation especially a young pup, no adjustment period and really minimizes the risk of injury and helps with being able to control the pup/dog easier.

 

I like the Halti head collar but I would be cautious about using one for a young exuberant dog because of how the collar controls the head. However I have used it with a reactive dog with good results, even though she used to lunge at other dogs, I never had an issue with the head collar-- but I am careful and keep a short leash, the Halti prevented the lunge in the first place so she never actually had a chance to get to lunging so it wasn't a problem. I also have not found it to twist her head to the side at all but that may be in how I use it?

I would try a front-attach harness first, and if you do want to use a head collar I'd say try one of the ones where the leash attachment is at the back of the head. I think the Canny Collar is like this. I haven't tried that one myself though so I don't know how good it is.

 

I really like the easy-walk harness. Better than the sensation harness actually, for some reason my dog doesn't mind pulling with the sensation harness on but goes into an automatic heel when wearing the easy-walk harness. I still have total control with the sensation harness, but it's not as effortless as with the easy-walk harness. I barely have to move the leash for my dog to comply with the easy walk harness.

My future sister in law has a husky mix that was trained to walk on a 20 foot retractable leash and nothing else. Pulling and quickly running ahead and behind was her life. She was impossible to walk on a normal 6" leash because she would choke herself from pulling, but she is so soft I was afraid of using a prong. I couldn't stand it so I put an easy walk harness on her and even when she's exuberantly darting forward out of excitement, the easy walk harness spins her around so efficiently that I barely feel any of the force from her darting forward. After a few spins she too ends up in an automatic heel. I was actually totally astonished by how little force I felt from her running full speed ahead. Normally I have to completely brace myself or risk falling over when she does that.

I don't really like head harnesses because so many dogs tend to respond by shutting down, and most need some sort of adjustment period so they don't find the head collar irritating.

 

My future sister in law has a husky mix that was trained to walk on a 20 foot retractable leash and nothing else. Pulling and quickly running ahead and behind was her life. She was impossible to walk on a normal 6" leash because she would choke herself from pulling, but she is so soft I was afraid of using a prong.

That reminds me of one of my previous dogs. He was a stray, when I found him he was wearing a harness (regular type, not no-pull harness) and he would pull like a freight train! I could walk him ok on a prong collar but if I ever tried without it or even switched the leash off the prong he'd pull like crazy again. He also was very active and would range to both ends of the leash, back and forth and side to side the whole time on walks. I let him do that as long as he didn't pull, because it helped to get some of his energy out. I think he probably walked 2-4 times as far than I did on most walks! I tried a lot of methods for the pulling and nothing worked until finally I stated a thing where you back up whenever the dog pulls, and keep backing up until the leash is slack. I did that with a flat collar, and being a smart dog he figured out pretty quick that if he pulled he'd get further away from whatever it was he was interested in, so I finally was able to walk him on a flat collar without any pulling. I wish I'd tried that sooner!

Yet I've had adopters come with their dogs on the gentle leaders and halties, and the dogs are pulling ahead, with their bodies forged ahead and their heads turned clear around as far as they'll go.
I can't see how that's helpful or healthy!

I have not had this happen when using the Halti with my dog, her head toes not get turned around like that when using it. I keep hearing people describe this motion but I've never seen it with my dog.

 

Personnally I use a Dogmatic head collar and a harness, together with a double ended leash. Great for total control of reactive dogs.

But whatever tools you use, you still need to teach your dog to walk on a loose leash - tools should be for emergency use only on reactive dogs.

There are a few ways to teach your dog to walk to heel, but in my opinion, this is by far the best and quickest, and it will also build a great bond between you and your dog.

Practice in your garden (yard) first if possible, if not, somewhere quiet, where there are unlikely to be any distractions. Only once you have it perfected in a quiet area, should you consider introducing distractions - perhaps move into the street outside your house for example.

Train your dog in 5 or 6 daily sessions, no more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Training for short periods will tire your dog out more than normal walks, as they have to use their brains to figure out what you want them to do.

While teaching you dog to walk to heel, do no take her on leashed walks, as it will confuse her and it will take longer. She can still have off leash time, play catch or tug etc.

Dogs trained for obedience competion are taught to walk on the handler's left hand side - but it's not essential if you have no intention of taking part in competitions - you can keep her on the right if prefered, and hold the leash with your left hand. It all depends what you want from your dog - will you be happy with the fact that she doesn't pull - or do you aim to compete? If you just want her not to pull - no problem - just let her walk either side of you.

But I'll describe how to teach your dog to walk by your left hand side.
First of all have some dog treats, either in a bag around your waist, or in your pocket. (Treats are optional - just use praise if you prefer). Attach a 6ft leash to you dogs collar or harness and / or head collar and keep your dog on your left. Hold the loop of the leash in you right hand and support the slack with your other hand. Ask your dog to sit on your left hand side.

Always walk off on your left foot first - your dog will then get to associate you moving off with your left foot as a cue that she can come with you - move off on you right foot when you want your dog to wait or stay.

Start walking - and the second your dogs shoulders pass your left knee - turn around and walk in the opposite direction - don't pull her - allow her to take up the slack of the leash - just call your dog happily as you carry on walking and tap your left thigh area - as soon as she reaches you (either side at this stage) super praise her and give her a treat as you continue walking. As long as your dog remains by your side, keep telling her what a good girl she is and giving her occasional treats.

Continue walking - again as soon as her shoulders pass your knee - turn around and walk in the opposite direction - allow her to take up the slack as you happily call her as you slap your left thigh - as soon as she reaches you continue walking and give loads of praise and a treat. Don't forget as long as she is by your side, plenty of praise and an occasional treat.

To keep it super interesting and keep her brain working really hard, you can also sometimes turn to the right or left - basically your dog is always playing catch up, and has to pay attention to you. She'll really enjoy it.

Once she's got the idea, you can introduce a word for the exercise, such as 'heel', 'close' or 'steady' or whatever word you choose. Only use the command word when she is actually at your side - so she understands that's what the command word means i.e. walking at you side.

You can make it even more interesting by changing the pace - slower or faster - just warn your dog first by saying 'slower' or 'faster' or whatever expression you choose.

Only once you're sure she understands what she needs to do, should you take her on her normal walks. But to start with, it's probably wise to keep them short, until it's well established in her brain.

You can then wean her off the treats, but continue to regularly praise her.

These videos should give you the idea

____________
Sue

 

your pup is 4.5 months old. how old are your children?
can your children train and socialize your pup? your
pup needs adult supervision. don't depend on collars,
a leash or a harness. depend on training.

 

My children are fourteen and fifteen years old and are quite responsible, but do not have the dog training experience that I do, which is why I wanted them to use an aid while Teddy is still being trained. She is a work in progress, after all.

Because Teddy gets to walk more and gets more bonding time with the kids if they walk her, as well, I have no intentions of stopping the walks unless they can't control her which I am determined will not happen.

Thanks for all the suggestions; I am looking into them and I think I will try the gentle walker.

 

I've used the Gentle Walker & didn't like it. No matter how much I adjusted it it never sat right on my old guy. It would slip & wobble & also chafed his armpits. I ended up returning it. On my younger dog I used a Wonder Walker on her & loved it. Simple to adjust, fit well once adjusted & no chafing.

 

Spring for a Canny Collar.

Although nobody has reviews on it here really, it's because it's not found in our stores and it was only available from the UK until a few yrs. ago.
So probably not many have used it.
I love it.
I tried the others but they turn the dog's head and the Canny does not.
It simply slows them down, as they cannot go any further ahead. Their head and neck are still aligned.

I got it for our last GSD, he walked okay but had severe cat aggression and I was afraid if he saw our cat while in our front yard, he'd yank me down to get to the cat.
And I ended up walking him with two leashes, one on his regular collar, and the main leash attached to the Canny collar. He never pulled once while walking on it.

Yet I've had adopters come with their dogs on the gentle leaders and halties, and the dogs are pulling ahead, with their bodies forged ahead and their heads turned clear around as far as they'll go.
I can't see how that's helpful or healthy!

I'm waiting for Ruger to get done growing to get him one, and are working on not pulling in the meantime. They are very size specific for fitting, within 2", so if I get one now, he'll outgrow it and the one we have is too large for him, I think, praying he grows into it though!