Difficulty walking dog

MAB83

Our dog was an 18 month old rescue JRT when we got him 2 months ago and he's a terror to walk. Constantly choking on his lead (we have ordered a harness online so should get that within a week hopefully) and going mental when he sees other dogs (not vicious, just crying and yelping and mad to go over to them). It's becoming such a hassle to walk him that we dread it. Does anyone have any advice to give me on making our lives easier walking him? Apart from the harness and longer lead that we are getting.

shona2

hi,
all a harness will do is to stop him strangling himself,it wont stop him pulling on the lead,i trued one with my dog jet,and she still pulled me down the road,also tryed halties, only thing that worked for me was getting a dog trainer out to help me,now she walks like a lamb beside me

Windwalker

We're having the same problem with our Beagle, even though he's a small breed there is an enormous amount of pulling power in him.
I bought a halter and it helped a little but he spends the first 10 mins trying to take it off (and he has, alot!) We put it back on and on and on, eventually he gets the message but not before he has made every person in a five mile radius think that we're torturing him...
He likes to have his own way and is stubbornly refusing to learn mine.

boardbrowser

There are a couple of front attachment harnesses that will decrease the pulling sometimes dramatically but it depends on how entrenched the pulling habit is and if the harness is fitted correctly.
www.softtouchconcepts.com are the original makers of such a harness, you can order directly from them online.
As another poster has pointed out, this type of a harness just like a Headcollar (halti/canny/gentle leader) gives you a technical advantage. Once taken off the dog is likely to go back to his old pulling ways if training him to walk on lead isn't also incorporated into the equation.
Unlike the headcollars however, there is not really any period of acclimation for a body harness- you can slap one on and bobs your uncle. with the head collars the dog needs to adjust to wearing it and can do so, but most dogs don't tolerate it well so a few days need to be spent conditioning them to accept wearing a head collar.

shona2

when i used a haltie people used to think it was a muzzle and ask me if my dog is evil...i tryed everything under the sun,dog trainer the best way to go

toadfly

shona2 wrote: »

hi,
all a harness will do is to stop him strangling himself,it wont stop him pulling on the lead,i trued one with my dog jet,and she still pulled me down the road,also tryed halties, only thing that worked for me was getting a dog trainer out to help me,now she walks like a lamb beside me

What trainer did you get Shona? How much did it cost?

seamus

Our dog pulls alright, but not very badly, so yesterday I was trying a technique which teaches the dog that pulling == not moving.

So while you're walking, as soon as the dog starts pulling, you stop. The dog will turn to you or look at you and the lead will go slack. Make sure you have eye contact with the dog, and then proceed. The dog will pull again, so stop....and so on. So the dog learns that slack lead = walking, tight lead = stopped.

Yes, it takes forever and you will have to stop every 5 feet. But even after doing this the first time I could see our girl getting the message as the walk progressed. I imagine a week or two of this and she'll be laughing.

We're still going to go to a trainer though for basic obedience theory and training. We're going with Alex at http://www.kingofpaws.com/.

rafared

Windwalker wrote: »

We're having the same problem with our Beagle, even though he's a small breed there is an enormous amount of pulling power in him.
I bought a halter and it helped a little but he spends the first 10 mins trying to take it off (and he has, alot!) We put it back on and on and on, eventually he gets the message but not before he has made every person in a five mile radius think that we're torturing him...
He likes to have his own way and is stubbornly refusing to learn mine.

Funny we have had a similar problem with our beagle, who is now 10 months old. I have found the halti collar to be very good and has almost stopped him from pulling. He doesnt like it going on but has become more used to it recently. He still pulls a bit but when he does I just stop and he stops and turns to face me. When he sits and is relaxed we start again and slowly but surely he walks without pulling. He has one other issue that bothers me and is impossible to stop. He walks with the nose on the ground constantly sniffing as he goes.......this doesnt bother me so much but he will eat anything he finds that seems to be edible. I have to constantly watch him so he doesn't something that causes him harm.
They are great dogs though and a constant source of fun and frustration in equal measures.

bernard0368

+1 Seamus, However I found that turning and walking the other direction, you might look like a fool and get no further than the front gate but the dog will pick up on it.

MAB83

Thanks everyone. Dog training is out, I personally want to give it a go and work at it myself, I'm sure dog trainers are great at what they do but I don't see why I can't do this myself, it's not rocket science even though it feels like it sometimes I'll try the stopping trick and see how I get on, thanks very much.

tk123

rafared wrote: »

He walks with the nose on the ground constantly sniffing as he goes.......this doesnt bother me so much but he will eat anything he finds that seems to be edible. I have to constantly watch him so he doesn't something that causes him harm.
They are great dogs though and a constant source of fun and frustration in equal measures.

Our retriever puppy is like this too at times - the look and leave it commands are handy for this. LOOK!!! to bring his attention to you and away from whatever's on the ground that you don't want him to eat and LEAVE IT!!! when he's already got it in his mouth! :rolleyes:

namurt

I've got the Halti Harness for our dalmation and it's great. You can clip the lead at the front so it doesn't encourage her to pull. I also use the "stop-start" method as already mentioned by previous posters....and of course bribery. The combination of all 3 has made a huge difference to our walks. The poor girl was 3 when we got her and had been left in a garden all her life so walking on a lead was a completely new experience for her.

boodlesdoodles

My Westie was desperate for pulling on his lead when we walked. The harness is brilliant as its not constricting his neck. What I did, is what some other poster recommended: pulling meant we stopped. I probably looked ridiculous to others but it taught him that if he pulled he went nowhere. I'd stop and make him wait. Then I'd say OK and off we go, the next time he pulled same thing. It took a few weeks really but he doesn't pull anymore and if he attempts to, one stop of the walk is enough correction. I don't know if I hold with all this dog trainer business, its pretty much an unregulated business at the moment.

shona2

i used problem paws,she was very good,she came out to my house,i had 3 lessions,1st was for 2hrs 2nd 1h and 3rd 1h,and total 100euro,she has a website, it was really worth having the help

rainbowtrout

seamus wrote: »

Our dog pulls alright, but not very badly, so yesterday I was trying a technique which teaches the dog that pulling == not moving.

So while you're walking, as soon as the dog starts pulling, you stop. The dog will turn to you or look at you and the lead will go slack. Make sure you have eye contact with the dog, and then proceed. The dog will pull again, so stop....and so on. So the dog learns that slack lead = walking, tight lead = stopped.

Yes, it takes forever and you will have to stop every 5 feet. But even after doing this the first time I could see our girl getting the message as the walk progressed. I imagine a week or two of this and she'll be laughing.

+1

I did this with my two JRTs (both rescues) and it worked. If you're in control of the walk and the dog realises they're not the ones leading the walk, they'll soon learn to fall into line, just the same as any other basic training. It might be worth your while to find somewhere quiet to walk your dog so there are less distractions while she is learning to walk properly on the lead. Or even take her out at night for a short walk when there are less people and dogs around.

My two go completely nuts when they see their leads coming out, but they don't get to go out the front door until they both sit, obedience for walks starts before we leave the house.

kkelly77

MAB83 wrote: »

Our dog was an 18 month old rescue JRT when we got him 2 months ago and he's a terror to walk. Constantly choking on his lead (we have ordered a harness online so should get that within a week hopefully) and going mental when he sees other dogs (not vicious, just crying and yelping and mad to go over to them). It's becoming such a hassle to walk him that we dread it. Does anyone have any advice to give me on making our lives easier walking him? Apart from the harness and longer lead that we are getting.

HALTI LEAD

toadfly

shona2 wrote: »

i used problem paws,she was very good,she came out to my house,i had 3 lessions,1st was for 2hrs 2nd 1h and 3rd 1h,and total 100euro,she has a website, it was really worth having the help

€25 an hour?! What qualifications does she have? Just watched The Dog Whisperer a few times??!!

Madness

seamus

TillyGirl wrote: »

€25 an hour?! What qualifications does she have? Just watched The Dog Whisperer a few times??!!

Madness

If she's running any kind of business as a dog trainer, then €25/hour isn't very expensive, especially for someone who calls to your home.

I know people are suspicious of dog trainers, but the key is that a dog trainer should not be training your dog. A dog trainer should be training *you* about how to train your dog.
If someone suggests or offers that they take your dog, you pay them a few hundred euro and they go off and train your dog, then run a mile. The dog will walk and obey the trainer but when given back to you, will fall back into old habits.

The biggest hurdle in dog obedience/dog control is getting the owner to understand the dog's mentality and understand the how and why of getting dogs under control. Once you know and experience training one dog, you should be more-or-less set for life - you don't need to bring every one of your dogs to a trainer.

The guy I recommend above is recommended by the DSPCA and holds sessions in their field.

funkyjebus

I used the stopping trick when I was training my guy. When he came back I always gave him a treat. When doing this do it somewhere there is the least amount of distractions, when he is pulling do not call him back, you want him to get that coming back to you has a reward on his own.

Also when i walk him now, I always have treats for good walking behavour and have them in the nearest hand to him (the one with the lead), he knows they are there (smells them) and spends most of his time trotting beside me looking at me and then the hand, back to me.

stevoman

i tought my dog to walk to heel, basically keeping her on the lead to the left side of me. (shoose a constant side you want to walk him). then i walked with a small thin sally stick and every time she went to walk in front i gave her a tap on the nose as thats a sensitive part and just said heel and pulled her back. after a few weeks she's trained to walk to heel.

terenc

When walking your dog take some treats with you.Close your free hand on the treat and drop your hand to dog height. The dog will sent the treat and keep its head where you want it. After about two minutes walking gave the dog the treat and gradually lengthen the period of walking and giving the treat. Its simple but works I trained my German Shepard's using this method.