Rottie pulling on the lead

lisar201 · 07-05-2010 8:56am #1

Hi I have a 5 month old rottie female pup,she is a cracking dog in everyway she knows loads of tricks already!I am having one problem with her and it thats she pulls on the lead and already she is sooooo strong i've great muscles in my arm from her! lol. But a strong rottie on the lead is not a good thing so i want to nip it in the bud while she is still young.I take her to obience classes every wk and she is doing brillantly at them,They have advise me that whenever she pulls on the lead i should just turn around and walk in the other direction,I have been trying this for the last 2 wks but honestly it is getting me no where.Can anybody recommend anything at all even a special type of lead?Somebody recommended a halti and another said a choke chain.I really only want to use a choke chain as a last resort.Please help

andreac · 07-05-2010 9:00am

Hi there, as an owner of a male rottie who is about 50kg's at the moment, i never walk him without his Dogmatic headcollar.

They are much better than the halti and much better quality than the normal haltis.
Heres the link:
http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

stellarartois · 07-05-2010 9:01am

lisar201 wrote: »

Hi I have a 5 month old rottie female pup,she is a cracking dog in everyway she knows loads of tricks already!I am having one problem with her and it thats she pulls on the lead and already she is sooooo strong i've great muscles in my arm from her! lol. But a strong rottie on the lead is not a good thing so i want to nip it in the bud while she is still young.I take her to obience classes every wk and she is doing brillantly at them,They have advise me that whenever she pulls on the lead i should just turn around and walk in the other direction,I have been trying this for the last 2 wks but honestly it is getting me no where.Can anybody recommend anything at all even a special type of lead?Somebody recommended a halti and another said a choke chain.I really only want to use a choke chain as a last resort.Please help

Do you mean rothweiler?

Whispered · 07-05-2010 9:05am

stellarartois wrote: »

Do you mean rothweiler?

I'm sure she means a Rottweiler. :P

andreac · 07-05-2010 9:06am

stellarartois wrote: »

Do you mean rothweiler?

I think you mean ROTTWEILER.

lisar201 · 07-05-2010 9:06am

stellarartois wrote: »

Do you mean rothweiler?

yes a Rottweiler
will the dogmatic stop her pulling?

fatmammycat · 07-05-2010 9:08am

I see more and more folk around my way walking larger breed dogs on head collars, usually ladies. I imagine they must be pretty useful.

andreac · 07-05-2010 9:09am

lisar201 wrote: »

yes a Rottweiler
will the dogmatic stop her pulling?

It wont stop her pulling as such but will help to control her more, she might be less inclined to pull as much with this on.

Just keep training her. Do some obedience where you have to have her close to you when walking, treats are great for this, something really tasty like chicken, or liver and get her attention focused on you when walking.

The training classes will help this so keep them up.

seamus · 07-05-2010 9:09am

A choke chain won't solve your problem. A halti can work, but most people I've heard of have had mixed success with it.

The method you're using is the best, you just need to stick at it.

Another trick is to carry treats when you're walking and hold them in the hand closest to the dog, letting the dog know they're there. The dog should then walk while focussing on your hand and the treats in it. Initially, give then dog a treat every 5-10 seconds that she is walking beside you. Gradually increase this time (as the dog gets used to walking beside you) until the dog is only getting a treat every 30 seconds or so.

If the dog loses attention and starts pulling again, you stop, call her over, let her know the food is there and then start walking again, and treat her if she's still with you five seconds later.

I've seen this work, but it doesn't work on my dog

She has always been more interested in what's on the ground than in my hand. We think though that's because she'd been having allergy problems, which we've mostly fixed now and her appetite has returned. So I'm eager to try this method with her again - she's on a special diet at the moment, so no treats == no training.

Millie · 07-05-2010 9:10am

stellarartois wrote: »

Do you mean rothweiler?

Pathetic......

lisar201 · 07-05-2010 9:15am

seamus wrote: »

A choke chain won't solve your problem. A halti can work, but most people I've heard of have had mixed success with it.

The method you're using is the best, you just need to stick at it.

Another trick is to carry treats when you're walking and hold them in the hand closest to the dog, letting the dog know they're there. The dog should then walk while focussing on your hand and the treats in it. Initially, give then dog a treat every 5-10 seconds that she is walking beside you. Gradually increase this time (as the dog gets used to walking beside you) until the dog is only getting a treat every 30 seconds or so.

If the dog loses attention and starts pulling again, you stop, call her over, let her know the food is there and then start walking again, and treat her if she's still with you five seconds later.

I've seen this work, but it doesn't work on my dog She has always been more interested in what's on the ground than in my hand. We think though that's because she'd been having allergy problems, which we've mostly fixed now and her appetite has returned. So I'm eager to try this method with her again - she's on a special diet at the moment, so no treats == no training.

Thats a really clever way!I will try that but unfortunitly she is also more interested in the ground and what is going on around her than treats!But I'm hopeing the obiedence class will snap her out of this aswell!

Whispered · 07-05-2010 9:17am

lisar201 wrote: »

Thats a really clever way!I will try that but unfortunitly she is also more interested in the ground and what is going on around her than treats!But I'm hopeing the obiedence class will snap her out of this aswell!

I have a similar problem with a dog who's nearly 2. He's grand usually but if he gets excited or something interesting comes along, he doesn't care whats happening with me. I could do a dance which involves throwing liver in ever increasing spirals at him, but he'll be more interested in the other dog/person/bird/leaf. :rolleyes:

andreac · 07-05-2010 9:21am

lisar201 wrote: »

Thats a really clever way!I will try that but unfortunitly she is also more interested in the ground and what is going on around her than treats!But I'm hopeing the obiedence class will snap her out of this aswell!

Just make sure she is hungry before starting training with her, as in dont feed her for a while before it.
Use something that she never gets, only on special occasions like cooked liver, chicken etc. Trust me, most rotties are mad for food so will def work for you for it, but she needs to be hungry to get the best from her so doing it shortly after her dinner wouldnt be ideal.

lisar201 · 07-05-2010 10:03am

andreac wrote: »

Just make sure she is hungry before starting training with her, as in dont feed her for a while before it.
Use something that she never gets, only on special occasions like cooked liver, chicken etc. Trust me, most rotties are mad for food so will def work for you for it, but she needs to be hungry to get the best from her so doing it shortly after her dinner wouldnt be ideal.

yeah i will try that with her.Shes not really a big meat eat she actually prefers pineapple or raw carrots,Is it ok to give her pineapple?I just have never heard of any other dog that likes pineapple! lol

star-pants · 07-05-2010 10:30am

Good advice given re:control etc so I don't need to add.
Regarding pineapple, afaik it's fine in small amounts, my dogs eat it and some people will use it to stop their pups eating their own poo (as when it comes out the other end it's far less appetising), or freeze bits for a cool treat in summer/teething.

lrushe · 07-05-2010 10:46am

andreac wrote: »

Hi there, as an owner of a male rottie who is about 50kg's at the moment, i never walk him without his Dogmatic headcollar.

They are much better than the halti and much better quality than the normal haltis.
Heres the link:
http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

I got one of these about a month ago and walking Brook ( almost 10 month old Rottweiler) is a breeze now, plus it has the added bonus of looking like a muzzle so you're killing two birds with one stone

nearly_there · 07-05-2010 11:31am

Hi OP,

the advice Seamus gave you is brilliant. I have a very strong boxer and was having an awful time walking her and pulling. what we did was hold pieces of cut up frankfurturs (sp?) in the hand closest to her and like seamus said gave it to her every now and again. this works if you dont mind having a slobbery hand of course!

also everytime we gave her the treat we said 'heel' so that she will associate the behaviour with the word. its been working very well but we still arent at the stage where we dont need treats.

Also, would you consider a front leading harness? it is one which the clasp is at the middle of her chest. If she pulls on one of then it turns her body right around to face you which i imagine would get quite annoying for her.

I was told by a trainer that these are safer for strong muscular dogs as if one decides to make a run for it after something or just break away a halti type one could snap their neck? i dont know it that was just scaremongering or not but i decied not to take the chance. it obviously works for some posters here though.

best of luck with it! doing it while shes still small is def a good idea. i have a spoilt boxer because of what i let her get away with when she was small and cute...:o

andreac · 07-05-2010 11:41am

nearly_there wrote: »

Hi OP,

the advice Seamus gave you is brilliant. I have a very strong boxer and was having an awful time walking her and pulling. what we did was hold pieces of cut up frankfurturs (sp?) in the hand closest to her and like seamus said gave it to her every now and again. this works if you dont mind having a slobbery hand of course!

also everytime we gave her the treat we said 'heel' so that she will associate the behaviour with the word. its been working very well but we still arent at the stage where we dont need treats.

Also, would you consider a front leading harness? it is one which the clasp is at the middle of her chest. If she pulls on one of then it turns her body right around to face you which i imagine would get quite annoying for her.

I was told by a trainer that these are safer for strong muscular dogs as if one decides to make a run for it after something or just break away a halti type one could snap their neck? i dont know it that was just scaremongering or not but i decied not to take the chance. it obviously works for some posters here though.

best of luck with it! doing it while shes still small is def a good idea. i have a spoilt boxer because of what i let her get away with when she was small and cute...:o

I wouldnt recommend a harness for a dog that pulls as dogs that are used to pulling for sleds etc are put in harness to encourage pulling so they arent a good idea for dogs that pull.

seamus · 07-05-2010 11:59am

andreac wrote: »

I wouldnt recommend a harness for a dog that pulls as dogs that are used to pulling for sleds etc are put in harness to encourage pulling so they arent a good idea for dogs that pull.

I'm not sure if the harness encourages pulling, though it may well do. The main problem is that the harness gives the dog more power by spreading the load equally across their body. So all it will do is make your dog pull even harder (from your point of view). It's more comfortable for the dog, which is probably the main attraction of harnesses, but it will make it easier for the dog to drag you along or resist you.

Silvio.Dante · 07-05-2010 12:01pm

Millie wrote: »

Pathetic......

Don't you mean PATTETIC...;)

Seriously though I've used haltis on my Labs and they work a treat...

andreac · 07-05-2010 12:07pm

Silvio.Dante wrote: »

Don't you mean PATTETIC...;)

QUOTE]

Sorry but that spelling is wrong:rolleyes: It is Pathetic, not Pattetic.

Silvio.Dante · 07-05-2010 1:03pm

andreac wrote: »

Silvio.Dante wrote: »

Don't you mean PATTETIC...;)

QUOTE]

Sorry but that spelling is wrong:rolleyes: It is Pathetic, not Pattetic.

I know. Its just me being anal...:)

lisar201 · 07-05-2010 3:00pm

nearly_there wrote: »

Hi OP,

the advice Seamus gave you is brilliant. I have a very strong boxer and was having an awful time walking her and pulling. what we did was hold pieces of cut up frankfurturs (sp?) in the hand closest to her and like seamus said gave it to her every now and again. this works if you dont mind having a slobbery hand of course!

also everytime we gave her the treat we said 'heel' so that she will associate the behaviour with the word. its been working very well but we still arent at the stage where we dont need treats.

Also, would you consider a front leading harness? it is one which the clasp is at the middle of her chest. If she pulls on one of then it turns her body right around to face you which i imagine would get quite annoying for her.

I was told by a trainer that these are safer for strong muscular dogs as if one decides to make a run for it after something or just break away a halti type one could snap their neck? i dont know it that was just scaremongering or not but i decied not to take the chance. it obviously works for some posters here though.

best of luck with it! doing it while shes still small is def a good idea. i have a spoilt boxer because of what i let her get away with when she was small and cute...:o

thanks for the advice! I have had her on a harness since she was a pup but they told me in the puppy classes it's better that the lead is attached to her collar and that i would have better control and they where right! Shes not as strong pulling now but she still is strong,Think I will invest in a dogmatic collar as it will do as a muzzle aswell,What price are they?Can you adjust them to fit the dog or will i have to buy another one when she is fully grown ????

tk123 · 07-05-2010 6:19pm

andreac wrote: »

I wouldnt recommend a harness for a dog that pulls as dogs that are used to pulling for sleds etc are put in harness to encourage pulling so they arent a good idea for dogs that pull.

We have a front leading harness and our guy doesn't pull at all because when he does pull on it he ends up pulling himself around in a circle towards me instead of going forward- they don't give the same power as one that attaches at the back. This and stopping when he was pulling, treating when he left the lead loose and maybe 3 x 20mins of practice is all it took to get our guy to stop pulling. Now he strolls along beside me and can still sniff away at the ground...but he still asks for a treat every now and again as we walk :pac:

lrushe · 07-05-2010 9:40pm

lisar201 wrote: »

Think I will invest in a dogmatic collar as it will do as a muzzle aswell,What price are they?Can you adjust them to fit the dog or will i have to buy another one when she is fully grown ????

Mine cost €28 including posting, there are different kinds, patterns etc so some can be a little dearer depending on how fancy you want to get

I got my Rottie bitch a size 4 as far as I can remember, it fits her nicely but there is still room to adjust it as she gets bigger. Measure your dogs head as advised on the website for the best fit for you, its all well explained and easy to follow.

ghost_ie · 08-05-2010 1:18am

Turning in the other direction does help, although in my experience it takes a few weeks to work. Our now 11 year old lab/collie cross was a demon for pulling in her young days. I used to say "heel" once I'd turned round and she was behind me and it really helped with the heel command when she was off the lead.

I know I'm probably going to be criticised for saying this but I use half-chokes on all my three. They're not as harsh as choke chains and the dogs certainly don't seem to mind them judging by the wagging tails when out on a walk.

Rottie pulling on the lead

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