persistent pulling on lead- advice needed

anamaria

Hi everyone, I know this is a common problem. I have an 18month old Cairn terrier X and she is a serial lead puller! I have done a lot of training with her and she is generally well behaved in all other areas.

Despite training time she is still really bad for pulling on the leash, especially if she spies a bird/cat/dog/any moving creature she can chase! I know part of this is the fact that terriers love to chase things but I don't think my poor arms can take anymore. I have tried a few different things to no avail.

I would like to know which methods have worked the best for other people with this problem? I bring her down to the beach every day which is completely empty in the morning so she gets a good hour's run off leash (believe me she can run for hours! Wish I had her stamina) and is very good about coming back on the lead. It's when I am walking her on the road/park on a leash the problems start.

Any advice is very very welcome

jamesd

We use one of these http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/ , it was recommended on here and the best thing we ever bought for our dog.

marley123

Would also recommend a halti front harness.

DoesNotCompute

We have an 11 month old pomjack who was pulling and choking herself. Then we bought a harness type lead that goes under her two front legs, and she stopped pulling. The lead we have is similar to this:

markc1184

I had similar trouble and started using a Halti head collar. I've found it to be of great use after the initial settling in period were he just wanted to lie down to try and get it off.

Millem

I find the sensible harness, premier easy walk harness or the no-pull training package (only availble from
www.mollys.ie as far as I know) very effective, they are all front clip harnesses, the one from Molly's is my favourite as it is padded! They work just like a head harness, if the dog tries to pull, they end up turning around! One of my labs is a bit mad when on the lead outside e.g if she sees any small creature moving! We brought her to dog training ireland who suggested clicker training which is something you could try also!

itsallaboutme!!

my 18 month old springer is a demon for pulling on the lead as well.we tried everything with him and eventually the groomer suggested we try him on the halti head collar and it has worked a treat! we usually take him off to the woods for a good run around but on the days we cant make it there its now a pleasure to walk him around the roads at home.he hates it when it first goes on but once hes outside and snuffling along the ground hes happy.

tk123

Whoa whoa - am I being retarded here.. a halti for a tiny little cairn size dog!? How strong can they be?! This is coming from a 5 foot girl with a 30kg retriever btw
OP we use a sense-ible harness that attaches at the front and also we did lots of training to get it right - we had to have no pulling and straining as my guy was going to be getting an operation on his leg and I didn't want him to hurt himself.
You seem to have the same prob we did - the dog has no self control!! What worked for us was starting at home eg in the kitchen put the dog on the lead and throw so treats in front of you - the dog will pull towards the treats but you don't move - when they finally look back at you then you praise them and move forward. I practised this religiously at home, in the park etc - it got to the stage where he was doing big exaggerated tiptoeing to the treats lol!

anamaria

Hi everyone, thanks for all the advice.

She is actually much bigger than a Cairn (not sure what the heck she is crossed with!) so she is probably about 14kg. I have done a lot of clicker training with her and it worked brilliantly for everything else. You are right about the no self control She is quite controlled when it comes to food, if you tell her to leave it, she will leave it, but if a bird/moving creature comes anywhere near she loses the run of herself completely!

I used to have a harness that went around her front legs/under her belly (as I was afraid she would hurt her neck pulling) but she outgrew it and I haven't got around to replacing it yet. Might try a halti on her if she is not too small.

Here's a pic of her when she was about 4 months, she has more than doubled in size since then!

Jelly2

That is one pretty dog!:D

anamaria

Yeah, she is a dote! I got her from the animal shelter when she was four months and she is the happiest little dog. Very very gentle and a great character!

This is a more recent photo. Her coat has almost completely changed colour

DBB

She looks very Patterdale-y as well as Cairn-y.. Maybe a cross of both?

I have tried pretty much all of the headcollar and harness designs available in the course of training dogs, and my own feelnig is that the headcollars should be avoided if possible, because they take time to acclimatise to and most dogs simply don't like them. I know they don;t all ride up into the eyes, but it is a real bugbear of mine to see a dog out walking with the damn noseband going into his eyes, and the owner oblivious to his discomfort.
I have had far, far more success with the front-attachment harnesses. The Sense-Ible harness is nice but very expensive and doesn't sit right on all dogs.
The Halti Harness is a good all-rounder but lacks finesse and is a bit clunky. It is good value for money.
The Easy-Walk Harness tends to suit more shapes and sizes of dogs because of the martingale loop structure on the chest strap: it can expand for wide-shouldered dogs, or contract for narrow shouldered dogs. It also gives nice steer-ability and I find is the most effective to stop/lessen pulling. It is mid-range price-wise.
There are a couple of other brands available modelled on the Easy-Walk with that looped martingale chest-strap. This would be my first option for most dogs, followed by either of the other two harnesses. I personally won't use headcollars unless it is an extreme case, and even then I'm unhappy using them, to be honest.
I could be wrong, but I *think* Positive Dog Training in Sandyford do a few different brands of front-attachment harness. If I'm right, and you live anywhere nearby, it would be great to try the different brands and see how you get on with each.
Good luck!

SillyMcCarthy

Remember watching Mary Whitehouse many years ago with a dog
that pulled on the lead. Her advise was to pull the lead back sharply
when the dog put a strain on it. It might take a while but it seemed
to work for her, but wouldn't it anyway!

Zapperzy

She is the image of my guy but a bit bigger and with droopier ears. I use a size 0 halti headcollar and find it useful, doesn't ride up into his eyes but you probably would be better off trying a front attaching harness first.

anamaria

Thanks everyone! I got a halti front fastening harness today. Didnt really like the look of the head collar. Will have to see how she gets on tomorrow :-)

Wibbs

I'm with DBB on the haltis. Well I found them useless with the two dogs I tried them on. They constantly tried to remove them and like DBB said they had a tendency to ride up on their eyes and both had german shepherd type heads, long in the snout. The short snouted dogs I've seen them on this seemed to be worse for this and were really easy for the dog to get off.

belongtojazz

My springer was an absolute nightmare to walk!! I HATED on lead walks with him as he would exhaust me and I worried terribly about the damage he was doing to himself pulling so hard.
I tried all variations of over the nose restraints but he hated them and spent most of his time trying to get them off.
The front attach harness has made such a difference to our lives, he still pulls occasionally but the power is just not there for hI'm anymore

I can't praise that style enough

I should add he was 7 when he came to me and very traumatised so trying to teach him heel work on lead and collar was not an option

DBB

SillyMcCarthy wrote: »

Remember watching Mary Whitehouse many years ago with a dog
that pulled on the lead. Her advise was to pull the lead back sharply
when the dog put a strain on it. It might take a while but it seemed
to work for her, but wouldn't it anyway!

Mary Whitehouse???
Do you mean Barbara Woodhouse?:o
Actually, come to think of it, maybe there isn't that big a difference.
A LOT has changed in the way people train dogs since Woodhouse's day.. or at least, a lot should have changed but old ideas are hard to let go for some! Pulling the lead back sharply is *a* way of doing it, but as it may hurt or startle the dog, and as it is using negative reinforcement, which we try to avoid where possible because of the potential fall-out of using it, it's better IMO to go for gentler techniques and gear.

ABajaninCork

I've all but given up on my Shih Tzu...

He's a terror for pulling. We bought a non-pull harness, (forgot the make) which worked but had to stop using as it was cutting in.

He's got a Sporn harness now, which I think is useless! But it's padded which is why we still use it. It's getting a bit tatty now. Obviously, we can't use the head collar as he's short-nosed.

Is the Halti front harness any good, or indeed any padded non-pull harness? Was this the harness you meant Millem??

Millem

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I've all but given up on my Shih Tzu...

He's a terror for pulling. We bought a non-pull harness, (forgot the make) which worked but had to stop using as it was cutting in.

He's got a Sporn harness now, which I think is useless! But it's padded which is why we still use it. It's getting a bit tatty now. Obviously, we can't use the head collar as he's short-nosed.

Is the Halti front harness any good, or indeed any padded non-pull harness? Was this the harness you meant Millem??

I have all of the front fastening harnesses mentioned in this thread! The halti one was the least effective for My dogs (Labradors) the premier easy walk and sensible harness were very good but the sensible cut one two of them under the arms even though it was correctly fitted! The padded non-pull harness (no-pull training package) www.molllys.ie is favourite you also get a double ended lead with it however I think you can only get it from Molly's, last time I was in DTI the girls loved it and we're looking to order it in but don't think they have yet! I think the premier easy walk harness is the cheapest if you order from amazon! My dad is using that for his labrador at the mo! I do agree with comments on head collars my dog hated it and constantly would roll around on the ground and try and pull it off! If my memory serves me correct the sensible harness' plastic clasp is under the dog so when opening and closing you could pinch the dog!

no1girliegirl

Halti or Sensible Harnesses are great, the ones you attach the lead to the front of the harness, each time the dog pulls it brings his shoulder toward you.

You could also try standing still each time he pulls, dont even take a step then when he eventually turns back to you give him a treat and lots of praise, then when he's walking on a lose lead praise him with "Good boy" and the odd treat, it does work its just very time consuming if your trying to get somewhere. I would say only try this if your going to spend the next few walks doing it, dont do one walk where you'll stop then the next where ya let him pull you down the road or you give in BUT it will work and you end up with great satisfaction that you've sorted the problem out.

Fence_

We've gone for a K9 bridle for our mutt. She doesn't pull too bad most of the time, but every now and then she used to give a lurch. Stopped that now. It is a head halter, but unlike the Halti, which we tried, it attaches at the back of the head so that is doesn't jerk her head to the side. It also doesn't seem to irritate her as much as the Halti did.

Occasionally it'll get a bit itchy on her, and I just give her a scratch & she is good to go again. She is the same with a new collar though.

As far as I know you can only get them online though: http://www.k9bridle.com/

Discodog

DBB wrote: »

Mary Whitehouse???
Do you mean Barbara Woodhouse?:o
Actually, come to think of it, maybe there isn't that big a difference.
A LOT has changed in the way people train dogs since Woodhouse's day.. or at least, a lot should have changed but old ideas are hard to let go for some! Pulling the lead back sharply is *a* way of doing it, but as it may hurt or startle the dog, and as it is using negative reinforcement, which we try to avoid where possible because of the potential fall-out of using it, it's better IMO to go for gentler techniques and gear.

Your showing you age DBB You should of said "Who's Mary Whitehouse"

I was told not to jerk back on the lead but to simply turn around & walk in the opposite direction to give the message that pulling to get further forward will give the opposite result.

Also I try to focus on praise & reward when my youngster doesn't pull. Personally I would only use a remedy like a harness if all else failed.