Solution for Dog Pulling on Lead

Jood10

Hi guys I'm hoping some of you might be able to give me some advice.

We adopted two dogs, one boy one girl, awhile back. They are a complete joy, dont know what we did before them! The problem is when the four of us (2 dogs, me and my boyfriend) all walk together the pulling on the lead goes to another level. They both are good when out on there own but together its a nightmare. It got so bad on Sunday that one dog had really blood shot eyes and we had to cut the walk short.

We have had some help with training and its worked for us but only when walking the dogs separately. The ultimate goal would be that one of us could walk the two dogs together but that's out of the question at the moment.

We have tried walking them on a regular harness but it's not helping the pulling at all.

Any suggestions?? I know there are all sorts of easy walk harness, halti's etc but I would like some recommendations from dog owners as to what has worked for them.

Walk time at the moment is a bit stressful, I'd love it to be more enjoyable for us all!

tk123

Have you tried doing one to one training with the trainer helping you walk both dogs together?

I use front attach harnesses (although they're fine with the lead on the back too) they can still sniff be be dogs compared to slapping on a head collar. Also mine are Y front ones so don't restrict their movement say like an easy walk/julius/Norwegian style. They can attach front and back for more control if it's needed. Really different ones suit different dogs so you may need to try some on and see which fit better. I alternate between Xtra-Dog water repelling ones for swimming walks and Ruffwear front for dry walks. I also have a fleece one that's great and was customised for Bailey at no extra charge My Freedom harnesses are in box in the shed as they've gotten quote worn and wrecked but there for backup.

I walk my two myself so around 80kgs between the two of them and 5 foot me and no problems. A harness is just a tool at the end of the day - you still need to teach them how to walk nicely. What defines nicely is up to you - I don't care who's on what side or where they are as long as the lead is loose!

Jood10

Thanks so much for the reply. We have come on leaps and bounds since we started the training but we just cant seem to get them walking nicely together, separately there's no problem. Your situation sounds like a dream for me! I don't mind which side they are on or stopping to have a sniff. My two are only small not even 30kg between them but by god are they strong.

Will definitely look into the harness you use.

Thanks

tk123

It's a pain because front attach harnesses aren't that common in pet shops here so you'll have to hunt around for what suits. I know Pet Mania stock the halti one and I've seen ones in MaxiZoo that are a more expensive version of the TrueLove ones I used for a while which are great on dry land but a PITA to dry for swimmers because they have padding/sponge in them! I start off loving them all but once they're mouldy and dripping on the line I go off them :P The fleece one is from http://www.cosydogs.com/ - Bailey isn't broad in his chest so I found the ring hung too low.. They had me return it and mark where I wanted the ring with a piece of tape and a few days later it arrived back with a custom tab on it and the ring where I wanted it

tritriagain

tk123 wrote: »

It's a pain because front attach harnesses aren't that common in pet shops here so you'll have to hunt around for what suits. I know Pet Mania stock the halti one and I've seen ones in MaxiZoo that are a more expensive version of the TrueLove ones I used for a while which are great on dry land but a PITA to dry for swimmers because they have padding/sponge in them! I start off loving them all but once they're mouldy and dripping on the line I go off them :P The fleece one is from http://www.cosydogs.com/ - Bailey isn't broad in his chest so I found the ring hung too low.. They had me return it and mark where I wanted the ring with a piece of tape and a few days later it arrived back with a custom tab on it and the ring where I wanted it

I have an 18 month cocker spaniel ( big) and at start of walks he was a nightmare. Bought a front leading harness and instantly turned into a perfect dog on lead. I now have him trained on the collar but if I leave him with my 12 ye old daughter on the lead I will put him on the harness and she can manage him no bother. By the way I had tried him with harness with ring on his back but this made very little difference.front leading was truly remarkable.

Jood10

Thanks so much for the help guys, front leading harness looks like the way to go, will look into this. Obviously I would hope to be able to walk the two of them together on the collar but I have two stubborn beagle crosses on my hands. Will keep at it though and hopefully with a mix of the harness and perseverance with the training we will get there in the end!

tritriagain

Jood10 wrote: »

Thanks so much for the help guys, front leading harness looks like the way to go, will look into this. Obviously I would hope to be able to walk the two of them together on the collar but I have two stubborn beagle crosses on my hands. Will keep at it though and hopefully with a mix of the harness and perseverance with the training we will get there in the end!

Let us know how u get on. Best of luck

Ashbx

I used to have a front fastening harness but found it did nothing for my collie, she still pulled like mad. So I use a head harness for her and would strongly recommend it.

For my border terrier I got this harness http://www.petworlddirect.ie/p/mikki-anti-pull-harness/p106011773. I found it was perfect for my smaller dog, tried it on the collie and didn't make a huge difference so may not work on your beagles.

One thing you could try which I found really helped was to put back packs on your dogs too. It gives them a job to do so they are less focused on pulling and it wears them out more. Just make sure you slowly build up the weight and don't weigh them down too much.

Different things work better for different people so try a few harnesses until you find what works for you. Keep up with the training too. At the end of the day, this is the only thing that is going to stop them actually pulling.

Best of luck!

Lizard_Moon

https://www.dog-games-shop.co.uk/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness.html

I have used these in the past, got the front clip and doubled ended lead and it works well.

PoppedPopcorn

Jood10 wrote: »

Hi guys I'm hoping some of you might be able to give me some advice.

We adopted two dogs, one boy one girl, awhile back. They are a complete joy, dont know what we did before them! The problem is when the four of us (2 dogs, me and my boyfriend) all walk together the pulling on the lead goes to another level. They both are good when out on there own but together its a nightmare. It got so bad on Sunday that one dog had really blood shot eyes and we had to cut the walk short.

We have had some help with training and its worked for us but only when walking the dogs separately. The ultimate goal would be that one of us could walk the two dogs together but that's out of the question at the moment.

We have tried walking them on a regular harness but it's not helping the pulling at all.

Any suggestions?? I know there are all sorts of easy walk harness, halti's etc but I would like some recommendations from dog owners as to what has worked for them.

Walk time at the moment is a bit stressful, I'd love it to be more enjoyable for us all!

I've only ever used haltis. Harnesses don't really stop the dog from pulling much.
I know a lot of people don't like haltis but in the long run it's better for the dog and more enjoyable for both you and the dog once they learn they can't pull. My dog doesn't even need to wear it now because he's use to walking beside me.

Jood10

Thanks for all the advice. I ordered two harness online last week so waiting for them to arrive. On a positive note though I had to take the two out by myself yesterday and we managed a 5k walk fairly comfortably. A lot of pulling for the first five minutes so I reinforced our training (stopping dead and changing directions and that) to let them know that they couldn't get away with being complete hooligans and they didn't do too badly, a lot of work still to be done but I can definitely see an improvement.

I had to stop at a train crossing at one point and they decided to do a dance around me....q me being completely wrapped up in the leads, the crossing guard got a great laugh Baby steps but definite progress being made!