Dog pulling on lead all the time

neris · 13-01-2011 11:13am #1

We have a very energetic and enthusiastic 10 month old lab. I walk her twice a day now but shes constantly pulling on the lead and trying to drag us along. When she sees leaves blowing along the footpath shes always trying to dart after them aswell. If im not around she wont get walked coz my fiance cant control the power that comes out of her when shes pulling. Its also starting to cause me to get a sore lower back. Is there any special training to do with her or this just puppy enthusiasm that will go with age?

andreac · 13-01-2011 11:23am

I would recommend puppy classes for her to work on the pulling.
Also there are head collars like the Dogmatic and the Halti which are great for pullers so i recommend you get one of those.

Whatever you do, do not put a harness on her as this just makes things worse as its easier to pull with a harness on.
It def wont go with age, it will probably get worse if you dont get it sorted now.

Toulouse · 13-01-2011 11:23am

Here's some good training tips here http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/pulling-leash

And you can also get products to help you have more control over your dog while walking such as http://www.dogtrainingireland.ie/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=444 or a Halti https://www.brendaspets.ie/products/313/halti-dog-harness but the training is an integral part of helping her. You can't just slap these on an away she goes.

ISDW · 13-01-2011 12:27pm

It will take time and patience, but you take the dog out, the second it pulls, you stop, turn around and go the other way. When it pulls going that way, you stop, turn around, and go the other way. Etc,etc, etc. The first few days you may only get a few yards down the street before you go home, but the dog will learn, I pull, we don't go for a walk.

Or, the dog pulls, you stop and make it sit. You walk on again, dog pulls, you stop, and make it sit. Again, the first few days you may only get a few yards up the street, but it is effective.

Amberjack · 13-01-2011 12:40pm

I have 2 springers who "dont do leads" and pull on normal leads/collars. A few years back we were recommended the Sensation harness style collar and I must admit it is brilliant. I can now actually walk the pair of them on the paths etc, where before, it was such an ordeal with pushing and pulling.
Would definitely recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013JYDF0/?tag=shopamato-20

superfish · 13-01-2011 12:42pm

choke lead ?

ISDW · 13-01-2011 12:43pm

superfish wrote: »

choke lead ?

Please don't, just patience and training and you'll get there.

john t · 13-01-2011 12:50pm

Plenty of stop sit wait as posted earlier , dog pulls you stop and make dog cum back too you and sit, wait till dog calms down or appears bored b4 moving off, again could take lots of repetitive stop sit wait but eventually you will enjoy walking dog.. Young dogs have lots of energy and get xcited and want too play with and sniff/ examine all moving objects even leaves.. Takes time and patience....

superfish · 13-01-2011 12:58pm

ISDW wrote: »

Please don't, just patience and training and you'll get there.

some times you have to I have a mastiff, its all he understood although the lab is a lot more intelligent animal.

RubyGirl · 13-01-2011 1:09pm

http://www.k9shop.ie/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=59

I bought the dogmatic head collar from here. Worked a treat for my lab. He will fight it for a while but stick with it and you will never look back.

tk123 · 13-01-2011 1:32pm

Amberjack wrote: »

I have 2 springers who "dont do leads" and pull on normal leads/collars. A few years back we were recommended the Sensation harness style collar and I must admit it is brilliant. I can now actually walk the pair of them on the paths etc, where before, it was such an ordeal with pushing and pulling.
Would definitely recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013JYDF0/?tag=shopamato-20

+1 This is what I use for our retriever. We got ours in Dog Training Ireland - if you're in Dublin you can call in to the shop and the guys will fit it for you. As well as the harness you need patience. When she pulls you stop and don't move until she looks back to tell you to come on then give her a treat and walk on :pac:

Please don't try a quick fix solution like a choke/check chain etc - especially on a pup because eg if they pull when they see another dog on they'll assoiciate the pain of being choked with other dogs and you'll have problems further down the line. Also Haltis etc are meant to be a training aid not a long term quick fix - I had to use one on our guy after surgery to slow him down so he wouldn't hurt himself and found it a bit unfair on him - he's a gundog so likes to sniff as he's walking along!

I found it easiest to train our guy in the evenings - on the path not in the park so there was no distractions. Every few steps with the lead loose I gave him a small treat and praise as as he got better I spaced out the time between the treats until he didn't need them anymore.

Tigger · 13-01-2011 1:35pm

superfish wrote: »

choke lead ?

choke chains should be banned

NTC · 13-01-2011 1:43pm

Tigger wrote: »

choke chains should be banned

Agreed, they are bad things.

Metalpanic · 13-01-2011 1:48pm

Tigger wrote: »

choke chains should be banned

Have to disagree with you there. When used properly they are a very effective aid in training a dog. But they have to be used properly and only when the dog is being trained, the rest of the time the dog should wear a normal collar.

My German Shepherd was trained by a police dog handler and he used a choke chain and advocated its use. He showed my whole family how to use it correctly so the dog would not get hurt and that there was no confusion over how the dog was to be corrected. As the OP said its all about consistency and repetition. The dog pulls, snap the chain say heel, use your hand to pull the dog to your left side and walk again. Very boring and repetitive but worth it in the end!

superfish · 13-01-2011 1:49pm

choke leads should be banned until another disobedient untrained dog kills someone or tears apart a childs face. some breeds need to know discipline and who the master is from day one

tk123 · 13-01-2011 2:06pm

superfish wrote: »

choke leads should be banned until another disobedient untrained dog kills someone or tears apart a childs face. some breeds need to know discipline and who the master is from day one

What breeds for example?

ISDW · 13-01-2011 2:15pm

superfish wrote: »

choke leads should be banned until another disobedient untrained dog kills someone or tears apart a childs face. some breeds need to know discipline and who the master is from day one

But they're legal now, and these incidents still happen, so that kind of negates your argument doesn't it?

So you would advocate using a choke chain (as opposed to a check chain) on an 8 week old puppy?

Bubs99 · 13-01-2011 2:22pm

Choke leads should be banned and never used and people should be taught which are the best mussels to use if they must use them.

Choke leads pinch the dogs skin on the neck which is obviously painful for them and can irritate them.

Im sick of the debate on what breeds are the most dangerous. All breeds can snap and attack if they must...many are purposely provoked (thats how they train them to fight and many "security" dogs)...a dog is an animal after all!

Many people are terrified of staffies and pitbulls but not all of them are aggressive, many are so loving. I recently saw a rottweiler with their owner (I rarely see rottweilers) and he was a giant teddy bear that snuggled up with his owner...I thought that was adorable.

Many so called cuties such as yorkies and westies are very snappy.

Sorry about the rant but I had to get it out of me!

andreac · 13-01-2011 2:43pm

superfish wrote: »

choke leads should be banned until another disobedient untrained dog kills someone or tears apart a childs face. *some breeds need to know discipline and who the master is from day one

*Sigh

ISDW · 13-01-2011 2:46pm

andreac wrote: »

*Sigh

OMG, you're turning into EGAR:D:p

andreac · 13-01-2011 2:49pm

ISDW wrote: »

OMG, you're turning into EGAR:D:p

Ha ha, i give up really, if i said how i really feel id probably get a ban:eek:

tk123 · 13-01-2011 2:51pm

andreac wrote: »

Ha ha, i give up really, if i said how i really feel id probably get a ban:eek:

Same here!

If little 5'1 me can contain the puppy power of a 27kg GR than anyone can do it! :pac::pac:

excuse me · 13-01-2011 2:57pm

i use a harness(fur lined!!) on my golden retriever about three years ago and never look back(it was either that on get a new collar bone:D).my four year old girl can now walk the 35kg pet!
but as said earlier a little bit of training and patience will do wonders.

andreac · 13-01-2011 3:00pm

excuse me wrote: »

i use a harness(fur lined!!) on my golden retriever about three years ago and never look back(it was either that on get a new collar bone:D).my four year old girl can now walk the 35kg pet!
but as said earlier a little bit of training and patience will do wonders.

To be honest, a harness is the worst thing to put on a dog that pulls as a harness is used on dogs to encourage them to pull, eg Huskies so i would never recommend a harness for a strong dog. They can get more power behind them with their bodyweight with a harness to pull.

falabo · 13-01-2011 3:32pm

choke leads are crual, shame on you!

neris · 13-01-2011 5:25pm

i put a harness on her because she use to pull on the normal lead and collar and was afraid shed choke herself when she was pulling. Might put her back on the old collar tonight and give some of the suggestions a go. Thanks

superfish · 13-01-2011 6:28pm

here are a list of breeds that need disipline from day one

staff
rottweiller
german sheppard
most mastiff

a choke lead is a good way to teach discipline from the beginning im not saying its going to stop attacks like the one above but you must have a firm hand and establish who is boss from day one being honest im not sure id trust half of you with anything bigger than a poodle judging by your smart derogatory comments. leave the bigger breeds to people who know how to handle them trust me we will all be a lot safer.

rafared · 13-01-2011 6:49pm

RubyGirl wrote: »

http://www.k9shop.ie/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=59

I bought the dogmatic head collar from here. Worked a treat for my lab. He will fight it for a while but stick with it and you will never look back.

+1 for me. Dogmatic collar will be of huge help, well worth the money.

Whispered · 13-01-2011 6:52pm

superfish wrote: »

a choke lead is a good way to teach discipline from the beginning im not saying its going to stop attacks like the one above but you must have a firm hand and establish who is boss from day one being honest im not sure id trust half of you with anything bigger than a poodle judging by your smart derogatory comments. leave the bigger breeds to people who know how to handle them trust me we will all be a lot safer.

and the funny thing is, us responsible owners of large breeds would say that if abusive owners and owners who use dominance training didn't own dogs we'd all be a lot safer. Why is the staff on that list, then you start talking about large dogs? A staff isn't large.

Actually there is so much wrong with your post I don't have the time to comment on it all.

littlebug · 13-01-2011 6:52pm

Is there any reason why dogmatic would work better than halti or gentle leader?

ISDW · 13-01-2011 6:52pm

superfish wrote: »

here are a list of breeds that need disipline from day one

staff
rottweiller
german sheppard
most mastiff

a choke lead is a good way to teach discipline from the beginning im not saying its going to stop attacks like the one above but you must have a firm hand and establish who is boss from day one being honest im not sure id trust half of you with anything bigger than a poodle judging by your smart derogatory comments. leave the bigger breeds to people who know how to handle them trust me we will all be a lot safer.

:rolleyes:I'm sure that Andrea C, with her two rottweilers will agree with you, she really shouldn't be allowed out with them. And as for Cooper becoming a champion, well I don't know how that could have happened, without the use of a choke lead, how on earth does she control him in the ring with just a thin show lead and collar on? Oh, I wonder if its by respect and not fear?;)

When you say a poodle, do you mean a standard poodle? Which is much bigger than a Staff and is actually used by some police forces.

Just for your information, they are check chains, not choke leads, and they are supposed to be put on the dog so that you can check it, and then when you release, it goes loose on the dog's neck. A choke lead or chain surely would do that, choke the dog? Most people - and by the sounds of it, that includes you - don't know that you can put them on upside down.

Anyway, you still haven't answered my question, would you put a choke lead on an 8 week old puppy?

superfish · 13-01-2011 6:58pm

ISDW wrote: »

:rolleyes:I'm sure that Andrea C, with her two rottweilers will agree with you, she really shouldn't be allowed out with them. And as for Cooper becoming a champion, well I don't know how that could have happened, without the use of a choke lead, how on earth does she control him in the ring with just a thin show lead and collar on? Oh, I wonder if its by respect and not fear?;)

When you say a poodle, do you mean a standard poodle? Which is much bigger than a Staff and is actually used by some police forces.

Just for your information, they are check chains, not choke leads, and they are supposed to be put on the dog so that you can check it, and then when you release, it goes loose on the dog's neck. A choke lead or chain surely would do that, choke the dog? Most people - and by the sounds of it, that includes you - don't know that you can put them on upside down.

Anyway, you still haven't answered my question, would you put a choke lead on an 8 week old puppy?

ive had dogs for years buddy Im sure I dont need your advice as smart as you seem to think you are. no I would not put a choke lead on a pup but if it belonged to a gob****e like you id quite happily snap its fecking neck

Whispered · 13-01-2011 7:02pm

superfish wrote: »

ive had dogs for years buddy Im sure I dont need your advice as smart as you seem to think you are. no I would not put a choke lead on a pup but if it belonged to a gob****e like you id quite happily snap its fecking neck

lol

yep you've really proven your point there. What a good example of a dog owner you must be.

**Vai** · 13-01-2011 7:02pm

Charming.

Seems to me if you have the respect and trust of your dog, you dont need a choke chain. Takes longer but thats why we own dogs and not goldfish. Doesnt matter if its a bichon or a rottie, the power of the animal should never come into it if its been trained properly and with respect.

Whispered · 13-01-2011 7:11pm

No we have lots of discussions where people don't agree. You know where people actually discuss things as opposed to telling posters they would like to snap their dogs neck, call people names etc. You should try it, you never know, you might actually like talking to people.

RubyGirl · 13-01-2011 7:11pm

littlebug wrote: »

Is there any reason why dogmatic would work better than halti or gentle leader?

I'm sure someone will put me wrong if I mis-guide you on this. I had the halti and found it was always riding up over his eyes, I thought it was too big for him. I looked up a couple of sites on the net and most suggestions back from the halti owners felt the same. So I found the dogmatic. I do find it much better.

Hellrazer · 13-01-2011 7:12pm

Superfish red carded for that comment.

Whispered · 13-01-2011 7:12pm

RubyGirl wrote: »

I'm sure someone will put me wrong if I mis-guide you on this. I had the halti and found it was always riding up over his eyes, I thought it was too big for him. I looked up a couple of sites on the net and most suggestions back from the halti owners felt the same. So I found the dogmatic. I do find it much better.

I've found that too

Hellrazer · 13-01-2011 7:13pm

Actually thats a permanent ban for Superfish.

**Vai** · 13-01-2011 7:15pm

Yeah my halti rides up around my GSD eyes. Thought it might be because shes not fully grown tho?

timewilltell · 13-01-2011 7:17pm

I have a sheepdog/collie cross and she's always been a mentaller on the lead. My Dad would be an avis choke chain fan so nearly keeled over when I got her a harness.

They are amazing, and she's built muscle up from it too. Our neighbour also used it on his lab and it works a treat!

DBCyc · 13-01-2011 8:22pm

I'd definitely recommend a halti/dogmatic collar. The halti works really well with Suzie. She's not much of a puller but will pull to get a sniff at something she is interested in. We got the halti so she'd be more manageable on the lead when pushing a buggy at the same time and its worked great.

Choke chains seem awful cruel to me, but I don't know that much about how to use them. I don't see the point in even considering one anyway when the halti/dogmatic will solve the problem.

Jennypops · 13-01-2011 8:45pm

hey,
sorry to butt in but i am very curious about the haltis..i know they go round the head but how do they actually work, is it just that you turn the dogs head away from the distraction? i was thinking of getting one for my 'puller' but imagine he would just wiggle and squirm and fight against it if he was adamant he wanted to look at something!

ISDW · 13-01-2011 9:08pm

I think that dogmatics are better than haltis, they don't seem to ride up into the eyes as much.

Wolfe Tone · 13-01-2011 9:11pm

OP, try a choke chain. Worked grand for me, she actually strangled herself less with that than an ordinary collar.

tk123 · 13-01-2011 9:21pm

Anyone I know who used a halti had the same with it riding up into their eyes. I used a gentle leader with our guy for a week or so when he was finished his crate rest and it didn't ride up at all. At the time he was really afraid of traffic (he'd been walked in the park for a year so had forgotten what traffic was!) and trying to pull away if eg a bus came by or going on strike and I was afraid he'd pull/try to run/jump and hurt his leg or if I tried to pull him to come when his bum was glued to the ground because he was afraid and didn't want to move. Anyhoos the gentle leader worked but he wasn't happy with it - he seemed a bit afraid/uncomfortable and would paw at it every now and again. Another thing I found with the GL was because the lead attaches under his chin if he was having a sniff of the ground he'd step over the lead and kept getting tangled in his leg. Luckily he got used to the traffic after about a week and is now walking for an hour each evening with his sensible harness with no pulling and no probs - not bad considering his op was only 9 weeks ago!! :pac:

koneko · 13-01-2011 9:24pm

Are you in Dublin OP?
I might have a spare Canny collar you can try

bullylover · 13-01-2011 9:29pm

V stupid arguement, I have had 3 pyrenean mountain dogs and if I can walk them with no choke chains anyone can!
Pyrenean are "independant minded" (not to mention make mastiffs look like jack russels) and hard to train but jesus i never tot yeah we will slap a coke chain on them!
Never had any problems walking them and as im a 5'6 slim build girl I couldnt even if i wanted to "show them who's boss".
I have a English Bull Terrier and a Pitbull type and they dont have choke chains either, the pit is probably the easiest dog I have ever owned, eager and willing to please so never needed to "show him who's boss".
We use a halti on the bully because she has a tendancy to get excited when she see's other dogs, and have to say the halti works fantastic:)
Your training method is very old school, the times have changed and training methods have changed and improved, maybe its time to change your opinion and move on to a more sufficient way of training so you actually get the best out of your dog:)

TooManyDogs · 13-01-2011 10:37pm

It's all about respect and correct training. I walk 6 dogs and push a buggy every day and not a choke chain anywhere. And often I walk my neighbours dogs too so that's 8 dogs and a buggy. My neighbour walks her dogs with head collars but when I walk them it's on flat collars, and that's because they know when they walk with me there's to be no messing, we get on and walk and the rule is simply that no-one pulls me. One of them is a mastiff.
So altogether that's 150kg of dogs in total and not a single choke chain...... maybe I should just go and swap them for a mini poodle cos I mustn't be doing it right

I got a canny collar for my sis's dog, fantastic

andreac · 13-01-2011 10:47pm

superfish wrote: »

here are a list of breeds that need disipline from day one

staff
rottweiller
german sheppard
most mastiff

a choke lead is a good way to teach discipline from the beginning im not saying its going to stop attacks like the one above but you must have a firm hand and establish who is boss from day one being honest im not sure id trust half of you with anything bigger than a poodle judging by your smart derogatory comments. leave the bigger breeds to people who know how to handle them trust me we will all be a lot safer.

Oh you really havent a clue do you? :rolleyes:

Yes as ISDW stated, i own 2 rotties, one being a 50kg male and i walk him in a dogmatic headcollar, no choke chain.
He is a well trained dog who is very obedient and i show him too without the need for choke chains etc.
There are plenty of other breeds far bigger and stronger than the ones you mentioned, so why single out those ones?

LucyBliss · 13-01-2011 11:04pm

TooManyDogs wrote: »

It's all about respect and correct training. I walk 6 dogs and push a buggy every day and not a choke chain anywhere. And often I walk my neighbours dogs too so that's 8 dogs and a buggy.

I love this!! Good for you!

Dog pulling on lead all the time

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