stop pulling.

[kaykay]

how did you guys teach your pups not to pull when walking. jayson pulls so dang hard. i have tried the head collar but he just rubs his head on the ground to get it off.

[Tanya]

collars are just a tool to help you keep control, they don't teach the dog anything.

Talk to him, keep his attention and praise (and reward) when he isn't pulling. Some people do a quick change of direction when the dog pulls. Or they play a tree (stop dead in your tracks).

If you can take an obedience class that would be great as well.

[theoconbrio]

Like anything else, you have to train it. It's a lot of work and requires patience, but it can be done. The problem is that pulling is self-reinforcing, so the more you let them do it, the more they want to do it. I would do three sessions of 5-10 minutes every day where you work on walking nicely on leash. Use a lure (treat) if you have to at first. If he pulls, stop dead ("be a tree") or turn in the other direction fast (if he's physically insensitive and "be a tree" doesn't bother him). Talk to him and make paying attention to you fun. Make lots of unpredictable moves and go fast so he doesn't get bored. Reward for eye contact. Also consider an obedience class to improve your own timing and get feedback from an instructor.

And for those times where you have to walk him but can't train him the whole time, try a Sense-ation harness or a pinch collar. Both of these are tools--useful for a time but you should plan on dropping them when they're no longer needed.

ETA: Ha! Tanya and I agree. We're so smart.

[hunterchrome]

We have tried redirection with our labs, when they start pulling we turn the other way. There have been times where I spent most of my walk weaving around trees and lampposts. We have also done the stop..wait for them to stop pulling then continue. Now at 2 my two labs are good at not pulling too much unless ofcourse we see a rabbitt or a bird. I walk mine on easy walk harnesses. It makes the world of difference.

[kaykay]

thanks for your reply i am gonna try bringing treats along on the walk. i thought he would be calmer on the walk today because i played fetch with him for an hour and a half before the walk boy was i wrong.

[BauersMom]

When he was a puppy I tethered him to me in the house to make sure he didn't get into anything, and he learned to follow when the leash was on. When he got a little older he started to pull on walks, but I noticed that he only pulled when he knew where we were going (on a sidewalk or street where it was pretty obvious we were going straight). I started taking him in the yard a few times a day (10 minutes or so at a time) with his leash on and just walking around randomly (luckily I don't have neighbors), and he followed when he didn't know where I was going next. Then I put the "heel" command to walking nicely next to me "Good heel!" and I would toss a treat right next to me. We practiced this a lot, and eventually he got it. He learned that "heel" meant walk next to me, and that good things happened when he heeled. He is almost 4, and I haven't taken treats with me on a walk/run in probably 2.5 years.

[Sophiesmama]

Sophie pulls my husband. It is like a game to her. He lets her slide. She knows it! When I have her, I cinch the leash up short. I only give her maybe 10 inches of leash. When she tries to go too fast or pull me, I say "wait". She does really well when I walk her. My sons the same thing. I wish my husband would cooperate! He will do it once in awhile. Grrrr.... men!

[iammike]

Still working on this with Charlie. He rarely ever really pulls hard but he likes to always have a bit of forward pressure on the leash. I've tried the tree thing a lot. As soon as I stop, he stops, looks at me, I start moving again, he goes back to mild pulling.

It doesn't bother me too awful much because he's not pulling like crazy. It's almost like a mild "hey daddy, lets go lets go!" thing.

[Samson]

Still working on this with Charlie. He rarely ever really pulls hard but he likes to always have a bit of forward pressure on the leash. I've tried the tree thing a lot. As soon as I stop, he stops, looks at me, I start moving again, he goes back to mild pulling.

It doesn't bother me too awful much because he's not pulling like crazy. It's almost like a mild "hey daddy, lets go lets go!" thing.

When training, I was told to start off the walk with the dog just behind your leg and as soon as the dog forges ahead of your leg to immediately turn and walk in the opposite direction. Repeat as often as necessary.

In practise, I found that just going in a straight line and stopping as soon as the dog gets in front of your leg then restarting again and again and so on. The first day, you may not get much further than 100yds but eventually they get the idea.

or

http://www.clickersolutions.com/images/allarticles.jpg

[nellies mom]

When he was a puppy I tethered him to me in the house to make sure he didn't get into anything, and he learned to follow when the leash was on. When he got a little older he started to pull on walks, but I noticed that he only pulled when he knew where we were going (on a sidewalk or street where it was pretty obvious we were going straight). I started taking him in the yard a few times a day (10 minutes or so at a time) with his leash on and just walking around randomly (luckily I don't have neighbors), and he followed when he didn't know where I was going next. Then I put the "heel" command to walking nicely next to me "Good heel!" and I would toss a treat right next to me. We practiced this a lot, and eventually he got it. He learned that "heel" meant walk next to me, and that good things happened when he heeled. He is almost 4, and I haven't taken treats with me on a walk/run in probably 2.5 years.

This works wonders. If you are unpredictable he will have to watch you to see where to go. Learned this in one of the obedience classes I took.