Dog walking

[suzmcneil]

I have a very strong 4 year old Lab/Husky. I have always had problems walking him but things seem to be getting worse rather than better. The leashes and collars I have tried over the years: Regular clip collar, Cesar's Illusion, Choak chain, Clip harness, short leash, 6 ft leash. I am currently using a prong collar and a long leash, this seems to work he does not pull as much as the others however there are certain parts on out walk where he will drag me across the street, It's like a trigger goes off in him at the exact same spots everytime. It's not just pulling, he will jump up on me trying to break free of the leash, he backs up as hard as he can trying to break free of the collar. I have tried to stop and make him sit until he calms down, but as soon as we take a step forward and he realizes we are not crossing where he wants to it starts all over again. It's almost like he is in this zone and can't snap out of it. He is a lovely dog, no signs of aggression but I'm at my wits end trying to figure this out. He is not motivated by food on his walks. Any suggestions how we can correct this behaviour? Thanks!

[Fundog]

Stop using the prong collar, and do not go back to any of those other collars you mentioned. They all do more harm than good. Go to this thread: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=858 It is a pinned thread under the Training Articles section. Mattie has loads of experience with this sort of thing. She has rehabilitated many dogs and taught them to walk nicely on lead. After you've read that thread, come back with any more questions you have.

Also, we may ask for more information as well, such as: How long have you had your dog?

Also, upon re-reading your post, I can see some similarities between your dog and mine: She likes to go where all the great smells are, primarily of birds, rabbits, gophers, etc. And she likes to walk FAST. I finally came to the realization that if I walk quickly, with the intent of getting my heart rate up and getting some actual cardiovascular exercise, she doesn't pull so much. If I am just puttering along slowly, that's when she pulls.

On the days when she is just too excited about going to her favorite places and pulling more than I have energy to keep up, I simply turn around and start marching in the opposite direction. She slows down then.

Also, have a look at the Training Tools section. There are recommendations, critiques, and discussions about various tools such as collars, harnesses, and leads that people have tried or asked about.

[suzmcneil]

Thanks for your reply! I do have an easy walk harness but we had a few issues with it, the first one was that it rubbed against his armpits and they would bleed The second issue was the main reason I gave up with it was because he could wiggle his front out of it somehow, he would end up doing this strange bunny hop type walk. I you tubed videos on how to fit it proper but as soon as we would hit the sidewalk this strange walk would happen. He is a very large breed with a big chest and weighs just over 100lbs so I'm not sure if maybe we had the wrong size? It was large but I'm thinking he would for an extra large?
We have had him for over 4 years and it took 3 frustrating years before I was talked into the prong collar. We have had him since 4 months old.
Walking him can be frustrating with the pulling and I do walk fast, my main concern is this trance that he seems to go into and has what I would describe as a tantrum to go the direction that he wants to go into, he just can't seem to snap out of it. He has taken down my husband who is strong and over 6ft when this happens.
We have spent so much over the years on new collars & leashes, I'm also in a small remote town so unfortunately there are no dog trainers here otherwise we would have been first inline

[Shalista]

I only have a small rat terrier but he's a strong willed little bugger Dittoing Fundog, walking faster definitely helps. I'd just caution that if i start going TO fast Bax thinks we're racing and goes into a full blown sprint that i DEFINITELY cant keep up with. A nice brisk trot works wonders though.

[mansbestfriend]

Hi. Sounds like a couple of issues could be addressed immediately, as well as ongoing training and/or management. Has a vet found a possible medical contributor to your issues?

Can you describe a typical day in your dog's life (like food-what and how etc., other dogs and people/kids, walks-how long and how often, training sessions and ongoing training, mental exercise, play, games, puzzles, time to sniff and explore on walks and at home, toys and/or food chews, time resting peacefully, etc.).

What does your dog react to, exactly? How often? In the short term, can you avoid as many triggers as possible? Don't use choke, slip(including "Illusion"), etc. tools/collars; they'll almost certainly make your dog more distressed. Can you walk your dog calmly with a flat collar or harness, inside your home with no distractions?

[suzmcneil]

there are no medical issues. It started about a year ago, it was in one spot that we would walk daily, we always took him to the field to have a good run. I noticed that it started with a little extra eager pulling in the first spot then progressively got worse to the point where he is yelping and pulling backwards and jumping on us if we don't cross when and where he wants to. I tried to just keep walking past the field so that he didn't expect it every time. I ended up changing the route we take because I don't have the strength to handle him when this happens. On a couple of other routes that I take have ended up at this same field so now I think he just associates these spots with going for a run even though we don't go there every time we walk. He's a very smart dog - one day we went for a trail walk in the forest and he saw a squirrel go up a tree, we went back to this same spot months later and he went to the exact tree in the middle of the forest to see if the squirrel was there.
As for daily routine, we are usually up by 6 or 7 am I let him out for his wee's and we have a large back yard, he usually spends about half an hour out there and visits with our neighbour through the fence I do have a 6 month old baby now so I'll admit when I was pregnant his walks were cut to about half an hour to 45 minutes. We usually get out for a walk in the afternoon now for 1-2 hours depending on the weather. During the day he will nap, play with his toys, I play with him in the back yard. He is gentle at home no signs of aggression or nervous behaviour. We do play seek, where I hide a small treat and he waits for his command to find it. He's great with the baby not overly interested/excited and is very gentle around her.
I'm sure this issue and defiant behaviour on his walk is all about him being in control and getting to where he wants to go which is to run at the field. He listens and is obedient in the house. He plays well with other animals.
I'm not able to walk him on a regular collar. He does walk beside me and is well behaved until we get to these trigger spots, which is why I'm at a loss as to what we can do.

[mansbestfriend]

Hi. Sounds like a great dog that needs some Positive Reinforcement based training for the problem behaviours, and possibly a rethink about where/when you walk.

I can imagine your dog feeling the pain of a pinch collar and trying to get as far away from it as possible, causing more pain and stress, and trying even harder to get away which causes even more pain etc.etc.etc. If a flat collar isn't an option (yet), have a good walking harness fitted (I personally like the Haqihana harness, fitted correctly), and start training with Positive Reinforcement techniques. I'm sure other members will post more instructive comments for the training process.

*Timing and distance away from triggers is important. When the dog becomes out of control, it's waay too late to be training anything.

Try to avoid triggers whenever possible, and maybe shorter walks with fewer stress events. Cheers.

[Erica]

EasyWalks do cause chafing pretty often. A good alternative could be a Freedom harness. They're similar in shape, but the belly strap is coated in soft material, and there is a strap between the front legs. It also tends to stay in place much better than the EW and would be harder to escape. They can be found pretty easily at pet stores, usually, and definitely online. Victoria Stillwell sells a very similar harness in her website store that I personally prefer over the Freedom.

A little more difficult to find would be the Ruffwear FrontRange, which is a padded harness. I advise caution wjth this one as I've tried it on several dogs and only found one so far that I like the fit of it on; the chestpiece can be pretty high up and push into the throat, or too wide and bother the dog.

More expensive but honestly the best harness I've seen is the Perfect Fit; it's fleece lined and is made of three pieces you mix and match for a perfect fit for your dog. I like the shape of it better than the previous two. Here's the maker's website. In the USA, you can order one through CleanRun.com. Both websites will be happy to help you figure out the right sizes to order.

A bonus with each of these is that you have both a front and back clip. I've found using a double-ended leash with the front and back clipped is more secure and helpful than the front clip alone. Using a separate leash for each clip is also an option.

Since your dog is so strong, you may consider a headcollar in combination with a harness. A headcollar is similar to a horse halter and helps a lot with strong dogs, but you never want the dog to be able to run to the end of the leash and hit the headcollar with their full weight. Because it's attached to their head, it would snap their head suddenly in a new direction, easily causing neck injuries. Because of this, you should use either two leashes or a double-ended leash, combined with a harness (front clip is most useful.) Arrange the leashes so the harness leash is shorter and the headcollar is a bit longer. Then, when he does get too difficult to manage, gradually take up the slack in the headcollar (can be quickly but don't just yank on it). It's less for training than management, but having management plans in place is always a good idea!

Another caveat with headcollars is some dogs don't like them but can be taught to like them, some are fine with them the first time ever, and some find them so distressing that they're more harmful than helpful. Here's a video with a pretty good method of introducing a head halter to a dog.

[jacksdad]

I am not a fan of the easy walk harness. while I can't prove it I strongly suspect it is the cause of some soft tissues injuries my neighbors dog experienced. Even if I am wrong about it causing injury to my neighbor's dog, my observation of it is that it never holds the adjustment AND the metal clip on leashes constantly "bangs" against the dogs legs. particularly for small and medium sized dogs.

the harnesses I tend to recommend are
the following 3
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm/produ ... colors.htm

(same as Erica above, simply another voice recommending it)
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm/produ ... -piece.htm

(same as Erica above, simply another voice recommending it)
http://www.freedomnopullharness.com/

remember though, no matter how dog friendly a tool is, it is NOT a replacement for training. long term the solution is to train your dog to walk with you and not to pull.