Pulling on the lead

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Redeye
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:39 pm

Pulling on the lead

Post by Redeye »

Hi

I have decided that i need to teach my pup (6months) how to walk on a lead properly i have been bumbling along but to be honest its just not going to sort itself. The problem i have is that its very hard to be consistant as her main excersice/socialisation is in the morning when i have a toddler and a baby in a pushchair too. Whatever way i teach her i need to bear this situation in mind.

I plan to set aside time in the evenings when hubby gets home - this time will be dedicated to training her one-to-one and until its lighter later it will be focusing on walking to heel properly.

One good point is that usually in the mornings i can avoid lead work if needed as i drive to the park and can pick a route that means i wont bump into others and need to put her back onto her lead.

I know its not a solution but i have when needed to used a halti on her.

I have seen various people talking about changing direction as soon as the dog pulls but i wondered if anyone could elaborate, i have never had a dog that pulls on a lead before and want to deal with it the best way i can.

Can anyone suggest a good way of dealing with this behaviour?, I was attending my local puppy classes but to be honest im not sure there methods were too good, i still go occasionally but that's more to do with socialising her.

I would appreciate any points anyone can offer.
Thanks
danabanana
Posts: 203
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:21 am
Location: NE England

Post by danabanana »

There is a stickied thread up there ^^^ on walking nicely on a lead :)
Ocelot0411
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 7:30 am

Post by Ocelot0411 »

Hi

I think you have the general idea right, i.e. you do need to put in that one to one training time as it will be nigh on impossible to teach loose lead walking whilst managing a pushchair (fair play for even trying :lol: ).

Also re driving to the park, no it won't help to teach loose lead walking but it will help in so far as whilst she is running free she is not developing the habit of pulling on the lead. As some of the trainers on here have said before the easiest way to teach your dog not to pull on the lead is never to allow it. So concentrate on good habits when she is on the lead on a one to one basis and then the park is great for exercising when you can give one to one training time.

Good luck!
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Mattie
Posts: 5872
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:21 am

Post by Mattie »

To make it easy for you I have copied the loose lead walking post.
It is too late if your dog starts to pull to correct it, your dog shouldn't get to pulling. I always turn if my dog's head goes in front of my hip.

It really is easy to teach as long as you are consistant and do it daily and it doesn't take long.

I use a trail/tracking type harness on my dogs. These go down each side of the neck instead of round the chest so it is more difficult to pull in them. also the strap round the body is futher back than most harnesses and they don't rub. 2 of my dogs rub easily but these harnesses have never rubbed them.

I also have a 6ft lead which I attach to the harness, with the dog on my left I hold the loop in the lead in my right hand, my left hand holds the lead nearer my dog but which lets them me on a loose lead, the lead between my hands is loose as well.

I say, close to my dogs and start to walk, if their head goes in front of my hip, I drop the lead in my left hand and turn and walk the other way. When the dog is getting close, again I say close. I don't get very far at first, usually just walk up and down the same piece of pavement but it doesn't take long when my dog starts to watch what I am doing and starts to walk next to me.

After about 5 or 10 minutes, depending on how they are doing, I like to finish on a good note with praising my dog, I stop the training. I do this daily until my dogs automatically walks close to me, normally about 7 to 10 days.

With this method if you forget to drop the lead in your left hand it does pull on the dog but not hard and because he has a harness on, it doesn't hurt him. If your timing is off and you let him get further forward than you want, it won't matter, just make sure next time your timing is better.

If I can teach a dog to walk on a loose lead anyone can.
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Redeye
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:39 pm

Post by Redeye »

Thanks very much Mattie, you say its too late now?

She can walk nicely on the lead but doesn't do it very often and if there is anything like another dog or people then she goes mad trying to get to them - do you have any further advice with that in mind?

If i am too late, can you suggest anything else?

Many thanks
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Mattie
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Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:21 am

Post by Mattie »

It is too late if your dog starts to pull to correct it,
No that isn't what I meant, once your dog has started to pull when you are walking her, it is too late to correct it by turning and walking the other way. To stop your dog from pulling you need to turn before they start to pull. You don't let them get to the pulling stage, stop it before then.

Pulling is self rewarding, they get there quicker or that is how they see it, by not letting them pull, they are not rewarding themselves but you reward them for not pulling.

Hope that makes sense. :D
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glennhenley
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Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:06 pm

Re: Pulling on the lead

Post by glennhenley »

I strongly recommend the book "How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks" by Ian Dunbar. It has a whole chapter on exactly what you're looking for. He goes through several stages of building up to nice heeling on-leash and off. Particularly wrt teaching puppies/young dogs.
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