[kvar]

Hey everyone. Our golden Layla is 5 months old now and we love taking her on walks. Our problem is she almost always pulls on her leash! It gets to the point where she sounds like she is gasping for air! This can be embarrassing when we are walking her and people look at us wondering what we are doing to our dog! I would really like to get her trained to walk good with a regular leash. Any suggestions?

 

[LuckyPup]

I am going through the same thing. So I really do not have my own advice. BUT I learned (yes I am very slow) that you can look at past threads and not just the ones on top......

Anyways, I found this one in training (I believe). I hope this helps!

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=22167

 

[momtoMax]

Number one, do not walk a pulling dog by the collar. Did you know that this can cause muscle damage and paralysis over time? (Your dog will not be able to swallow - which means no eating, no drinking.)

First, get a harness of some kind. If you want to keep at it, the stopping thing is finally working for us but it took months!! He only really pulls now when he's excited or close to home. I've heard the "Easy Walk" harness is great and solves the problem in an instant. I am trying myself to get Max to walk nicely without that - but it's a long road, let me tell you!!

 

[momtoMax]

Oh oh oh!! I forgot one thing - don't use a retractable leash to teach your dog to walk nicely - someone mentioned that to me and we started just using his 6 foot leash and he got so much better in a short time! Apparently, they need an unchanging boundary.

 

[Nicole74]

I'm using a choke collar and teaching Bailey how to heel. Today is the first day where she heeled on her own without me tugging on the leash to get her to slow down to my side. Bailey loves to pull too, but does it much less with the choke collar. I'm sure they will get the hang of if sooner or later.

 

[serenity]

We've been using a choke collar on Kaylee for months to work on her leash pulling, but to no avail. She is so distractable and seems to tune everything out when we're outside, and just wants to yank and run and chase everyone and everything. Should I try using a harness?

 

[jwemt81]

You really should purchase a head collar. I recommend the Gentle Leader, or even a Halti. They are both very similar. We trained our GSD on a Halti and Tucker has a Gentle Leader. This will greatly help with the pulling. Whenever the dog tries to pull, it will turn the dog's head back, which results in the dog not pulling. I would never be without one of these.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

I would recommend a front attachment harness. I LOVE this one......http://www.walkyourdogwithlove.com/index.php Also really like the sensation harness www.softtouchconcepts.com However, the WYDWL has the buckle on the side which is really helpful and a longer attachment in the front which is also really nice. These make a MIRACULOUS difference.

 

[kvar]

I'll definitely have to try one of these, I'm thinking maybe a choke collar. She doesn't seem to be distracted too bad even when other dogs bark at her from the yard she doesn't pay much attention. She just wants to go and go!

 

[momtoMax]

I'll definitely have to try one of these, I'm thinking maybe a choke collar. She doesn't seem to be distracted too bad even when other dogs bark at her from the yard she doesn't pay much attention. She just wants to go and go!

Geezus, what the heck? Did someone suggest a choke collar? HARNESS. That's H A R N E S S. Hmm, let's see, we can choose between something that CHOKES the dog, or something that doesn't hurt the dog and works great. I'm sorry, but please. Easy Walk Harness or Gentle Leader.


I'm sorry, but I can't stand it when people choose something that hurts their dog as a learning tool.

 

[momtoMax]

We've been using a choke collar on Kaylee for months to work on her leash pulling, but to no avail. She is so distractable and seems to tune everything out when we're outside, and just wants to yank and run and chase everyone and everything. Should I try using a harness?

See above post. Or in other words, YES. This is a painful thing for the dog and it usually doesn't work too well anyways. Easy Walk Harness or Gentle Leader. Thank you.

 

[GoldenSail]

I walk mine on a martingale (like choke collar only doesn't choke whole way) and it is working wonderfully--but you have to know how to use it. She is going on six months and is walking very, very nicely around the neighborhood but we are still working on generalizing this to other areas.

To teach my pup, I never ever let the leash go tight. If it does, we switch and go in another direction (such as cross the street or go backwards). The tighetening and loosening of the collar let her know when she is too far ahead or in a good spot. This takes so much patience and time though. When I am not in the mood to work with her on it she wears a head collar (like if we are somewhere very exciting and she isn't really ready to walk nicely).

 

[serenity]

The choke chain was recommended to us by our dog trainer, she swears by them and pinch collars (which I dislike). But Kaylee doesn't seem to really be phased by the choke chain and all it does it make her gasp and choke, which we don't like and can be frustrating. I just got back from buying a head collar, so we'll be trying that out today. Thanks for the advice

 

[jwemt81]

A choke collar is a perfectly appropriate tool IF used properly. What it does is pinches neck just like a mother dog would nip a puppy in the neck to correct their behavior. It is not meant to actually choke the dog by any means. All that is needed is a quick jerk and release. It won't work for all dogs, but for some it will work and is a perfectly acceptable collar. It is what we used on our GSD while she was in training for bomb scenting with the PD as a pup. We then went to the head collar.

 

[GoldenJoy]

Our trainer (a very positive, motivational trainer - think Ian Dunbar!) recommends the plain buckle collar. We are planning to do therapy dog work with Joy, and she needs to wear a buckle collar for the tests, so he says train with it. We use "red light/green light" religiously. I mean, EVERY time we walk. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes to go 6 feet. It takes patience, but it doesn't strangle her and she is learning. We had a TERRIFIC walk this morning, even in the woods.

 

[Jersey's Mom]

If your problem is a dog that pulls, a choke chain/slip collar/whatever you want to call it is NOT the answer for you. That choking, gasping, and coughing isn't half the problem... you can seriously damage the dog's esophagus with strong, repetitive pulling like that. When I needed a training aid with Jersey, I used the Sporn Harness. It attaches in the back (so does not invite the dog to play with the leash as another recent thread mentions), and gives gentle pressure near the dog's armpits.

Honestly, given it to do again, I'd start with a buckle collar from day one, slap a clicker in my hand, some treats in my pocket and do it right the first time... instead of continually trying to wean off one piece of equipment or another. Yes, doing it this way is slower to start... you don't get as far of a walk as you might have wished those first few days... but consistency quickly pays off and leads to a dog who does not need an endless array of corrections to maintain what you've taught and/or retraining when you decide the crutch is no longer necessary.

Julie and Jersey

 

[momtoMax]

A choke collar is a perfectly appropriate tool IF used properly. What it does is pinches neck just like a mother dog would nip a puppy in the neck to correct their behavior. It is not meant to actually choke the dog by any means. All that is needed is a quick jerk and release. It won't work for all dogs, but for some it will work and is a perfectly acceptable collar. It is what we used on our GSD while she was in training for bomb scenting with the PD as a pup. We then went to the head collar.

I have to say I disagree with your trainer and I don't think it's an acceptable collar. A mother doesn't bite everywhere at once and tear up the muscles/larnyx non stop for a 10 minute walk etc. as these dogs mentioned are doing. I realize it's a highly debated choice, especially today with all the non risky and more effective halters/collars out there.

Some (not so) light and enlightening reading -
http://www.helium.com/items/548236-the-truth-about-choke-chains-pinch-collars-and-electronic-collars

 

[Swampcollie]

Hey everyone. Our golden Layla is 5 months old now and we love taking her on walks. Our problem is she almost always pulls on her leash! It gets to the point where she sounds like she is gasping for air! This can be embarrassing when we are walking her and people look at us wondering what we are doing to our dog! I would really like to get her trained to walk good with a regular leash. Any suggestions?

Ummm, how much time have you spent teaching her to walk at heel on lead? Taking her for a walk isn't necessarilly teaching/training her what you want and expect, you need to set aside some time each day to "teach" what is expected.

My project du jor "Luke" arrived in early August. He had no on leash obedience training at all. It took about ten minutes a day for two weeks to teach him what "Here, Heel, Sit and Wait" meant and about two more weeks to put some refinement in it and shift his attention from what he wants to do, to ME. He now walks very nicely on a loose lead and is starting to transition to the Electronic Collar so we can continue to advance with off leash work.

The tools I use for basic obedience are a 6' lead, pinch collar, heeling stick and four orange traffic cones. Repetition, attrition, correct timing of correction and praise are all that is required, as well as a healthy supply of patience.

Set up a small training area in the yard and "get it right" there where you have control of the environment. If you don't have it there, you won't have it when you hit the streets for a walk in public.

 

[Jersey's Mom]

I know there's been debate as to the use (and possibly necessity) of e-collars and other aversive methods in the training of top notch field dogs... and admittedly I'm in no position to buck conventional wisdom of those who have had success in the field since Jersey and I have only dabbled in that arena. But I will never agree that those methods are even remotely necessary in the training of basic manners such as loose leash walking. I wish I'd discovered sooner that they are not only unnecessary, but often counterproductive, in training top level obedience tasks. And I've yet to find an agility trainer worth their teeter that advocates that type of training.

Basically, what I'm saying is there are a wide range of important, fun, and wonderful things you can teach your dog without the use of choke chains, shock collars, and the like. I agree that the initial goals should be small and attainable (i.e. closer to 10 feet than 2 miles), but strongly suggest the use of methods primarily based in positive reinforcement... especially when we're talking about a task as basic as walking on a leash.

Julie and Jersey

 

[GoldenSail]

Ummm, how much time have you spent teaching her to walk at heel on lead? Taking her for a walk isn't necessarilly teaching/training her what you want and expect, you need to set aside some time each day to "teach" what is expected.

My project du jor "Luke" arrived in early August. He had no on leash obedience training at all. It took about ten minutes a day for two weeks to teach him what "Here, Heel, Sit and Wait" meant and about two more weeks to put some refinement in it and shift his attention from what he wants to do, to ME. He now walks very nicely on a loose lead and is starting to transition to the Electronic Collar so we can continue to advance with off leash work.

The tools I use for basic obedience are a 6' lead, pinch collar, heeling stick and four orange traffic cones. Repetition, attrition, correct timing of correction and praise are all that is required, as well as a healthy supply of patience.

Set up a small training area in the yard and "get it right" there where you have control of the environment. If you don't have it there, you won't have it when you hit the streets for a walk in public.

How old was Luke when you got him?