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How do you stop a dog pulling on a lead?
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Everytime he pulls, using a choke chain high up his neck, lightly pull him back and stop walking. Make the dog sit down then commence walking again. Everytime he does it, just stop walking and make him sit.
If you issue a command to him, such as "heel" everytime he is pulled back, the dog might start to understand.
I have an English Springer Spaniel and they hate walking on leads. He's fine with me but my wife can't control him so she uses a "haltie" which goes round his nose. The dog hates it but walks perfectly without pulling.
You must persevere with it...that's the most important thing. Reward the dog when he's good with a small treat and let him know when your not happy (by tone of voice, not a big stick !!! ).
Good luck
I got my dog to stop pulling by stopping everytime he does it, wait til he sits down then start walking again. I did this every time he pulled. It makes a 20 minute walk last about an hour and a half, but it worked for me, now he just trots along by my side.
Another way (that my mum swears by) is to put the lead under one of the front legs, so its under the dogs armpit. It immediately stops them from pulling because its uncomfortable for them. I don't do it for that reason, but it does work.
I think the Halti is the much better option or a harness.
Keep some treats in your pocket for during the walk if the dog balks at the Halti . Just walk briskly ahead like a rather jolly nanny! And don�t feel sorry for him. At first the dog may pull worse than ever, but don�t give up. Don�t bother to rebuke him or punish him either. Ignore him. That means saying nothing, and not even looking at him. Cultivate an intense interest in the landscape! If he persists in pulling turn round and walk the other way.Just ignore him.Keep this up for a while .He will soon get the message.
Keep some treats in your pocket for during the walk if the dog balks at the Halti . Just walk briskly ahead like a rather jolly nanny! And don�t feel sorry for him. At first the dog may pull worse than ever, but don�t give up. Don�t bother to rebuke him or punish him either. Ignore him. That means saying nothing, and not even looking at him. Cultivate an intense interest in the landscape! If he persists in pulling turn round and walk the other way.Just ignore him.Keep this up for a while .He will soon get the message.
What your dog wants is to go forward. If that is what he gets by pulling, then he'll keep doing it.
Take away the reward by turning round & walking the other way every time he pulls (similar to what Indieanna says) and only walking forward when the lead is slack.
I have seen dogs pulling just as hard on a check chain, because they are stil going forward.
A bit of practice in the garden when he is not so excited is a good start.
Is your dog obedient and co operative in other ways? sit stays, leaving things when told etcet? if he isn't then he's not going to listen to you out walking either. if he is then the tips here will work. If he isn't then I would suggest classes, find one that says "gentle method" or something similar, your vet or animal shelter should be able to help.
I wouldn't use a chain collar as a first (or 31st) option, They are not usually needed and definitely need skilled hands to be effective
Please DO NOT use a choke chain, they are really horrible. Canny collars are getting really good write ups and I know people with BC's who say they are fantastic, do a google search to find out more.
Also turning around and wlking the other way everytime they start pulling, it stops them getting to where they want to go and they learn, you may be a bit dizzy first of all but it does work
We've found that using a Halti has "cured" the situation in our Golden Retreiver. ( Although he will still pull if not on a Halti)
Basically, all it does is change the point of contact with the lead from the dog's shoulders, which are generally very powerfull, to across the top of his nose, which, if he pulls with the Halti on, means his head is pulled around to one side, which dogs don't like.
I have tried a halti and have to agree they are really good but they do tend to hate wareing them. also can I just correct you all on the choke chain its real name is a check chain as when you pull it you are checking the dog back in to the correct place, one of the trainers at my dog class swears by them, I never really liked them but after seeing what he can do with a very unruley dog I think that in the right hands they are very good, but you have to really know what you are doing. also I have to agree with all the advice given so far. :-)
The basis of Loose Leash Walking is for you to be more exciting than your enviroment and the dog doesn't pull, so that you can both have FUN on your walks. A dog's normal walk is a trot, so they have to slow down for us.
Any collar is a TOOL, it helps you teach your dog not to pull, it doesn't teach them.
Here we go: have a few tastey bits of reward (something your dog likes, cut up chicken or hot dogs or some other small moist treat) and a HUNGRY dog. (It is best if you wear them out with a bit of fetch or whatever before doing this). Start in a NON-DISTRACTING AREA first, don't try taking them out front first, this is too distracting. You want your dog to understand that everything good comes from you.
1st step: stand, act like a tree and see what your dog does, if he goes to the end of the lead, wait, if he turns back towards you, say "yes" and give him a treat, hold it to your side, left or right whichever side you want him to always return to (THIS IS NOT HEEL), make him come back to you, do not hold it way out and meet him 1/2 way. Then wait some more, if he stays near you, praise him, talk to him, keep it in a happy voice and you can tell him anything, your day, your boss being a sot, or whatever. remember : YOU NEED TO BE MORE EXCITING THAN THE ENVIRONMENT. If your dog stays with you after doing this for a couple of days then he is getting the ideal that all good things come from you( praise, praise and treat if your dog looks up at you, whatever a dog is looking at that is usually what they are focused on, so if he's watching you he's focused on you and you have his attention). If he goes to the end and just stands there trying to pull then you can make a noise or say "hello", or "earth to dog", don't say their name, it will become white noise to them eventually if you have to keep saying their name. To be continued:
Once you have them paying attention to you, add a bit more distrsction like doing this in the back yard, if they are good in this area then you can start to step forward, say "Let's Go", Not "come" "come here" or "come on", come is a totally a different behavior.
If you step forward (say north) and they run to the end of the leash, stop and act like a tree again. Wait for them to look back at you, if they don't make a noise again, when they do tell them "yes" and reverse your direction (say south), this makes them have to have to catch up with you, when they do and they walk 3-4 steps with you then treat them and praise them, you may only go 5 ft in 20 minutes but you must do it this way, if you let them get away with pulling even one time, they will do it again and again because that is what works for them, the habit is there, you must break the habit (pulling on lead)which is much harder. You can reverse again if they are doing okay and you really need to walk, say north. TALK (happy higher pitch)to them when they are walking with you nicely, treat them when they remain in good position, praise them.
A dog doesn't know they're doing the right thing unless you tell them.
Keep doing this until you can get them to walk with you nicely. If they pull left, go right if they go right go left, if they continue to want to go forward reverse it, always tell them you are changing direction, don't jerk them off their feet. You dictate where you walk not them.
I think that can give you an idea on how to Loose Leash Walk, but a class is better, if you don't do it just right the dog will take advantage, they go with what works for them. There are some good ideals on here I thought I would have my say. It does no good if your dog doesn't think you are boss, or the leader, he won't want to listen to you, just like woofgang says.
Get into a positive reinforcement class. When training with treats cut back about 10% of your dogs food and make sure the treats are small, dogs don't know size they just get something for doing something right, as they get better at it, you can have them earn their breakfast or dinner on their walk by mixing treats with their kibble, then ask for longer distances ( built up slowly) before giving something, but, ALWAYS PRAISE THEM for doing the right thing, don't be a bore on a walk, talk to them, I get more attention when I talk to the dogs I train, and people think I am a dog whisperer, but it just looks that way.
Sorry for any spelling errors, I'm sure you can still figure out what the word is. Good Luck..
i was watching a television programme on this the other day and what they did to this dog was every time they took him for a walk they put a back pack on him and put water bottles (small) in it. what they said on the show was that the dog feels more like a working dog carrying your items. I put a car harness on my dog the other day to test it out took her for a walk and surprisingly she didn't pull me but when she got used to it close to the end of the walk she started pulling again. Maybe ill invest in a back pack for her.
With some dogs it takes a bit of practice and others lots of practice. I think constand jerking and tugging will cause you both a lot of frustration and possible harm to your dog. Its a good idea to keep some of his favourite treats in your hand and pocket and coax him back every time he pulls. Remember a dog pulls when its exited,i've talking softly and offering a treat is a good distraction, but you got to stick with it. GOOD LUCK
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