xcitu Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 So Karo is 6 months old and he is doing great. However, he has a habit of dragging everywhere we go, especially after work. I know the energy level he has is a factor in it, but I want to learn him to walk on loose leash. I have been adviced to seperate pulling and walking on loose leach. When I'm not feeling up for training him to do it, I use a harness on him and let him drag as much as he wants. But when I use a collar I will train him to walk on a loose leach. So harness = allowed to pull. Collar = not allowed, walk nice. Any advice to what I can do? I've tried stopping when he pulls previously (when I only used collar), but that didn't work. Maybe it'll change now that I'm switching between a collar and a harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizabeth Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 I am in doing the same thing of sorts with mine, just she is not permitted to just pull to pull. I do not want her pulling on the leash unless she is given the ok to do so. I have issues where her pulling could bring me great harm so this is a very serious issue. What is working for us is I tell her "NO Pull" she knows I mean it if she does pull we go back to come sit stay then try it again we will do this over and over if we must before the walk can begin. Their are times though when I want her assistance, I want her to pull a bit say to help me up a curb or something. For that i tell her ok "Short Leash" this gets her attention that she has to come close to me and assist me. when its time for her to help i simply say " Help me" she will pull me nice and easy up the hill or what have you. I think its pretty much being consistant using the same commands over and over I am always amazed at how fast my girl catches on to things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 I'm not sure there's any benefit to allowing him to pull on the leash ever, whether it's on a collar or a harness. There's loads of advice on the internet to teach loose leash walking. You do have to be patient, though, and more than anything else consistent. If he knows he can get away with it sometimes, he'll keep doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 Whats said above is correct. I teach pet dog classes for puppies and young dogs, and what I have learned is: dogs pull because we pull back. We teach them from a a young age that pressure on their collar means nothing, and we kick in opposition reflex by pulling back and so the pup pulls harder. To teach LLW I teach people how to apply gentle pressure to the collar (while sitting) and reward for the dog stepping into the pressure and not pulling. Then we move to standing and doing this, then walking in a controlled area and the gradually move to walking. I also teach them to reward the dog being where they want it, how to keep soft hands on the leash (think how you hold reins) and how to read the dog and keep attention before a distraction rather than try to get the dog back. About week 3, I make a slip loop in the middle of their leashes and tell them their job is to not let the loop get pulled out (if the leash gets pulled and gets taut the loop disappears). Almost immediately their dogs are attentive and they stop pulling. As soon as I put the onus on the handlers to prevent the leash getting tight, magically the dogs stop pulling. It takes time, practice and effort especially if the dog is already a habitual puller. And in truth, my own well behaved non-pulling dogs get over excited and need remedial work and last year when I went to the beach for the first time in 6 months with 3 over excited dogs who had to be leashed to walk on the pathway to the beach, I got 10 feet in 5 minutes, took them back to the car and put on a harness with an O ring in the front (tracking harnesses that live in my tracking gear box) and clipped their leashes on that. I didn't want to work that hard. They walked nicely on loose leashes on the way back and on our next trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyQ Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 You said you tried stopping when he pulled? How about walking completely in another direction. Every time your dog tugs, just walk in the opposite direction. Don't hang him trying to get him to keep up. If he hesitates when you turn in the opposite direction, gently tug and/or encourage him. Eventually, he'll understand that pulling gets him exactly the opposite of what he wants. It'll also teach him to pay more attention to you when you're walking. Some people like to add a command. I think the more common one is "Let's go", but I prefer "Follow". While I've never tried this on a bc, it worked for both of my retrievers. I'm assuming it could transfer. Let me know how it turns out if you decide to try it. If it works I'll try it on my bc puppy as well, once I get her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizabeth Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 I really like the knot in the leash idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmbmarohl Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 i trained my dogs with a training collar. i got my collie when he was already 2 years old and had very little training. i took him to a class so he would learn to listen while other dogs and people were around. but the training collar is simple...get a cloth one (no chains) make it so it looks like a "P" and then face the dog put it on and make sure it right under the jaw (where the head and neck meet). keep it loose like reins and have the dog heal. vocalize it. "fiddo heal". when the dog does it praise him/her. if he/she pulls do a quick snap on the leash just to get the dogs attention back to the task. talking to him/her regularly at first helps. this will take a while to master and you will need to enforce it every time you take the dog out. ive trained my collie and several labs like this, it works, you just have to stick to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 ^^ Jerking and popping on the leash is pretty old school punishment based training and there are better methods, like those outlined above and on a concurrent thread, available these days. Additionally, if done improperly -- which sadly many people do -- it can cause damage to the dog's trachea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Dear Doggers, Ms. Gentle Lake is quite correct that leash jerking and/or popping is old school. It worked before there were schools and works today. "punishment based training" is a loaded term, as is, for instance "cookie pusher" training. The assertion that "it can cause damage to the dog's trachea" seems to be an urban legend. Donald McCaig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 I know this isn't exactly the same thing, but when my old Jill was injured, part of her rehab included wearing a tracking harness or similar and pulling against it to help rebuild the muscling in her injured hind leg. At the time Jill was my only dog who had been leash trained to heel (I don't need that precision for my farm dogs, but Jill's former owner did obedience at one time and all of her dogs automatically heeled when on leash). It was a real challenge getting her to pull. One thing that worked was to let my other dogs run ahead off leash so that Jill wanted to be with them. It was just funny to me, because the one time I needed a dog to be willing to pull on a leash it was my one dog who absolutely wouldn't! J. I'm not sure there's any benefit to allowing him to pull on the leash ever, whether it's on a collar or a harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 The assertion that "it can cause damage to the dog's trachea" seems to be an urban legend. http://www.vetinfo.com/dog-training-collar.html http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/collars.html http://flyingpawsdogtraining.weebly.com/damage-by-choke-chains.html http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/which-types-of-collars-and-harnesses-are-safe-for-your-dog (ocular damage as well) ETA: Didn't see anything that suggested this is an urban legend. I'd appreciate sources on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cass C Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 I know that a lot of people will not agree with it, but I did/do on occasion use a pinch collar to walk my older dog Lyka. I did not do it in the traditional way of popping the collar, but rather I just stop and when she pulled it was much more uncomfortable than a regular collar. She had a serious problem with lunging and choking herself when she saw another dog or person she wanted to meet while using a regular collar. I was very hesitant to use the pinch collar, but the one incident that pushed me over the edge was when we were walking in a local pet store and she was doing great with the loose leash, then a very hyper dog walked in and Lyka just decided to ignore all training and lunged across the floor yanking my arm and it felt like I had torn a muscle. It ended up just straining the muscle rather than tearing it. I talked to my trainer and he explained to me the benefits and risks of a pinch collar. He also explained how it can be phased out as the dog matures and learns more and more self control. Still hesitant I tested it on myself as strange as that sounds, and as it turns out it is not that bad if you only pull the collar and do not pop it. I also had my trainer teach me how to use the collar rather than just putting it on and winging it. She is to the point now that she will walk on her collar most of the time, but when she starts pulling again I just put the pinch collar on her for a while then swap back to the regular collar when she calms down. However, if you decide to use a pinch collar I insist that you visit a professional trainer to show you how to use it properly. My younger pup Lily is a dream on a leash, and learned with the stop and go method that from what you say didn't help you much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 Just got this in my inbox: http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/ask-expert-five-quick-tips-stop-your-dog-pulling-leash/20193 First 2 things are things that most people don't consider when trying to deal with leash puling, and that just might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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