Excitable Dog Pulling On The Lead Again!

[ncarter]

I have a few questions about my dog pulling on the lead during walks. I have a very excitable dog who gets very stimulated by sights and smells on walks. He does pull a lot especially in the first 15 mins or so on a walk, so I use a harness so there is less pressure on his neck. When he pulls I stop walking and make him sit and watch or I stop and make him heel and watch and then we take off again. Is this the right thing to do? An obdedience instruction told me I could also give the lead a pull to get him back in the right place (like a correction) when he starts to get out in front but im not sure if this is the right thing to do with such a little dog. The dog likes to be out in front say half a foot in front of me even if he is not pulling, so I'd like to him to walk closer to my leg more often. He does know the heel command but he is not good at walking to heel if you know what I mean.

Also when we get close to the park the pulling intensifies so it can often take us 5 or 10 mins to walk the last 50 metres to the park. Should I be really consistent in not letting him pull at all? Because sometimes I just keep going so we can get to the park and it can be over.

I would also like to know about how I can get my dog to remain calm when there are other dogs out walking. I know some people stop and make their dogs sit while other dogs pass and get their dog to look at them. How should I go about this?

any help much appreciated

[Guest dinkumdog]

While you are walking the dog, if he goes to pull then go anti clockwise with him forcing your right leg infront of him while doing the circle continually. Dont stop doing the clockwise circle till he stops pulling, reward and good boy. Then when he settles walk in a straight line, if he continues go back to step one of the anticlockwise circle bringing your right foot in front of him.

When he gets excited when other dogs come, make him sit with your hand on his chest, say no firmly. When he settles another treat.

[Gayle.]

I found that being unpredictable made my dog concetrate more on me than the surrounds and consequently stopped him pulling. Turn abruptly left or right, about turn and walk the other way. Stop and give the sit command and expect him to obey it. Walk 5-10 paces and stop abruptly again and make him sit. Do that a few times combined with turns, about turns....mix them up so he doesn't know what's coming next. Eventually he will focus on you because YOU are the one setting the walk, not him.

[cramet]

dont use the harness they premote pulling for a start

there are a few ways you can do

the 2 ways i like doing if he can heal nicely for a bit good when he plays up you do an quick about turn and walk were you came from untill he has focus again then about turn again and keep going

or you can try food when he heels nicly you reward him with some nice treats if he mores foward correct him and when your happy give a treat or you can include the first one

or try the no pull head collars (i havnt tryed any of theys so i cant give any advice)

Edited March 28, 2008 by cramet

[BC]

dont use the harness they premote pulling for a start

when he plays up you do an quick about turn and walk were you came from untill he has focus again then about turn again and keep going

A harness will encourage pulling. IMO dogs of all sizes should be able to walk nicely on a flat collar. Collars dont hurt little dogs, its the owner giving too strong a correction on a little dog that will do damage. With mine on a flat collar I either quickly turn the other way, and continue to do this until the dog is no longer pulling, or just simply stop dead in my tracks. Once the lead is loose and the dog has moved closer back to me i will reward and we continue walking. This is a very very long process and may take months of walks that are not very enjoyable for you but your aim is to teach your dog that you can only continue the walk when they lead is loose.

Edited March 28, 2008 by BC

[dee lee]

I have a similar problem and posted about it a couple of months ago, here is the link-

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...&hl=pulling

If you skim through the many replies Im sure you will find some great advice, some of which helped me.

My dog STILL is easily distracted but Im coping better and hope that one day we will become a well oiled walking machine!!

Good luck,

Dee

[ncarter]

or you can try food when he heels nicly you reward him with some nice treats if he mores foward correct him and when your happy give a treat or you can include the first one

how should I go about correcting him?

thanks for all the help guys

[BC]

or you can try food when he heels nicly you reward him with some nice treats if he mores foward correct him and when your happy give a treat or you can include the first one

how should I go about correcting him?

thanks for all the help guys

I'm not sure what correction cramet means, but just thought I would add not to use a correction chain on such a small dog :D

My correction would be to stop walking and then treat with food once there is a loose lead and continue walking

[cramet]

the correction can be a simple yank on the lead not hard enough to move them of there feet but enough to change there focus you dont need much and no it dosnt have to be a check chain a flat coller will work

but i do think the about turn to change focus and food to reward to be easyest method

Edited March 28, 2008 by cramet

[Erny]

... but i do think the about turn to change focus and food to reward to be easyest method

Agree with Cramet. Merely stopping doesn't much (if at all) alter the dog's focus from where it wants to go. Food isn't always necessary either - the promise of a "good dog", a pat and a two-way eye exchange can and often is sufficient for many dogs. Having pack drive and the respect that comes from a foundation of good leadership helps a lot too.

[Luke GSP]

I have never dealt with really small breeds so I would suggest getting the all clear from someone that has before trying this but it worked a treat for us. Both my dogs used to be chronic pullers and I tried chain slips and martingales (spelling) and they sort of worked but only for a short period. I then changed our leads to a rope type that turns through a loop on itself but has a leather gromit so that you can keep it at a constant tension. Not for pressure but purely to stop the collar from moving further down the dogs neck to an undesireable position. this is the lead I use

[/img]

this is it in a loop

in position

unchecked lead hand position

checked hand position

[/img]

As you can imagine the check is very small once it reaches the end of the lead but, the amazing thing was that once I started making sure that the lead was in that position on my dogs neck ie very high behind the skull with the lead coming directly up fom the neck to my hand my dogs were instantly pulling less even without a check. It also gave me far better control over them in general. In fact we had such good control that my five year old daughter could very quickly walk with our 25KG male right next to her. IN short I believe that the collar position not the check made the differance (IMO) so even if this type of lead does not suit your dog or personal beliefs at least try changing the collar position and see how that goes?

It worked a treat for us.

Edited March 29, 2008 by luke dixon

[Tonymc]

Ncarter,a dog or horse can only pull if we give them something to pull against.

An inconsistent approach also ensures we will get inconsistent behaviour from the dog.Any training with a dog or any animal is best put in a way the dog understands.We have to get out of our heads and into the dogs head.Think like a Dog.

Much of the time we are simply making it easy for the dog to do what we want and hard for him to do what we do not want.

I am a firm believer in simplicity and all the gear in the world is no subsitute for proper effective training, that imparts our request clearly to the dog.Many dogs behave in ways the owner does not want, due to the dog not understanding what is being asked.

Allowing a dog to pull teaches the dog,if he or she wants to get somewhere that if they pull they will get there.

I would simply equip yourself with a long lead say 6 ft at least.Before you leave your House get the dog in a calm state and do some basic exercises to reinforce leadership.

Head off up the road.Give the dog slack.Now I assume the dog is on your left side.Have the lead in your right hand. Keep walking and if the dog surges ahead let him get close to the end of the lead and turn around yourself and head off in the opposite direction.Do not look back at the dog.The Dog will of course come to the end of the lead and recieve a jolt or correction.The dog will look up and around and will only see the back of you.This way the dog will not assosiate the correction with you,thus not encouraging any resistance.

The dog will turn around and move to catch up with you as you move in the new direction.When the Dog catches up with you and moves into the position by your leg,immeditately mark the position by praising the dog greatly or giving food,depending on what the dogs values.The dog especially early on in this approach will again surge forward and again let him go.Again when he is close to the end of the lead,turn around and go the other direction and repeat the procedure.

This will not be a quick fix and you will need to be consistent and also check your leadership.Leadership is the foundation required before going on to train the dog. Tony