Pulling on lead

[twiggyandsarah]

Now that Solo is walking further (with the aid of Serena!) his tendency to pull very strongly on the lead is more of a problem.

I've tried the method of stopping every time he pulls, and only setting off again when the lead goes slack, but it doesn't seem to make any difference to him how many times we stop, he still carries on pulling as soon as we start again!

The other method of turning around and walking in the opposite direction also doesn't work with Solo, because he ALWAYS wants to go home as soon as possible (even with Serena) so turning him around towards the direction we came from is exactly what he wants!

I'm wondering, are there any other methods that anyone knows of that might work in this situation? What do people think of the Halti-type face things? Do they work and if so what brand is best?

Also, Serena can pull on lead but is much easier to correct (as long as she hasn't spied a cat or a squirrel!) so am I giving her the wrong signals if I'm working with Solo while she's trying to walk along normally? Is it better to walk them separately? My big problem with this is that if Serena isn't with us, Solo won't go more than 5 minutes down the road on his lead so I won't get much chance to work on his pulling!

Any suggestions gratefully received!

[Mr Roo]

we have had some pullers over the years the worst being a GSD, we eventually did it after trying many things by having a training lead with both clips onto the collar coming up through the hand and the loop going back down either side of the shoulders and draping across the front of the dog against roughly just above where the front legs join the chest then the loop across the front restrained him and the collar was slack and he walked much better and we just encouraged him with praise when he walked slowly, treats etc talking to him constantly and keeping his attention.it took a while but not long and from then on he walked to heel with a nice slack lead.
paulx

[gazer]

Feb 8, 2013 12:53:54 GMT -5 Mr Roo said:

we have had some pullers over the years the worst being a GSD, we eventually did it after trying many things by having a training lead with both clips onto the collar coming up through the hand and the loop going back down either side of the shoulders and draping across the front of the dog against roughly just above where the front legs join the chest then the loop across the front restrained him and the collar was slack and he walked much better and we just encouraged him with praise when he walked slowly, treats etc talking to him constantly and keeping his attention.it took a while but not long and from then on he walked to heel with a nice slack lead.
paulx

I've also found that placing the lead across the front of the dogs body can stop them pulling, it works for Cara who is a serial puller as she is sooo alert on her walks and doesn't miss a trick

Perhaps someone more familiar with leads and suchlike knows if you can buy a lead where it actually stays at the front of the body (hope that makes sense) as it is liable to move if you are using a regular lead.

[Deleted]

The lead trick above does work very well, but if you prefer a halter-type thing then the Dogmatic is very good, it doesn't generally twist up towards the eyes.

I think most dogs can work out who's being corrected, so Serena should be okay so long as you're not using a general voice correction - if so, you know your own dogs well so you'll be able to see if she's upset. It might be easier for you though if there's anyone could take Serena for you and walk alongside so you can concentrate on one dog. It won't be easy to teach Solo to walk nicely if he won't walk at all

I must say though, if you can find the patience of a saint and go out with Solo on a simple collar and lead, the stopping and refusing to continue until the lead is slack does work. When I get a new dog which pulls, I set aside a whole day for doing nothing except this. It's as boring as hell and sometimes I don't get further than 10 yards before going home, waiting a few minutes and trying again (otherwise I'm scared I'll lose my temper instead ). If they don't put slack into the lead themselves, I sort of jiggle it a bit - not yanking but just sort of squeeze and open your hand (if you ride you'll understand that easier). It seems to be mildly irritating and they generally turn to move away from it, which slackens the lead.

I find now with all my dogs, if they get a bit excited and pully I just need to jiggle the lead a couple of times and they walk nicely again.

I use this method simply because it works for me and I can't afford a pulling dog as my back can't cope. Harnesses, Dogmatics etc all work well but many of them only work while they're on - if you stop using them the behaviour can revert. That doesn't make them a bad choice, just something to be aware of.

Good luck!

[julies]

It sounds like Paul and Gazer are doing similar to the TTouch balance lead which drapes wacross the chest and you give your signal to stop and go from the chest not the collar. It sounds to me as if he's worried about being out so I'd try a harness (Mekuti, X-tra dog and the TTouch harnesses all have rings on the chest and on the rear of the harness) and I'd have a long training lead probably about 2m long- webbing ones from the harness people tho I like leather leads and mine come from Essenjay. WIth Charlie I looped the lead across his chest as he pulled like a train and now I clip one end of the lead to the rear ring on his back and the other lead clip to the chest ring and he doesn't pull In TTouch we find if you take the pressure off the neck they become less reactive and think plus with the lead across the chest you teach them to be better balanced

Hope it helps

Julie x

[Nettie]

I prefer to use a Gentle Leader as opposed to the Dogmatic as they can open their mouths as wide as necessary to pant, the Dogmatic is a bit more restricted and the GL has much softer fabric than the Dogmatic and also doesn't rise to their eyes.

[twiggyandsarah]

Thank you for your replies everyone.

'Dogmatic' sounds like something Wallace and Gromit would invent!

[teesidegirl]

We've tried a 'Canny Collar' and Halti with Molly (spaniel!) both effective and gradually helped stop her pulling but they had tendency to ride up towards her eyes which bothered me. We now have a rope halter lead which is really simple to use and definately best we've tried both for Molly and us! (from KJK Rope dog leads I think!)
Also I have a medium/large Halti if you wanted to try it?

[twiggyandsarah]

Feb 11, 2013 15:29:49 GMT -5 teesidegirl said:

We've tried a 'Canny Collar' and Halti with Molly (spaniel!) both effective and gradually helped stop her pulling but they had tendency to ride up towards her eyes which bothered me. We now have a rope halter lead which is really simple to use and definately best we've tried both for Molly and us! (from KJK Rope dog leads I think!)
Also I have a medium/large Halti if you wanted to try it?

Thanks so much for the offer Jenny but I've just ordered a Gentle Leader. Will see how it goes!

[tinar]

Sarah, 

Daley used to be a dreadful puller, you could hitch a sleigh to him, and he's a big strong lad.

I used one of the complete control harnesses from Kumfi.


Kumfi Harness


Less than £20, it has different attachment points, which made him have to think about how he was walking.

I also used one of these:

Double clip attachment


as it meant I could easily change the dynamics during a walk if he started to pull which slowed him down straight away.

Daley can be a bit nervous out and about, too, and I found that having the harness on helped his confidence- maybe the 'body-wrap feel of the harness I don't know but it helped.


Finally, he's been walking with just a collar for the last few months as he's improved so much, so I would thoroughly recommend it.


Oh, and good luck

[twiggyandsarah]

Good news - the Gentle Leader works! I'm actually really amazed by how much it has helped. He still pulls, but it is much more manageable now and gives me a much better start point for working with him on it. I might try the harness also and see what happens!

Thanks for the advice all - my arms and back will be eternally grateful!

[futuramafan]

Can I ask what size you got? I tried a halti and found it bothered Molly's eyes and gave it up with it pretty quickly. Also do you feel confident that your dog won't slip the collar?

[twiggyandsarah]

Feb 19, 2013 8:59:28 GMT -5 futuramafan said:

Can I ask what size you got? I tried a halti and found it bothered Molly's eyes and gave it up with it pretty quickly. Also do you feel confident that your dog won't slip the collar?

I got a medium and I haven't seen it ride up to his eyes. I use a double ended lead with one end clipped to the Gentle Leader and one end clipped to the martingale collar. Although I think the leaflet that came with the Gentle Leader says not to use it with a collar, I didn't feel comfortable not using one, so I gave it a try and I don't think it causes a problem in any way. I just hold the lead on the side that is clipped to the Gentle Leader so that's where the pressure goes. Hope that makes sense!

[julies]

I think the RGT advice is never to use a headcollar/gentle leader/halti etc etc with only the lead attached to the headcollar ...a greys acceleration is so quick that you could do vast damage to their neck if you only had the lead attached to the headgear ....a double ended lead is best with one end attached to the collar so you use the halti etc as a last resort if they won't listen to you and you can gently turn their head so they give a calming signal too.

J x

[Cath]

I'm interested in how you get on in the long term Sarah. Jess pulls like a train (and is VERY lead reactive) so we have her on a harness and collar but she can still be hard work. Perhaps a gentle leader might do the trick for her as well