i know there have been lots of discussions about this but I want to make the right decision for Red so need some advice. Both DH and I have noticed how strong she is getting . As he does the majority of walks with her, I need a solution that he is happy with but ‘sits’ well with me. Don’t judge him as he is excellent with our dogs but last night he mentioned a choke chain. I was horrified and said no - much discussion and no decision - me saying I would look into a different lead. We have been using a slip lead which has a ‘stop’ bit on it so doesn’t tighten around her neck. Neither of us wants to use her harness - she really dislikes it and tolerates it for Scentwork but that’s the only time it’s used now. Welcome your ideas/views.
Well, if you want a device to control your dog, it either needs to be punishing (a slip lead, choke chain, many head collars including figure-8s, some harnesses) or something that makes it mechanically impossible to pull (other head collars, some harnesses). Those are really your only options, other than training, training, training. Do you have to have her on lead for A-to-B walks at the moment? The ideal would be to only have her on lead when you are able to train nice lead manners and the rest of the time have her off.
Not sure if this is what you're talking about but Ella generally walks on a loose lead and flat collar. Usually, if I see something that I know she'll struggle with, I'll move off to the side and reward for calm until we can keep walking. However, every now and then (becoming less and less frequently thankfully) we'll end up in a 'leaping-labrador' situation. I have a normal lead that has a second handle near the clip. If I grab this handle, I have soooo much more control and I can prevent the lunge. Is that what you were thinking of?
Yes this will always be happening. She is on the slip lead until she gets to the woods and fields, then she is off lead. DH says she is pulling on the way to the woods (excitement ). With me, it’s an on lead walk which is a training walk. She is great nearly all the time as she self regulates into a heel position ‘cos she knows she’ll get a treat. However, she has started to pull a bit and I am worried as she gets bigger/even stronger she might pull me over - a couple of times I have felt off balance. I have arthritis and very dodgy knees and feel a bit vulnerable. I want to walk and manage her as long as I can. Thank you for posting and the photograph @Emily. She isn’t lunging (maybe we have this to come) - just beginning to pull.
Sorry about Ella's head... She just couldn't stay away from her lead in case she missed out on the opportunity of a walk
Years ago when slip leads were ok to train with, we were taught to pull the lead down quickly across the back of the neck (down - off) so that the lead never tightened around the dogs neck. So if OH insists, do it that way.
Yes, if she's pulling OH towards the woods and he's letting her do it, she's being reinforced for that and so will learn that pulling gets her what she wants, making it less likely she'll stop doing it. Is it a round slip lead or a wide one? I wouldn't want any pulling on a normal round one, because it's got a lot of potential to do damage. Have you tried the "magic hand" game? It's explained here: https://positively.com/contributors...ion-zero-pressure-control-with-1-simple-game/
With Stanley I've just sort of accepted that when he pulls he's as strong as me and it's part and parcel of having a bigger dog. I have him on a harness which I find does make it much much easier to control him than just on a lead. He generally walks nicely on a loose lead but if we go somewhere new or somewhere exciting he will pull - but I just stop until he comes back to walk next to me. Means everything takes twice as long but we get there in the end What about a harness that clips on the front? They're supposed to help but I don't know if they're punishing or not? I know they don't hurt them? Stanleys not a massive fan of his harness, but unfortunately it goes on because until he's reliable to not pull I'm not risking his safety or his neck.
We are taught to have the lead at a slack position then hold our jeans waistband so that our hand is fixed. Then do lots of treating when the dog is in position, stop when they are not. How about OH trying this? It really works. Keir would be a real puller without us both doing this every lead walk.
It CAN work if only one of you is committed to loose lead walking (as described by Boogie) - Coco will do it for me (we had a super loose lead walk this morning), but he won't for OH - because OH allows him to pull** - he simply doesn't have the patience. It was very slow progress, however. ** OH is complaining of a sore shoulder & arm this morning after last night's training - Coco pulled, of course. So why oh why won't he take my advice? Who knows!
There is no quick fix to dogs pulling on lead apart from 'training, training and more training'. It is the only way to get a nice loose lead walk. If you have a very strong puller a head collar can help in the training process but as a trainer I would never work with a slip lead either - limited or not as they simply don't stop a dog pulling. And as @edzbird says it takes everyone walking the dog to be on the same training page for success. For anyone tempted to try a choke chain or prong collar, here is the APDT link as to why we disapprove of them http://www.apdt.co.uk/resources/choke-chain-leaflet and for those tempted by a half check or martingale collar (with a nice reference to slip leads ) http://www.apdt.co.uk/about-apdt/apdt-policy-on-half-check-collars
Thank you everyone for your input I really appreciate what you are all saying. It’s a round slip lead with a buckle on it so it can’t tighten around her neck. He does do magic hand with her. The pulling happens when she sees other dogs/owners in front of her which isn’t all the time as often on their walks they see no one. I do understand what he means though and I know he has adopted my training methods which of course I am really pleased about. With me she keeps a very loose lead and actually nudges my hand periodically to say ‘look, I’m walking to heel’ which means ‘where’s my treat’. This is great but I know at some point we have to fade the treats a bit. We had another brief chat yesterday and we both concluded we need to look at the training. We have been so busy lately that I think we have unintentionally taken our ‘eye off the ball’ .
Thank you for this @jojo - when I did the first Puppy course with Red earlier this year, we were given this. It reinforced my dislike of choke chains.
If Red pulls hard on the lead then might be better for her if she wears a harness. What sort of harness do you use? Lucky hated the first harness he had, but then I bought a new one, and spent some time getting him used to it, and we haven't had a problem since. It might be worth trying a different harness and see if that's better for her? Although I know the better harnesses aren't cheap! With a front clip harness, I find it really annoying if the dog is pulling, but if they walk to heel, the front clip is really good for stopping them from lunging. I think this is the only non-aversive that can stop this. I'm not sure if it's similar in the UK, but here in Germany the R+ trainers insist on you using a harness, and you can't go to the classes without one. Maybe they are just more popular here than in the UK. But it has definitely changed my mind about collars, and I would always use a harness from now on.
Well, at least you know her trigger and what you need to proof against. Now you’ve decided to commit to training (good move) go find some set-ups to practice with
We have a Perfect Fit (it’s in 3 pieces and I have 3 bigger pieces for her growing in the cupboard). I found this and the Halti double ended lead brilliant when she was younger - it really helped in learning to walk on a loose lead. She hates having it put on and despite trying all things, we tried her on the slip lead and that worked so well, we abandoned the harness. She does have to have it on for Scentwork though and tolerates me putting it on when we are there. Yes thank you @snowbunny. I do too. I know we’d work well together .
I guess it's because she doesn't like it going over her head then. I haven't tried a perfect fit, but because it's adjustable and well padded it should be quite comfortable. If she is ok after the harness is on, and you want to give it another try, you could work on training the harness. I would start by just making it into a game in the living room, not when you're going on a walk, for example doing a hand touch through the neck of the harness. A training strategy you can use for management, whether you decide to the try the harness or stick will the slip lead, is to teach her a U-turn/A to B. If you see a distraction ahead that you think she can't cope with yet, like another dog approaching, you can then quickly turn her away from the distraction and avoid the situation. I usually cross the road if I think that there'll be a difficult situation ahead.
Thank you @lucky_dog. I think you have ‘hit the nail on the head’ - I use those strategies when I walk her but I think DH is more focussed on doing the walk regardless and they do meet other dogs more than when I walk her. He is great with the dogs but I think we have a way to go with the training. He has taken on board so much that I have been doing with her but there’s still that ‘old school’ approach that comes to the fore. Anyway, he has ditched the choke chain idea and took her out on her flat collar and lead today. The Perfect Fit doesn’t go over the head - it has lots of clips. It is nicely padded so I am sure it’s comfortable. I think I will try it again on my evening walks and see how we get on.
It could be the padding which is the issue - I find the lighter weight the harness the better Tatze is with it. We have one of these for her as she can’t be trusted not to go loopy round cats - https://www.amazon.co.uk/PetSafe-Ha...87&sr=8-5&keywords=easy+walk+dog+harness&th=1
