Hi I haven't posted on here for a while our black lab Freddie is now 19 months old and a wonderful addition to our family. Training is on going and he is much calmer generally although he still has his moments! One area I am still struggling with his walking calmly on a lead. Fred has improved a lot and will walk nicely by my side for 90% of the time the problem is the other 10%. If he sees a squirrel or a cat or just catches a whiff of a particularly enticing smell he will suddenly lunge towards it with no warning and has pulled me over. I know I shouldn't let him get anywhere by pulling me but I have no choice but to be pulled along he is so strong I can not stay still. it was affecting our walks I was not enjoying them so I bought a head collar to give me a bit more control and confidence when walking him. But he hates it and paws at his face to get it off and he can still pull me about when he decides he is going somewhere! So should I persist with the headcollar or go back to just the harness and start training again from the beginning? I really want us both to enjoy our walks again. Thank you
Hi @Nichola, I've been in a very similar position with Cassie and have been following the video on the sticky on this part of the Forum, @Joy and @Beanwood uploaded them and they are really useful. Also on the mainsite there are articles by Pippa about this which are really helpful. I don't know much about headcollars, I should think it would be better to use the harness.
Hi Selina thanks for your reply. I have just watched the videos and then I took Fred on a very short walk up and down the street just on his collar and lead. I increased the rate I rewarded him and he walked beautifully! BUT we didn't see any distractions no other dogs or squirrels or cats. I must admit to being a little nervous about when he encounters distractions like these especially cats. There are a couple who just seem to wait for us to walk past! Fred completely loses the plot when he sees them and can't listen to me or be distracted by anything i try. This was why I tried the head collar I am worried he will pull the lead from my hand and run into the road after a cat or squirrel and be injured. I just worry I won't be able to hold him. How do I proof his lead walking against this?
Have you tried LAT - Look At That? I do this a lot with my almost 16 month old. If she sees a cat or any distraction, I say ‘that’s a cat (or whatever it is), look at that’. When she hears the words ‘Look At That’ she will look at me and I give her a treat. This works really well on a loose lead. It does have to be trained but it’s a really useful tool. (Unfortunately she gave chase to a cat this morning when she was off lead )
agree with @Atemas that LAt would be a good thing to do aswell. But you have to build up the distance that you start from so that they learn in a less distracting environment, so those moments on a walk when a squirrel or cat just appear are not the most ideal. Again there is a sticky put on by @snowbunny which is really helpful. I would suggest that you set about training LAT specifically, in a separate session as it were, and if you have no choice but to exercise him in high temptation environments use his harness rather than flat collar until such time as Lat is appropriate in that situation. I hope that makes sense
I should say, that the harness I have for Cassie is "a no pull" one, I don't have a great knowledge of harnesses, but it was supplied by the force free trainer I went too. And I can't advice re headcollars, but hopefully more knowledgeable people will be along.
Thanks I will train look at that and do some research into a new harness for him he has a truelove one at the moment which I use with a double ended lead attached at the front and on his back.
I have a harness to use a double ended lead on. @snowbunny posted somewhere recently about how to use this correctly which in my usual fashion I was doing wrong! Inky is like your dog, pretty impressive most of the time but then a sudden lunge. Using the lead properly this evening and doing the exercises Selina mentioned on the sticky thread, we had a great time. Inky particularly liked the clincker and fast feeding treats, surprise that!
ooh Yes LAT definitely has to be taught in a less distracting environment and it does take time but oh so useful. Tonight I have walked Red and we saw 3 cats - they were almost staged LOL - appeared right in front of her . She was great - I said ‘oo look that’s a cat’ and she looked then quickly at me each time. Slight tightening of her lead but still loose. Did make me smile.
Hi there, i've just googled your truelove harness, it looks good as long as it fits ok so i would stick with it. Use your double ended lead to attach to both front and back attachments, but try to just use the back one unless he pulls suddenly, and only then the front attachment will stop him pulling forward and turn him round to the side. But all the time you can be training loose lead walking, using LAT in high distraction areas. Are you using really high value treats? No harm in waving a piece of chicken or a prawn under his nose to begin with as a lure.
Haha yes! I've been doing LAT with our own cat, long story, she's a feisty devil. One day last week she appeared in the kitchen next to Cassie --who stood there, looking sideways at the cat then looking at me. It was like "the cat's here, next to me, I'm looking at the cat, now I'm looking at you, lets have my treat" with every repetition the grin got bigger and the tail wagged harder ! Made me smile for sure! Apologies @Nichola, for going off topic.
