When Bailey and I first went out for walk on the lead (after vaccinations) he would walk behind and 'sit' every time I turned around to see if he was still there. I think he's finding his feet a bit and is beginning to pull. I'm doing a mixture of me standing still briefly when this happens, and pulling him back as shown at a puppy training class. Just wondering if everyone could suggest what they feel is the best way to stop pulling on the lead. Walking with a treat in my hand holding the lead on his side often works, although he's walking but looking at me (or my hand) all of the time when I do that.
There are some great articles on the main site, all collected together in the links in this post: http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...or/labrador-training/9505-pulling-on-the-lead I think it's a bad idea to pull a dog back using the lead - I know you've seen that at puppy class, and I know some pet dog trainers teach this. But I think it is a) hard on the dog b) one of the least efficient ways to train loose lead c) confusing for the dog. You also need to move on from luring him with a treat to rewarding him for doing the right thing (luring won't actually teach him anything and he won't walk nicely without the treat, although it's ok to start off with that). There are lots of different ways, and people will have variations on what to do. The main thing is that you do not walk forward when he is pulling, and you reward when he is not.
All I can add it that I wish I persisted with good loose lead walking a lot more when Homer was a young puppy. Keep it up as they get very strong, very quickly, then bad habits are much harder to break.
It seems to me that if you pull the dog back you are teaching the dog that it is alright to pull. Training them to walk nicely on the lead takes a very long time, it is, after all, completely alien to a dog. When Molly pulled I just stood still, we went nowhere. She would eventually sit (I am sure she would have done a bored sigh if she could have) then we would walk on. In the early days it was almost every step. Be persistent and consistent and it will eventually pay off. (And "Yes" it is mind blowingly boring)
I agree that pulling him back does not seem like a good approach. Whenever Myles puts tension on the leash, I just stop and wait for him to let the leash have slack again, then we will move forward. And repeat and repeat. Now at 8 months I can tell that it's becoming more automatic for him. He pulls, I stop, he looks back at me (which loosens the leash), then we go again. This has worked well for us. And yes reward those steps when he is walking nicely (but not luring by holding treat at your side). Now when when other people or dogs come close to us it's all over but that's a different issue.
