Hi, I have a 13 month old lab who is wonderful in every way except for walking on lead. I get pulled everywhere as everything is so exciting and wonderful, and my children cannot walk her at all as she is too strong for them. I have tried all the training tips such as stopping and not moving forward, going in opposite direction and I have been a big failure at this. The problem is the treats don’t work, she is food oriented about everything but walking on lead, she is just not interested as everything else is so exciting. She works lovely on lead in the back yard, but the minute you leave the house to go somewhere else, she pulls all the time. I am thinking of a gentle leader or similar as have been told by others that they cannot walk their dog without it, but honestly feel like a bit of a failure and don’t really know if this is a good option. Any thoughts or suggestions? I don’t really know what type to get if I was going to go with a gentle leader option. But at the moment the other option is to not go on walks as it is not enjoyable, and don’t want to feel like this. Thanks
Hi Donna. I don’t have any experience with Gentle Leaders myself but the consensus on the forum is that they work by causing your dog discomfort when they pull, are therefore not a positive training tool and should not be used. It sounds like you are doing all the right things as far as lead walking is concerned so don’t feel disheartened, this is just something you need to work through. Is there a positive reinforcement trainer nearby that you could organise a session with?
Firstly don't feel like a failure! Most of us have been there, struggling with loose lead walking with a young labrador. The worst of it too is that it always seems like you are the only one! The fact of the matter is there really aren't any short-cuts to training loose lead walking. You will also have good days and bad ones, dog training in my experience never follows a linear path! The good thing is that you have a food orientated dog. That is a great start! If you find that she is not interested in treats where you are walking, then the enviroment is too stimulating, you probably need to find somewhere quieter to start, with fewer distractions. Choose a time where you are not rushing around, and don't think of it as getting from A to B, think about using a small area and walking a short distance, but quite randomly. Empty car parks are good for this! In the meantime, when you have to walk that short distance, you may find a front and back fastening harness a better option than a head halter. A couple of good ones are Perfect Fit, Ruffwear and the Copenhagen Comfort harnesses. A good group training class will help, and some are designed for adolescent dogs. Just make sure they use positive reinforcement methods, no jerking or pulling your dog around! This article will give you a few more tips... https://www.thelabradorsite.com/walking-your-labrador-on-a-loose-lead/ Good luck, don't be disheartened and keep us posted!
Great, thanks for the advice. So you think a harness is a better option for walking her than a flat collar? At least this way she would stop trying to choke herself with the collar. Am I best off to start with both a back leash and front leash connected or do I just use the back one? And do I just keep on with the treat training and trying to get her to walk at my side, and do this in a less stimulating environment? I really appreciate the advice, and thanks for pointing out it is not just me.... I see all these other people walking their very well behaved dogs on lead and wonder what I am doing wrong. But in truth this is the only area we really struggle with so am lucky that she is such a lovely dog. Thanks Donna
I would also add @Donna Atk, try not to feel like a failure, it's so common for things to take time for pups to learn. I remember thinking I had the loose lead walking licked and then I found myself in a different environment and my pup was awful! I felt a bit useless myself but realised I needed to practise a bit more in different places. She's nearly two now and I am a bit remiss with practice because she's pretty good MOST of the time but she still has her moments. You also said your girl was wonderful in every other way so you've obviously done a great job with her .
Thanks, She is a gorgeous chocolate lab... and as she is still young she is excitable and can sometimes be mischievous. (She chewed the remote control for the TV yesterday) so I now have to buy a new one... but on the whole she is fabulous and we adore her. She is great with my children and she is very loving and affectionate. So we could not have asked for a better fur baby. Once we get the walking on lead thing under control it will be happy days... Donna
I used a gentle leader nose collar for Homer when he was pulling a lot but only used it for short around the block training walks, we went the opposite direction to the fun off lead walks. We started with up the road and back and built up to round the block. Slowly the on lead bit to the fun walk became more possible.
In my experience it get's better with time, I am still training my lab to not pull the leash and he is about 1 year and 5 months. Even though there are good days and bad days I've noticed a significant improvement in these last few months, it's only a matter of patience and stuborness. It's easy to get disheartened and to only see the bad stuff but I am sure your girl has gotten better as well, if only just a little. Focus on the good parts and try to cheerish everytime she is doing something right! In my case my boy was pulling really hard, jumping crazy, lunging at EVERYONE and EVERYTHING, chasing cars, chasing leafs etc etc. This began at the age of 6 months and got worse really quickly. I started training with candy, but since I am not good at timing I failed and he learned that when he pulled and stopped, he got candy. So he started pulling only to stop and walk beside me until he got the reward and then he would repeat the process. I only recommend treat based training if you can time it right. Now I use the "stop and wait until he stop pulling"-method. In the beginning it felt like it got nowhere and I had to do this for atleast like 3 months until I noticed that something had happened. It's really amazing now because, sure he does pull at times; but the moment I stop walking he stops pulling and walks back to me, sits next to me and looks into my eyes to show me that "you have my attention now". It only requires a ton of patience and it is really frustrating I know. But if you are persistent and stubborn your dog will learn that they are not getting anywhere so there is no point in pulling.
Thanks so much, I have ordered a Ruffwear harness with a front and back lead attachment online, so am waiting on that to turn up so I can start using it. I am hoping with training in a less stimulating environment and with the harness things may improve a bit. Let’s hope so Donna
