Our Fred is 9 months old and 31kg of pure strength! I have issues walking him on the lead due to the fact he wont stop pulling. Its very frustrating due to the fact he is as good as gold off the lead. Luckily when he pulls me i can just about restrain him, but this is not the case for my partner. I just wish my partner could walk him up the road and not get walked down the road! i also would like the children to be able to walk him in future, but there is no chance of that happening the way he is at the moment. Am i too late to seek for advice? can i stop my 9 month old puppy pulling me everywhere! Any repsonse and feedback would be highly appreciated
This is a great series of videos for training loose lead walking. This approach works (I have trained one-year-old Huskies using this) , but does take time, patience and consistency. There are three videos which take you slowly through the process of gradually increasing difficulty.
This is like everything a matter of training. Use a tricker and treats and start teaching heeling. Start perhaps with just stopping when he pulls and wait it out until he looks at you and moves towards you. Click and treat. When next to you start walking and click when he is next to you. Soon as he gets ahead stop and repeat. Suspect it to be matter of days. Perhaps start this indoors and then increase level of distraction. I also reward good leash obedience with periods where I let Perci sniff. Then again heel training. Also when you ho through doors make the dog sit and wait for you to ask him to go through door. Good luck.
Our Poppy is 10 months old and around 65 pounds. She always pulled on the leash before, in moderation though, so this is hopefully just a phase and will pass soon. I am 5 '3' and 130 pounds and I struggle quite a bit on our walks. Thankfully she stops pulling within 15 mins of us leaving home as she's probably fed up and exhausted by then, as she pulls like a truck. I find myself hugging poles and sometimes bracing myself against cars as I get pulled down the street. I am also shopping for shoes with better traction as I need to brace myself with all that pulling, especially on grass. She's so well-behaved at home, but stepping out is just so exciting for her - all the birds, the smells..She seems pretty rebellious and very set on going in a certain direction once she has made up her mind to. She eyes me with complete disdain and tries to wriggle out of her harness when she doesn't get her way - she also starts biting the leash when she feels she's had it with me. She knows all her commands like leave it, sit, stay, wait, etc, which makes it easier on me when I walk her, but the initial 15 minutes of puling is so hard. She's normally very food motivated but couldn't care less about treats when I walk her. I can't wait for when our 10-yr can walk her in the evenings at least, probably have to wait another 5 years.
Hi Unfortunately it won’t be a phase and by letting her do it you are reinforcing the behaviour. My suggestion would be to get yourself a couple of one to one sessions with a trainer who will give you the tools to walk safely. It will take time patience and practise. The last thing you want is your 10 year old being pulled across a road.
Thanks for the suggestion. I have been looking for a trainer, most trainers here follow Cesar Millan's training philosophies - dominance training, which I personally wouldn't be comfortable with. I have a heard a lot of 'pack leader' and 'alpha' talk and it just won't work for us. One trainer said that by the end of her training sessions, my dog will turn on the lights in the house and open the fridge for me - not sure why I'd want that and I never mentioned those as training goals, as my pup is not an assistance dog, she's just a family pet. Another trainer we approached earlier for a different issue -Poppy was showing aggression all of a sudden when she was younger - recommended we show her who is 'boss' and to crate her for most of the day and cane her (on her behind) to show that we are the alpha. (I realized later her aggression was due to hunger, she was on three meals a day, which we cut down to two meals and increased the portion size per meal - her aggression vanished right after.) Both trainers claim to have decades of experience with large breeds and Labradors and that the end result would be an amazingly calm and obedient pet. They also had five star reviews from several people who used their services. I did not hire them. My slim and tall 10-yr old has never taken my dog out for a walk; she weighs less than my pup, so that's no-brainer. Instead, she feeds the dog, scoops poop from the yard, and helps bathe and play with her; she's pretty happy doing all that. I love watching my 'girls' cuddling on the couch and watching TV at the end of the day My walks are fairly pleasant 70% of the time, however, I know they can get better, so I'm continuing to look for a trainer who is a good fit. Hopefully, I will find somebody soon.
@Neytiri28 I was so pleased to read your post - very well done for being determined not to use harsh methods with your puppy. You can make it work without a trainer, with enough patience - the videos I posted above show a method that really does work (I'm an IMDT trainer and have done this with Huskies). When you are working at loose-lead walking, don't aim to actually get anywhere, as that leads to you feeling frustrated - it doesn't matter if you just go up and down the pavement. If you are able to drive to an off-lead area this will give you both a break too. The other thing is to play tug with your dog as this builds the bond between you and teaches your dog that when she is with you lots of good things (treats and games) happen.
