Huckabee runs when he sees the leash. He enjoys going for a walk after I get the leash on him. Any suggestions. He also pulls very hard and he is incredibly strong. I have a head collar on him and it helps some but he still pulls. He is good when he sees other dogs and people but he pulls to a mail box in order to read the "pee mail" and also to leave an answer. Any suggestions for this, Thanks. This forum is so helpful.
I like to teach heeling and backwards heeling during feeding times. I think if they understand backwards heeling and silent auto-stop, they are really paying attention. Then on daily dog-walks, pup really understands the correct heel position. So I praise while pup is heeling properly and "ah-ah'-h" backwards heels when pup surges ahead. I frequently slow down and stop, and pup understands he must sit when I slow down, so that also helps ensure he pays attention to my leg movement. At first I do this for a very short distance (< 50 meters) and then gradually lengthen heeling dog walks. I try to minimize distractions until pup is really solid at proper heeling position.
To get your dog used to the lead, you could play games with it indoors, make it fun, drop the lead and just ‘get it’, or put it near where your dog eats for a start so your dog knows that eating is a good thing and the lead can’t be a bad thing, and very slowly build up to the lead being closer and closer to your dog. Get your dog to retrieve the lead from places to jump up to get it off sofa ledges etc, not just on the floor, giving high value treats as rewards so your dog knows that by targeting the lead it is a good thing rather than no treat at all. When you put the lead on, have plenty high value treats to hand, let your dog know you have these, and allow your dog to come to you not you chasing the dog and reward. And so on. There is a lot of information in clicker training books available at libraries about these sort of issues, as they start with the basics not all the hard tasks. Good luck with improving your situation.
I don't understand how he can pull with a head collar unless he is walking sideways. The Gentle Leader, for example, causes the dog to turn and look at you when he pulls because it turns his whole head sideways. Most dogs have a pulling reflex and they will choke themselves to pull you forward. My 14+ week puppy is now almost fully trained with the Gentle Leader. When I walk with it off, he chokes himself to try to drag me. When the GL is on and he get to the end of the long retractable leash, it pulls him sideways and I say, "Wait for me", and he does. Its also very easy to get him to sit when we are stopped. If I just gently lift up his head goes up, and his bottom goes down, and then he gets a treat. He can eat, carry a stick, and smell and lick anything. It just itches a bit, and he'll soon forget about it.
Maybe your dog doesn’t like the head collar? My dog hated it. It also didn’t stop him pulling, and I’m convinced he hurt his neck by jerking on it (he’d see something exciting and try to take off). We changed to a front-fastening harness where the leash attaches on the chest, and it was the best thing ever. I have complete control if he pulls. Of course no substitute for training no-pulling, but until then, why not try a front-fastening harness?
When I'm feeling particularly ill I use a front fastening harness. Rory is good on his lead and walks nicely most of the time but dives which really hurts me. The front fastening is really helpful none of my dogs have really liked head collars.
Forgive me if I haven't got this quite right, I am I assuming you mean your puppy is "trained" as in the wearing the Gentle Leader? I think a comment on the use of the Gentle Leader might be useful here. Firstly, I am absolutely not against the Gentle Leader, however, see this more as a short-term tool in extenuating circumstances. Some examples where the Gentle Leader could be useful are due to human injury, exposing your dog to a very exciting environment where you really haven't much choice, maybe a veterinary waiting room would be one instance. It probably isn't a good idea to have your dog jumping over other peoples dogs/cats etc (heaven forbid!) But, and this is a big but, the Gentle Leader will not train your dog your dog to loose lead walk. It is purely a corrective method which simply stops your dog being able to pull forward. The minute you take the GL off, the dog will pull. The forum is committed to the ethos around positive training methods, so would advocate in this instance training a good loose walk, which does take some time and commitment. Here is a useful link below: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/walking-your-labrador-on-a-loose-lead/
I have not found this to be true unless you start GL training when you have an out of control dog. You have your opinion. Good luck to you.
Well, I am sorry, maybe I misunderstood this: My interpretation of the above, was that without the GL device your puppy was unable to walk on a loose lead, which really I wouldn't expect in a 15-week old puppy anyhow?
@capsmom What head collar are you using? Do you also reward walking nicely with treats? My girl was a horrendous puller and due to spinal injuries I had to go back to basics starting with the head collar. I spent a few days just walking up and down my driveway, rewarding for walking nicely. Once she could do this I removed the head collar and used a harness doing the same walk up and down the driveway. The next step was the flat collar. This took about 2 weeks in total. We then went back to the head collar and started walking half way up our cul de sac, rewarding for walking nicely and walking in circles if she pulled. Once she got this, we moved back to the harness and eventually the flat collar. I carried out this process for roughly 4-5 months. By this stage we could walk to the shops & back (10-15 mins each way). It does take a long time, but so worth it. I still use the head collar in new places, but she learns much quicker now. I really do not advocate the head collar and wish I didn’t need to use it, but it’s my fault for not training her properly from day 1. It is a useful tool, but in my opinion, that’s all it is....a tool to help you when it’s most difficult. I love the fact that we can now walk to the shops and back and actually enjoy this walk a few times a week.
In my opinion (and yes it's just my opinion) head collars have no place being used on a young puppy. This is when you should be training not relying on a corrective device. Make the puppy learn that being with you is the best thing since sliced bread and you won't need to rely on a mechanical tool to stop them pulling - you'll have a puppy who stays with you because he wants to rather than because he has no other option.
@snowbunny you are not alone in your opinion of the inappropriate use of a head halter with a puppy. No trainer I know in the UK, USA or anywhere else (and that's a fair few) that promotes and uses positive/force free reward based training methods would countenance using this last resort training equipment fir a young puppy to learn to walk on a loose lead. To use a head halter with an extendable lead which is allowed to run out is pure madness and will not train a loose lead walk. The purpose of a head halter is to turn the dog's head towards you if they start walking in advance of you to help them maintain position. When you use an extendable lead you allow the dog to surge ahead until the thunk of the extendable lead hits at the end of the cord. We train a loose lead walk maintaining no tension on the lead (the smiley J) and with an extendable lead there is always tension due to the mechanism. We discourage loose lead training puppies on a collar until they have many hours of practice and little risk of them pulling to protect their neck/spine etc. An extendable lead should never be used with a head halter because of the risk of injury caused by a sudden jerk/turn to the head, and it is counter-productive on pulling.
thank you for all the comments. I appreciate all the advice. Huckabee is a year old and your are right he doesn't like the head collar. His trainer is the one the that recommended it. I don't want to use a pinch collar on him, as some people have recommended. He pulled so hard on the flat collar, he was gagging. I didn't want to damage his trachea which is why I went to the head collar. He doesn't pull as much (actually very little) except when he wants to make a mailbox. I am practicing off-lead heeling in the house with many treats and a clicker. I think he just wants to be free and do what he wants to, rather than wear a leash of any kind. I never jerk on his head with head collar. he really doesn't need that
In that case, using a harness would be appropriate. They don't (as some people mistakenly think) encourage pulling, but they prevent it from being damaging if they do pull. You still have to put the effort in to train him to walk nicely on it. If you get one with a front-fastening attachment, that will help you to control him if he does pull. You use a double-ended lead, one clip attached to the front ring and the other to the back ring. You can hold the lead with both hands which helps if your dog suddenly lunges. My youngster is very strong and when we moved back to Andorra for the winter, she was completely over-excited by all the snow so her lead walking regressed. She pulled me over a couple of times and it was plain dangerous on the ice. So I popped her into her Perfect Fit harness for a couple of weeks while I concentrated on training again and after that, she didn't need it any more and is now back on her regular flat collar, able to walk past other dogs and shrieking children without pulling me over
I may try that harness. He is so incredibly strong. Most of my problem is he is like a 16 year old boy with a new car and new drivers license. Wants his independence but can't have it. He doesn't pull when we see other dogs or people. I say "just watch" and he is really good about that. However, when he wants to mark a mail box or tree, he pulls really hard then.
I would train a release cue, or set rules. We generally do very little lead walking in daily life - to and from our off-lead areas, a matter of a couple of hundred metres - and so my rule is "on lead, no sniffing or marking". Where I am, you can get fined for your dogs marking "street furniture", so we definitely don't allow that. If you spend a significant amount of time on lead, then it's unfair to expect your dog to not sniff, so I would use a cue in how I hold the lead or where it's clipped on to the harness. When we are in Spain, there are days when it's not safe to be off lead because of local hunting, so if we go off our own land on those days we do a few km on lead. My Halti double-ended lead has attachment points along the length so it can be doubled-up, making it about 1m long or, when it's set to full length, about 2m long. My cue is: if the lead is at full length or if i'm holding it just in my left hand, then sniffing and general mooching is allowed. If I am holding it across my body in my right hand, then sniffing is not allowed. I also have a verbal "go sniff" release cue if I want to switch between "no sniffing" mode and allowing them to sniff. For certain times when I know it's going to be hard for them (when we go to the vet, we have to walk through the city with lots of smells), I have a handle leash which is very short. With this on, there is absolutely no sniffing whatsoever and, because it's so short, they can't get any momentum to pull me forwards if they try.
