Please can someone advise. My lab bitch is approaching a year old and just will not heel. I am using a slip rope lead and wonder if this the problem. I have been advised to not walk in a straight line and use the 'keep turning' approach but I feel I am fighting her all the way - nothing seems to sink in. She is very fiesty in nature and I am not currently letting her loose as her recall is also a problem. Any advise re: collar, change of lead etc would be much appreciated.
Hi there and welcome. A slip lead should never be used on a dog that does not walk to heel - it can cause considerable damage to the throat. A flat collar and lead or a harness will be safer and give you more control. I understand the problem, which is very common. Your dog has learnt that (in her mind) pulling will get her to wherever it is she wants to go. You need to break that learned pattern, by refusing to take a step when she is pulling. Also, it is very difficult to do anything with a young, energetic dog who does not get to exercise properly. At her age she needs plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. I would find somewhere safe and enclosed (maybe a paddock or playing field, or somewhere she can run and not get into trouble) - I would drive her there, play with her and let her burn off energy, and THEN do some heel walking exercises with her. Pippa's book Total Recall will help you with your recall issues. There is no quick fix, I am afraid, it's a long slog, but if you are determined you can do it.
Welcome Lisa from Hattie 9 years and rescue boy Charlie 6 years. Not much to add to Karens great advice but please do get a copy of Pippa's Total Recall as it will definitely help you. I used it to train my absconding rescue dog Charlie who was 9 months old when we rescued him, he had zero recall and now he is soooo good, so if it can work for him it WILL work for you. You must work through the exercises, take your time and you will get there. There's no hurry and it's so worth it. x
Thank you Karen. I am going to purchase a halti harness and ask to use a friends paddockk so we can release some of her energy. The book looks good also.
Hi Helen, thank you for your advice. Beautiful dogs! Honey has such a lovely nature, although very feisty, but I am determined to make it work for us.
The idea of using a paddock is excellent, I was lucky enough to have a neighbour with a paddock, she kindly let me use for over a year. I could let Charlie off lead to burn off his excessive energy and then we could get to work on recall, playing, having fun, laying around and learning how to relax, retrieving, stop whistle, and stay at a distance. There were also some horses in the next paddock so I practised walking up stroked them treating Charlie then walking through the paddock on lead of course, Charlie has no issues with horses. I also worked on him following me around, I would change direction suddenly, quicken, slow down my pace, stop and he would follow me. I am in no doubt this really helped with his training as there were also distractions such as people walking past, dogs walking through the footpath, cars etc. I really wish you luck and I am sure you will make it work
