Hello everyone This is my first post on the forum. I'm a new Labrador owner having brought Kobe home last August. Hes now 10 months old and getting increasingly stronger every day. He seems to be fine walking with me on his harness most of the time, he does pull but i feel i can manage it to a degree. The problems come when he sees other dogs. If hes off lead he just bolts to go and play and no amount of coaxing, treats etc will work If hes on lead then i fear hes going to pull my arm off! I've recently invested in a Halti (after doing some research) and have tried this on him a number of times and while it stops the pulling he just constantly tries to remove it by writhing round on the floor, paws on snout trying to take it off so i cant walk him with it on. I feel like i'm being cruel putting it on him so the last few times i haven't and gone on walks without it. Just yesterday he met another dog while off lead and they played for a good 10 minutes. Then the other dog left with his owner and i put Kobe back on his lead and we carried on walking, i then took him off lead again shortly after and he bolted, out the park, through the gates and onto a main road following the other dog. Thankfully the owner got hold of him for me. Does anyone else use a Halti and if so do you have any tips to help me manage him on it? As for the bolting...i just don't know what to do other than to take him places where there are no other dogs (he's fab in those situations) but this is near impossible now the warmer weather and lighter evenings have arrived and the fair weather walkers are out! I've spoken to other Lab owners out and and about and alot have said have tried getting another dog? Any help/tips greatly appreciated. Apologies for rambling on....
Hi Stu and welcome to the forum from me and my two dogs, Willow and Shadow. I'm afraid I have no help to offer with the Halti - my parents used one many moons ago on a family dog of ours, and he hated it, demonstrating the same behaviour as you mentioned. I was too young to know any better at the time. The only thing you can really do is try a program of desensitisation, where you give him lots of really tasty rewards for interacting with the Halti. This would start off with just looking in its direction, and over time, having it put on. But, we're talking baby steps which would take many weeks, if not months to achieve. And even then, you might just find that he considers it so uncomfortable that he still hates it. As for the running off, this is just about training and proofing. "Just", I say, because the theory is pretty simple. Of course, the execution isn't as easy and again will take time. You need to start getting (and keeping) your dog's attention when there are no dogs around, then start to introduce another dog at a distance. If he can't concentrate on you, the distance needs extending. Over time, you can get closer, keeping up the rewards for concentrating on you. Again, don't expect an overnight fix; it will take time, and every time he runs off to see another dog and "self rewards" in the meantime means that your hard work gets undone. It's easiest to set up scenarios like this with the help of a trainer, so I'd suggest finding a positive reinforcement trainer in your area and having a chat. Scenarios set up in a training environment will be more likely to set your dog up for success, so you can progress faster than if you just rely on coming across dogs at just the right distance when out on walks. I would say that getting another dog would definitely not help! Dogs like to chase one another, so you'll probably find when Kobe runs off, any new dog would follow. I'd say it's also worth reading Total Recall to start working on his recall from other dogs. But training him to not go to them in the first place is very important.
Sorry I'm no help, but I am in a similar situation. Coco is nearly 2 years old, he is strong and pulls to other dogs. He had a Halti when he was in rescue, and every time we went up to walk him in the enclosed field, they gave us the Halti and insisted he wear it. He hated it, and was rubbing so hard he cut his nose. We vowed to never use the Halti. Our trainer is forever badgering us about it, but I am adamant. No Halti. He wears a harness. We have a variety of harnesses from the Perfect Fit, the Happy at Heel and a COA No-Pull (which doesn't work, but he seems to find it comfortable). As a word of encouragement, my hairdresser as her Lab on a Halti - she has shoulder and knee problems, and she is now fine on it..bu it took a while. I am currently trying just sitting on the prom and rewarding him for calmly looking at distant dogs. It is a very gradual process.
Deep breaths! You're at one of the most challenging periods of a dogs life right now. Your dog has the self control of a puppy and the body of an adult. He's got teenage hormones surging through him. There are two things to think about - management and training. Management is about keeping your dog (and everyone else) safe. You can keep your dog on a lead, halti, harness whatever works. You can investigate safe areas to walk that are enclosed. There is a Facebook Group dedicated to sharing info about safe places: https://www.facebook.com/dogwalkingfields/?ref=ts&fref=ts I've never used a halti so I can't really help with how to make that work better for you which brings me on to training. I have a 20 month old spaniel, our lead walking is terrible but we're making slow progress. I spend time every day working on it using reward based training and I know we'll get there in the end. I used the same approach with my lab, he was a LOT easier to teach to walk nicely Here's an article from the main site to get you started http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-labrador-pulling-on-the-lead/ There are also lots of threads on the forum that talk about lead walking and share different peoples experiences. Have a dig around, you'll soon realise you're not alone! Best of luck
I use headcollars on my two. My labs are nervous and reactive so although they don't pull on lead while walking if they get scared they will bolt and they can react if strangers come near so having control of them is important. I started with a Halti and then tried every type of headcollar there is I think and ended up with a Dogmatic. I would recommend a Dogmatic http://www.dogmatic.org.uk They are a fixed headcollar which means they work basically like a horses headcollar. They don't tighten and slacken around the nose so they aren't as annoying for the dog and my two don't bother with them at all. I use it with a double ended lead and collar so I walk on their collar most of the time but can take up the end of the lead attached to the headcollar when needed. This also helps wean off the headcollar. You could do the same with a harness. This article by Lizi Angel will explain things better http://liziangel.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/head-collars.html You could try this method with the Halti. It probably won't irritate him as much if you mainly walk on the harness and only use the Halti when needed but be aware he will be able to get the Halti if you let the nose band get too slack.
Ah, much sympathy, it's a very challenging time. The answer to this is training. You need to find a way to train effectively around other dogs. This is very difficult to do out and about on walks, and it's best done in training set ups. Can you find a class, or a trainer with dogs that can help you? Although it will take sometime, nothing is instant in dog training, the sooner you get started the sooner it'll be fixed. I've never used a head collar on a dog - and I wouldn't if I had a choice, most dogs I see look utterly miserable in them. I know some people do say they use them successfully though. The ones that tighten round a dog's head look to be most unpleasant.
Years ago, when I was having similar problems I used a Gencon, it never rode up into his eyes and he accepted it quite happily.
Some dogs do find head collars very upsetting. And while a head collar can help you get from A to B when you can't avoid having your dog on a leash, they aren't a very good long term solution to the problem. Teaching your dog to walk next to you, even past other dogs, is time consuming but everyone that does it is really thankful that they did. So if you can spare some time each day to practice loose leash walking over very short distances, it will really help you. The article Barbara linked to also has information about the different types of harness, and how they work. Please do have a read through and let us know what you decide to do.
I have to use a halti with poppy , but I see it as a short term solution. I never put it on her I have trained her to pop her nose though. I used a clicker and chicken meat. Using a halti means I can walk her. But i have been training walk nicely up and down our hall. We have just started to practice in the garden. My advice is to train baby steps. We also have her in a harness. I walk with 2 leads . One on the harness one on the halti. She is getting to choose. If she walks nicely the halti is relaxed & the harness lead is used with lots of good and chicken,if she starts to pull like a train the halti lead comes into play. No goods no chicken. She is working this out. I hope this helps good luck .
Good morning! Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm certainly going to give them a try and see how we go! He did go to puppy training on a 6 week course and I think he really benefitted from that so I will see if the same lady that did that does anything to help me with his lead walking/recall.
Im having the same problem with our 9 month old lab, I got a halti and used it properly for the first time today Charlie still pulled with it on and I found my lead was getting tangled round it and was starting to annoy me so I took it off , I read somewhere that instead of usual treats try different like bits of chicken , cheese anything different so I’m going to try this tonight when I take Charlie out lol I find also he pulls bad when he knows wat loacation we are going as he’s used to going to a field near us and he gets really excited , so going to try a different route and see if this helps my shoulder aches with him pulling I’m hoping it stops soon, I haven’t had a problem with him running away yet he does run if he sees other people and dogs off lead and we shout him so loud he does come back but maybe once he’s ran to see a dog and we did have to go after him but he came back xx
Hi Leonard If you know promoting punishment based training is against the site rules why do you keep doing it?
