Hi Srah - as you can see from my sig pic I've got a puppy lab (Brodie) and a great dane (Zak) that weighs 81kgs, obviously he would pull me over without batting an eye lid so I use a gencon for him cause then I've got control of his head and where ever his head goes the rest of him follows, so no problem!!! I was getting him out of the car the other day after a 2hour run, didn't bother with the gencon just clipped the hook to his collar well that was a mistake, he saw a cat turned into and I did a really good impression of superman I had travelled about 10feet before the lead slipped out of my hand AND I had to collect my flip flops from the road (ok I know i looked stupid but you can all stop laughing now) so I am already introducing the gencon to Brodie just in case
____________ Never look down on anybody unless your helping them up
Sorry for not getting back to you all on this this week has been a long one, not with Harry, well yes with harry but also Megan is ill with a tummy bug for the 2nd week so its been very hard to work just Harry.
My friend has lent me her Half check, I always used these on my other dogs and they were great, I have just had Harry out on it and hes gone from walkng great with the buggy to being a little **** and pulling with it. A 10 min walk took an hour as I did the stop and then move when hes where he should be. He just goes deaf when walking, if i call him to "close, touch" both of which he knows and does when hes paying attention. When hes correct and being good as to where he should be (yes he does know where he should be) he gets his click and a treat, but hes not always that bothered with his treat.
Walking him without the children isnt possible unless they are both in school/nursery but then I only have 2h on my own which is when i get the jobs done i cant do with a 3yr old trying to "help"
We did our walk today along the road and around some of the housing estates. He knows this walk but got frightend of a tree, it was only 1/2 a tree stump but it was white, he stood looking at it with his fur up very unsure so i took him upto it and he did eventually have a sniff, then he wasnt to happy walking past someone carrying a ladder, or when he heard a big dog barking (then again it did sound nasty) All of these hes faced before with no worries.
I will try again tomorrow on his half check, but i will look at that harness too the walkezee one, as I know its not a quick fix, but and i have to work him and get him to be good on his lead, but then i cant have him pulling me all over the place when im out.
Some people from the council were walking past, so i got him to sit and wait so he didnt jump at them (everyone needs jumping on lol) they stopped and said how well behaved he is for so young
Walking him without the children isnt possible unless they are both in school/nursery but then I only have 2h on my own which is when i get the jobs done i cant do with a 3yr old trying to "help"
But surely getting him to walk nicely is a priority "job". Just 20 mins out of that 2 hrs will pay dividends in the long run. And if you don't put the work in with him now on his own, then he'll most likely be a nightmare in a few months time, despite you using stronger and stronger gadgets to try to control him. Why risk it, just for the sake of 20 mins every day?
Totally agree with Jules, above, and it wouldn't even take 20 mins a day. Just 10 would do...
He doesn't need 'walking' at his very young age. If you have a small bit of garden, you can practise your heelwork/walking there, on and off the lead, and do other little bits of training, which will be more stimulating than just walking on the lead.
Once you have got great habits instilled at home, and he is a bit older, you can then take him out on the lead.
"Gadgets" are just masking a problem, which will get worse and worse with time if you don't put any training in.
I was told to avoid harnesses by my dog trainer as you're basically giving them a device that'll allow them to set their shoulders into hauling you around even more than before.
I'm the owner of a puller, and like you, he pulls far worse when the kids are with me than when it's just him and me (though he's not a "drag you round the park making horrible gasping noises" type puller. It's just enough to make me correct him every few paces and get a very tired arm/shoulder from it). He's also bad if I've got the buggy. He just doesn't want to walk next to me and always seems to need to be in front. I've used a slip collar since he was a pup and whilst it has worked to a point, I'm afraid I've caved and bought a Halti and whilst he's not very keen on it, it has worked for us and walking is far more enjoyable now. Weirdly he'll walk beautifully to heel off-lead if I tell him to but on lead, forget it *sigh*.
Whilst Haltis and other face gadgets can work well for older dogs who already have a pulling problem, I'd never recommend putting one on a growing pup. Not only do they cause discomfort and often pain, especially the types which tighten, they can cause problems with the bones, teeth and nerves in a growing pups face.
The vast majority of Labrador pups WILL respond well to training from an early age and shouldn't need to wear any sorts of gadgets to get them to walk nicely. It's just like most things in life....You get out what you put in.
But surely getting him to walk nicely is a priority "job". Just 20 mins out of that 2 hrs will pay dividends in the long run. And if you don't put the work in with him now on his own, then he'll most likely be a nightmare in a few months time, despite you using stronger and stronger gadgets to try to control him. Why risk it, just for the sake of 20 mins every day?
Very true Jules. The plan for next week is school and nursery (if megan is better) run then Harry training, walking THEN the jobs around the house. Hes going out later today with both kids but i will take him to the park so they can all run around.
Talking of Haltis I have used them in the past on a collie (well my mums dog) and he hated it but it did work, but i dont like them, I have seen a new type of "halti" its called a k9 Bridle Next door have one on there 5mth lab pup, all as I can say is NEVER would i get one poor pup is strung up
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