ahh Nic ok i will confess

Hershey has never mastered this either and he is 6 now....
He has always pulled and no matter how many times we went backwards he would still pull I have so many collars harness's etc but he knows where the park is and wants to get there fast. On the way home tho he walks like a really well trained dog...

 

I invested in a canny collar for Majic and when she began to pull I used to gently pull on the lead which is attached to canny collar and say the command 'heel' and when she is walking by my side I praise and treat her.

She is getting better but it does take a number of months.

Mine is probably and old fashioned way of doing it but it has worked.

She is getting more preasurable to walk.

 

Doobie is EXACTLY the same. For 4 months solid I have done the stop and start, with no avail. He always bounces along on our way our - he stops and starts himself all the way. No amount of bribery will stop him - and he wears a halti. If I put him on a flat collar he is just too strong. I cannot control him, which I need to as he is getting over a fear of strangers. He is better coming home though, but only because he is not stupid!

Tried the changing of direction - I end up getting in tangles - and again - he is so smart that he knows that he will get where he wants to in the end! I have tried everything I can think of - even playing ball with him in the garden to try and exert some of his energy and excitement! I have even tried going on different walks to confuse him, so he doesn'tknow where he is going.

The halti is horrible and rides into his eyes which he hates - but still he pulls. A very determined pup he is! :roll:

 

What is a canny collar and what does it do if you don't mind me asking? Blondie is getting on for 2years now and she's still a mad puller 8O Also where would you get one of these collars?

 

There are lots of little tricks you could do. Here's one that I use is hand targetting. You can do this with clicker/treats as reward.

Rules
Always get dog to touch left hand and give treat with right hand

Hold you left hand towards dog and if he so much as looks at it give treat/click/use your "reward word" (good for example)
He will very soon learn that touching left hand = treat
Gradually build in a a "touch" command
Eventually when you say "touch" and hold out your left hand he will touch it with his nose
Build in command when you are walking - left hand down by your side near dogs nose - say touch and every time he touches give treat/click instantly. He will learn that staying close enough to your left hand means the possibility of a treat.
Gradually move your left hand up to your hip - is you use the touch command he should stay by your left side and look towards your left hand.

It's not instant but is one thing you could try.

Job done!

I still use it when Coco pulls or if we are walking/working off lead.
It's technique a lot of obedience trainers use for competiton work and is a useful and fun thing to practice at home and all the family can join in.

Good luck!

 

heel

Hi there

The most common cause of continued problems with heelwork is that the handler tries to go too far too soon.

If your dog will not walk to heel for three of your steps, then this is what you need to work on. It is pointless to try and go further and hope he will 'get it' He won't. Most people make the problem much worse by setting off for a 'walk' and trying to practice heelwork for long stretches along the way. They also put the dog on the lead before they are ready to begin heelwork so that the dog associates being on the lead with 'milling around' whilst you 'find your keys' or put on your gloves etc.

Heelwork needs a lot of concentration on the part of the dog and every step you take with him in front of you, is a rehearsal and reinforcement of the very behaviour you want to stop.

Unfortunately there is no easy solution. You need to go right back to the beginning again - in a quiet place free from distraction, and teach your dog to walk to heel for three of your steps. Start with him in the correct position sitting at your side. Do not let him move until you give the command and as soon as he move in front of you ( this will be immediately to begin with ) say 'NO' to mark his mistake, take a step back, bring him with you and sit him back down exactly where he was before he moved in front. Then begin again. Do this 20 times and then take off the lead and end the session with a game or some praise. Watch the dog closely and as soon as he holds the correct position however briefly - even just one step - praise him well. It may take you several days, with several sessions a day to get him walking to heel for these three steps, but once you have done this, you have a baseline from which to move forwards, and will have broken the back of the problem. Be careful of overenthusiastic praise, especially if your dog is excitable, praise calmly and gently or he will be zooming off again with great enthusiasm

It is much easier to get a dog to understand heelwork if you only use the lead during these sessions. If you put him on the lead and allow him to pull outside of the sessions will take forever to teach the dog the correct heel position. You have to make it a project and stick with it until you get it right. If it means you cannot wallk him to the park for his daily constitutional for a few days so be it. It will not hurt him. Correctly done with two or three sessions per day it will take you less than a week to get your dog walking to heel. If you have not succeeded by this time - please get a professional or experienced trainer to show you how it is done - no-one should struggle with this most important basis of canine good manners for months on end

Hope that helps

Molly

 

Here is a link showing a canny collar

http://www.dogestore.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CC001

They go from size 1-5 there is a measuring guide on that site and they fit over the nose come round the back of the head and fasten to your lead.

The joy with these also is that they can stay on the dog unlike some other types when you have finished using them.

 

Im a big fan of the canny collar too - I use one on my two when I walk them together. Neither pull, but it gives me the security that I can stop them if they decide they see something they like :roll:

 

Charlie is a determined puller too. I am sure he could pull a train if the engine broke down 8O I too have tried many techniques to no avail. I have to use a gentle leader so that I have control whilst I have my youngest child on the other arm.

I prefer the gentle leader to the halti because you can use the clip on it to set the size of the nose loop so that it does not ride up into his eyes. You can still us the halti link with it to attach it safely to the dog's collar.

A friend lent me a Hi Craft Hi Control no pull harness a few weeks ago and Charlie was fairly good on that (though still not perfect). I have ordered one for use in the fields so that he can have a break from the gentle leader because he does not like it and the walk should be pleasant for both of us really.

Helen.

 

Hi Molly

This sounds great - and one I will try. But my question is this - if we only went 3 steps - or even 20 - we wouldn't get anywhere and Doobie needs his offlead run! So what do I do? Taking the car to the local park is a no no as there is nowhere to park! So would end up taking him on the lead to get into the park anywhere.

I am confused (not that it takes much these days!)

 

Hi Doubies Mum

Unfortunately this is one of those situations where the solution is not convenient. It is however temporary - and I can tell you quite definitely that provided you have a garden - even a small one - where doubie can stretch his legs, he will not come to any harm going without his daily free running walk for a short time.

It is a myth that some mysterious dark scarey thing will happen if you don't wallk your dog for a day or even seven. Many serious or professional dog trainers never ever walk their dogs. And I mean never. My own labs once adult are always at heel unless working or training. They get a serious amount of exercise in the winter, but in the summer months they may sometimes go several days without more than a couple of retrieves and a quick turn a few times a day in the garden or exercise yard. Despite this they are in excellent health.

I don't mean to encourage folk not to walk their dogs, and a daily walk is great for dog and owner - but in this case it is counter productive until the dog has learned to walk to heel. Until then he is just practicing and ingraining a really bad habit.

If you do not have a garden and have to walk your dog on the lead so that he can relieve himself then you really need to get someone to show you how to get your dog walking to heel in a few short lessons. It is easily achieved by an experienced handler and would be well worth spending a few pounds on. A labrador is a big powerful dog and really does need to be under control before he reaches full maturity. JMHO

Molly

 

Nic

Please don't be too anxious about getting a halti - you can still do your heel training in the same way, only without having your arm wrenched off - we had to get one because Alphaboy dislocated his shoulder and couldn't deal with any pulling at all for a bit, and I'm glad we did cause it's been a godsend in new places, busy streets and muddy paths! We have accepted that its going to take a while to get Rosie walking perfectly to heel but we are getting there (she's 10 months old) and so will you.

 

Thanks everyone again.

Looks like its back to baby steps, and i'm going to have to think of a new command other than 'heel' because I'm sure that spurs him on! I might try 'close'.

I'll split his 30 mins exercise into 10 mins heelwork and 20 mins off lead.

I swear I'll be so happy I'll throw a party when we finally get there and you'll all be invited!!!

 

At the risk of perhaps offending some people I would suggest using a "pinch" collar to deal with the problem. For those who may not be familiar with what they, pinch collars are somewhat similar to a choke chain but have prongs that are "set up" by a sharp, quick tug of the lead. You get a quick correction without choking the dog. Without the tug the prongs lay flat against the dog's neck. In obedience classes that I've taught I've found that even the most stubborn, hard headed dogs pick up the idea pretty quickly. The key is not to put any pressure on the lead until a correction is required and to react quickly when the dog forges.
The downside of the pinch collar is that they look pretty barbaric. Interestingly enough, while the big pet stores that offer obedience classes in Canada and the US sell the collars they won't allow their instructors and students to use them. For what it's worth they also refuse to allow use of choke chains and martingale collars, preferring to advocate for the use of flat collars and halties.

LionelW

 

Pinch collars - prong collars.......?

Won't even go down that road.... :roll:

Anyway - you are right Molly. We plain just don't enjoy walks anymore, which includes Doobie. He just loves it when we get there. We do have a garden and although it isn't huge is is big enough. So Monday, we are going back to basics. I shall try and memorise your way and do it! I am fed up of the constant pulling and I know Doobie wants to get it right too - he just needs to be taught. I shall post again to let you know what happens, but I am not looking forward to seeing his face Monday morning when he won't get his normal walk! lol

Thnak you for your advice!

 

heel

I shall post again to let you know what happens,

That would be really nice. If you are at home during the day try and get lots of short sessions in - just 5 mins each is plenty.

He will resent the control to begin with and may try to pull even harder, but once he realises that you are not going anywhere soon until he is in the correct position, he will start to comply. How quickly that happens depends on how good your timing is. Use 'no' in a gruff voice as he leaves the correct position and the lead goes taut, and 'good' in a cheerful upbeat voice as he maintains the correct position and the lead slackens. Make sure you don't say 'heel' whilst he is pulling as this will link the word with the pulling action and you want it to be linked with the correct position next to you. You will need to switch from gruff to cheerful and back to gruff again quite a lot to begin with but he needs the feedback from you as he will be confused by your new behaviour to start with.

Keep the lead quite short and use your left hand to control the dog. A quick firm tug back with a flat collar or a soft rope slip lead won't hurt him, choke chains if not expertly used can damage the dog's neck, half check chains ( part leather, part chain ) are safe and give you a bit more control with a strong pulling dog. He really needn't be allowed to drag you ever again, any movement out of the correct position should result in him being made to back up and start over.

Good luck

Molly

 

I like the 'touch' idea! Sounds like good fun!

I think while I have got to keep Lionel on restricted exercise I will use the time to get it right by using the method Molly has suggested! It will give him something to keep his mind occupied while he recovers from his op!

Lionel has got so strong at pulling on a normal lead that I cant take him out on it! Especially if I am with my girls! He has a harness that makes him much more controllable!

Good luck with Joey, Nic! We might have to have one HUGE party to celebrate when all these labs get it! :lol:

 

party definitely :lol:

I started puppy progress monday night and its clicker training based - I started using clicker when on a walk yesterday and noticed a REAL improvement in her lead work.

We have the additional confusion atm of not being able to let Ruby off the lead in the garden atm but i am using a different leads - just hope she can differentiate 8O 8O 8O Hope to be able to let her have free use of garden again on sunday so we too can beging this :lol: :lol:

 

Anyway - you are right Molly. We plain just don't enjoy walks anymore, which includes Doobie. He just loves it when we get there. We do have a garden and although it isn't huge is is big enough. So Monday, we are going back to basics. I shall try and memorise your way and do it! I am fed up of the constant pulling and I know Doobie wants to get it right too - he just needs to be taught. I shall post again to let you know what happens, but I am not looking forward to seeing his face Monday morning when he won't get his normal walk!

I'm with you all the way Sonia! I'm going to have a go tomorrow morning so will see if we can manage 3 steps! Its not going to be fun but it'll be worth it in the end!

I'll try and remember when I'm doing it tomorrow that lots of you are all going through it too!

Maybe those of us not doing the slimathon should do a sponsored-walk-to-heelathon! Ha ha ha!!! :lol:

 

Mel
While Lionel is "confined to barracks" try the touch thing - you can do it sitting in the armchair while watching the telly! In no time at all he will "get it". You can then use it for all sorts of things. I've got this really great thing called a "alley oop" a kind of targetting toy.

Once they have the touch command you can teach them to touch/find other objects too. I taugh Coco a "go touch" command too. I place the alley oop about 10 meters away then say "go touch" and she will run, touch the little ball on the top of the toy with her nose then come back! It's huge fun and she loves it!

 

That sounds an excellent idea Nic!

 

Where can you get those? That sounds fun! As long as he didn't try and eat it of course! :lol:

 

That does sound like great fun! Perhaps Lionel's last few days of restriction wont be so bad afterall!

 

Where can you get those? That sounds fun! As long as he didn't try and eat it of course! :lol:

Pet Planet
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=17&AID=6209593&PID=1081665&pf_id=1374
Not cheap but IMHO worth it.

Great thing is you can use it indoors too.

 

Thankyou! Have bookmarked it for when my purse strings are a little looser!