Slip leads.

[Greenmug]

I have a 9 month old lab. He is wpnnderful in every way apart from the pulling when I take him out and vet had recommended a slip lead. At the moment he had a harness and lead but he is incredibly strong and I am struggling with him a bit but a slip lead sounds very much like an old fashioned choke lead which I'm not keen on at all. I've also considered a Halti but I dont know much about them either. I should add that I am also working woth a trainer but any other advice most welcome.

[Lilcamper]

I wouldn't ever use a slip lead, or attach a lead to a collar of any kind. Head collars aren't great because most dogs don't like them unless they are properly conditioned to them and they also interfere with canine communication. attaching a lead to a collar

I manage my large boisterous Lab on one of these perfect Fit

[tabulahrasa]

For constant pulling I find a harness with a ring at the front works best, head collars help stop sudden lunging or if you need to control their head, but, not so much pulling as they carry on pulling just that they can't throw their weight as well as with a normal collar and yep they do need trained to wear them happily.

Whereas a harness with the lead at the front makes them actually not pull as it sends them sideways instead.

Slip leads...well I'm old enough to have had dogs when slip leads or choke chains were pretty much the go to with pulling dogs and IME all they do is choke a bit and carry on pulling.

[Greenmug]

Thats the harness I have for him Lilcamper. I was a bit surprised that the vet recommended a sliplead to be honest. I'm not sure what else to try. :(

[Ohbyethen]

What has your trainer recommended out of interest?
I use a harness with a ring at the front while we're working on loose lead walking or out all day.
I have a billion slip leads but I only use them when they are reliably to heel - so I'm never using the lead for control and they are always slack basically it's just because I obey the law and ' just in case-ness' when I don't want to put 5 harnessess on when we're going house-car-office-off lead. Lazy!
If I can't drop the lead and the dog doesn't move out of position I won't use a slip lead. Otherwise it's just a fluffy choke chain. I don't have any greyhound/whippety things atm but don't use slips on them regardless because if they did launch or jink then they could suffer more throat damage than my chunky necked beasts.

A slip lead won't help you control him better than a harness ime - they'll take a lot of choking to get where they want to go & if the heel isn't sorted they just learn to lean into it instead of lunge.
What methods are you using currently? Heel is bread and butter to dog trainers they should be able to sort this asap.

[Greenmug]

The trainer recommended the perfect fit harness. I've only been using it a couple of days so perhaps I'm expecting miracles. I'm sure he's going to pull my arm out of its socket if I dont crack this and our trainer has gone into hospital for a few days and won't be available for a month or so so I'm desperate!

[Greenmug]

Hes brilliant off the lead BTW and has great recall, its just on the lead hes a problem. Especially if he sees another dog or person as he seems convinced that every man, woman and child will love him as much a I do. Which of course they don't! I've been looking at the gentle leader too, there seems to be so many to try I really want to get the right thing for him.

[Floralnomad]

Try a canny collar as an alternative to a headcollar ,they are much better and dogs are more likely to take to it .

[basildonbond]

Are you using a double-ended lead with the front ring as well as the back ring? We got a perfect fit harness last week for our 7 month old Toller who'd started pulling and it has revolutionised our walks - he can't get into the swing of pulling IYSWIM as when he pulls he just goes sideways. We're still working on loose lead walking with a normal lead and collar at home and at training classes and he's brilliant in those situations, no pulling at all, it's just when he really wants to get somewhere. He's obviously smaller and lighter than a lab but very strong and nowhere near as food-oriented so spurns my proffered chicken and hot dog as they are just not as interesting as the park!

[HavantGuard]

Do you use a clicker and treats? This is what we do. The dog pulls the lead taut, the walker immediately stops and freezes. You stay like that until the dog turns back to look at you and then you click then treat. Every time the little bastard dog pulls you react the same way - no words, just freezing and then treating for looking back. As they get it you can start waiting for them to come closer to you before you treat.

You can also click and treat every time he sees a person or dog so he'll look to you rather than them.

[Ohbyethen]

What I meant, sorry, is what actual techniques your trainer advised. A harness is a brilliant thing but like any tool needs to be used effectively.
Are you clicker training?
I only ask because being consistent is very important and if you & trainer had a plan then everyone has their own things that either works for their own dogs or their style of training you end up with a mish mash.

At 9 months old you will probably find it helpful to go back to basics across the board to reinforce everything you've taught as his hormones & teenagery behaviour kick in.
Lots of little reminders & exercises to focus his attention on you. Any training is more effective if they already focus on the giver of all things tasty.
If your trainer is going to be away for a while, have you seen the kikopup videos? That way you get visual alongside verbal advice and can watch however many times you need to.

[Ohbyethen]

Sorry cross posted as it takes ages to back & forth for links on this phone!

[Lilcamper]

No training tool is a magic wand. Choose the one that is least aversive for your dog which just so happens to be a harness like the perfect fit and a double ended lead. It is no substitute for training and it just so happens your dog is now a teenager. They rebel. Persevere and you will get through it. A tube of primula is an awesome loose lead walking reward. Hold it at nose height, squeeze every now and again.

[jajawunderbar]

I agree with all those saying clicker and treat training. I went down the harness route until I realised I was just being completely lazy avoiding training my lab properly. Good luck, they are strong dogs, but really the harness isn't the answer, it's getting your dog to realise you don't want a dislocation on every walk

[needastrongone]

We use a slip lead for our spaniel, but only after teaching him loose lead walking. They are very easy for a lazy sod like me whose dog is rarely actually on lead for more than 5 minutes a day.

That being said, he's currently not been walked for two weeks, with another week to go, so he WILL pull again due to excitement and pent up energy so he'll be back to lead training and collar and lead.

Wouldn't ever use one for corrective measures, but I do like mine for ease, with the above caveats.

[LtEveDallas]

I'm lucky in that MuttDog was very easy to train not to pull, but my friends are all still having troubles with their dogs. My friend swears by slip leads looped in a figure of 8 under the chin and the loop across the snout. It has made a huge difference

[HavantGuard]

I am really grateful for the harness link Lilcamper. My puppy has odd proportions and I haven't been able to find a harness that fits them at all. The number of ones I've bought (and returned) is silly. And he keeps trying to eat my tape measure. One more time ...