Dog pulling lead

[Mummyonline]

My two and a half year old cockapoo pulls the lead a lot. A friend told me about a lead that you put in an 8 around the dog's mouth and it stops them pulling. If this is effective, where can I get the lead? Otherwise can you recommend anything else that I can use so she stops pulling?

[Floralnomad]

A figure of 8 lead will probably help , as would a canny collar or a head collar however what you need to do is train your dog to walk nicely rather than resorting to gadgets .

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Training. It's tedious and time consuming but it works.

[Dreamersandwishers]

Perfect fit harness. I have a figure of 8 too but I think the harness is kinder.

[Birdie728]

We bought the halti harness and lead (not the head harness, the body one) a couple of weeks ago and I can’t actually believe the difference. He’s still at the end of the lead but not pulling and we’ve been able to train him to heel better.

[MsMarvellous]

The figure 8 lead or head collar works for my Dalmatian. But we're about to pay for some support training him properly as that would clearly be preferable.

[WayTooEmbarrassing]

Look up loose lead walking /training on YouTube and they will show you how to train her. Obviously pick one without choke/prong collars!

[frostedviolets]

I honestly think those head collars are really cruel and far more ‘aversive’ than other ‘loose leash training aids’ that I won’t mention because people go mental over them...

Headcollars can rub the eyes, some of them you can pull up to close it’s mouth, I’ve seen dogs dancing around in great distress rubbing their heads on the floor and pawing to get the infernal things off.

And people will say that you need to condition the dog to wear it but tbh, these head collars are marketed as ‘positive’ and ‘gentle’ but if something actively requires de sensitisation training to enable the animal to wear it, I think it likely the device in question is anything but gentle.

[SepticTankYank]

The one that goes over their nose is dangerous and harmful.

A body harness can restrict and hurt them.

I use a prong. Many people disagree with them. That's their business.

Training is the only thing that effectively works against lead pulling.

[frostedviolets]

I use a prong. Many people disagree with them. That's their business
😱
You’ve said the ‘loose leash training aid’ I was referring to.
Good luck...

[SepticTankYank]

Uh oh. Prepare for incoming. 😂😂😂

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

I once posted a link on a forum to some not purely positive training and was slaughtered...

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

PS also not a fan of head collars. A slip-lead, properly used, is much kinder, because the dog can relieve all pressure by walking at heel. Headcollars still contact sensitive parts of the face.

[SepticTankYank]

We also used a slip lead for some time. Definitely recommend them too! I prefer the prong as it connects to his horse lead (he is a small horse) and he can have a good look around.

[SepticTankYank]

Oh and yes... I can't find a good trainer near me as they are all ladedah positive. I need balanced and they refuse to do it.

Positive only works for some dogs. Mines a dick and needs a middle ground.

[oo0Tinkerbell0oo]

If going for a headcollar i recommend the Dogmatic, it doesn't ride up to the eyes and the dog can carry a ball with it on so it doesn't affect opening of the mouth either.

[SepticTankYank]

www.nitrocanine.com/blog/2015/02/10/the-head-halter-torture-pain-and-nonsense-explained/

I would say all head collars are cruel.

[MsMarvellous]

Oh @SepticTankYank thanks for that. I'll not use the head collar again. I'll stick with the figure 8

[Ihaventgottimeforthis]

What heel training have you done OP? Anything at all?

If you put something on that just means you will be pulling back at the dog, without actually training it to show what you want it to do, that will be a nightmare.

[ladybee28]

Lots of treats in the correct heel position, and start in an indoor environment with no distractions before going outside. I keep the treat bag attached to the left side of my jeans so I can feed the treats across from my left hand into my right on an ongoing basis.

Gradually you can take it outside in a low-distraction environment....

I really like the videos by – they have agility dogs in their videos so it can feel a bit frustrating as they don't seem to be working with 'troublesome' dogs, but the techniques they describe are great.

[Acheypain]

We have just had our trainer over to advise us about our dog pulling.
He gave us a figure of 8 double stop lead. The double stop part apparently doesn’t let the lead tighten too much so it doesn’t hurt the dog.
He said that if we want to actually get somewhere on a walk then to use the nose part and if training loose lead just the slip collar part.
She didn’t like the nose part at first and spent a lot of time rubbing against our legs or the grass to get it off but she’s better with it now.
For loose lead training he taught us a way called peck300 which is how they train pigeons.
Basically have her follow your hand into a heel, then one step and treat. Gradually building up to two steps, three steps etc. We’re now up to about 14 steps and if she moves from heel we just stop and bring her back into position. We only started a few days ago and do a training walk every day.
Sorry for the long post. Hope it helps.

[Sitdowncupoftea]

You can train a dog to walk loose lead. There are plenty of instructional videos. I have two large dogs which are bred for pulling and they walk to heal it takes training. Practice around house and garden first. You should manage easily with a cockapoo. I have my dogs on harnesses and used treats to train and if they pull stop and turn the other way. They need to learn if they pull they wont get where they want.

[sillysmiles]

Before you go and get a load of "aids" that rely on aversive techniques - what training have you done to teach your dog to walk nicely?

Also, you have a cocker cross breed - a scent driven dog who wants to sniff. Walking calmly by your heel is not exercise for them and is a boring as hell walk. Yes you need to make sure they are able to do it when it is required - but you need to look at the dog you have and walk their requirements are too.