Dog owners - please help me train my puppy to walk on a lead

[pigsinmud]

My puppy is now 13 weeks old. We have taken her to the park a couple of times, but she pulls really hard. I have tried stopping every time she pulls - takes us hours to get to the park! It doesn't seem to make any difference.

Today we went out the gate - she pulled, so I stopped. She eventually stopped pulling and sat down, we carried on she pulled again ..... I gave up before we reached the front of the house. I have an almost 3 year old in tow which makes it difficult to do the stopping thing.

Am I doing the right thing? She tries to gallop to the park and chokes herself so many times by straining the lead, even when I've stopped.

Also, what should she be "doing" at this age? Housetraining is going well. She will sit when asked most of the time, but that's about it. I have been working on coming when called. She's good in the garden, but not so good in the park.

Any advice gratefully received.

she should be getting obedience training - that'll sort the pulling out too I'd say this is most important really and should be looked into asap

You might not get recall in the park til she's well over a year old - there are training ropes you can buy to let her have some freedom but be controlled still.... just so you don't expect too much too soon

Sorry - I'm going to disagree.

The most important thing to train a dog to do is recall perfectly and to do it as early as possible. There will be a million and one opportunities to train and reinforce - try it at feeding time - call her to you, ask her to sit and wait and at 13 weeks sitting should be quite easy with a titbit low and over her nose and waiting can build up gradually from 2 or 3 seconds (but don't ever force her to sit by pushing down on her joints; they're far too soft!)

Call her to play with a kong or similar for a couple of minutes a day, call her to come for a treat at any time you fancy. Just keep calling and rewarding so you know you have a dog you can control and get back to you no matter what happens.

If she starts to ignore you on the recall , or if you're nervous letting her off in the park, try using a longline for training work so she has no choice but do as you ask, and so she's safe at all times. Try really hard not to put yourself in the position of letting her see you don't mean what you say. If you say 'xx come', she must know that's exactly what she must do.

For pulling I'd suggest doing an about face as soon as she starts to pull, and an about face every time she repeats it. You may look temporarily insane for a while but it really does work. Keep your pup on the same side of you every time you lead walk, tap your thigh as you move off and say 'to heel' or whatever command you choose to use so she knows what you expect her to do. It might be easier to get the basis of this sorted at home - inside or outside, preferable both so the excitement factor is limited.

It will also give you the opportunity to do little and often which will help to train your puppy without over-tiring her or making it seem a big issue. A lot like children's learning really!

My trainer always used to insist I gave a clear, single command for everything I asked my girl to do. Sit, come, wait, to heel etc. She said that without clarity I had no right to expect my dog to have a clue what I wanted her to do. Quite a fair comment really.

Dog training is a combination of hobby and work for me - if you have any more questions I'll try and help.

Thanks for your replies.

Just been for a walk. She was very good at coming back when called in the field today - not many distractions as hardly any people around.

Not good on the lead. She almost gallops. I can't believe how strong she is. I tried changing direction when she pulled - she then sits down and refuses to move!

I bumped into a woman who recommended a harness. She said she had one when her dog was a pup and it solved the pulling. Does that work?

My neighbour's pup is the same age as ours - both now a year old - and they ahve one of the "gentle leaders" for him but we ahve a harness for ours, he is still very jumpy - not at people anymore, but at other dogs and its easier for us to control him with that

I have a 13 month old lab and he was terrible on the lead. We got a gentle leader and it makes a massive difference but he HATES wearing it. Obediance makes a hige difference and we swapped his regular collar for a check chain collar which has made a massive difference. He still pulls, esp on his first wlk of the day but a swift correction on his check chain and he soon remembers what he should be doing.

Obediance CLASSES make a difference I mean...

Stopping and sitting down is a good thing!

It means you have taken control in a very easy way by confusing her - she has handed back control to you because you didn't do what she thought you were going to, so she stopped and coped as well as she could. She will start walking again with a treat or some encouragement.

And although it might be a bit depressing, it will take a while for her to understand what you want her to do, and for her to actually do it. At the moment, she just doesn't have the first clue what you want from her.

One of my girls was a complete nightmare on the lead - she pulled so hard at 12 weeks I strained a couple of muscles in my back so I really do sympathise! It is astonishing how such a tiny thing can be soooo strong.

I did buy an Ezy-Dog elasticated lead with a good handle in pink which made the training easier! It stopped the squashed hand feeling and absorbed some of the strain. I do use a sliplead on older dogs and this is probably very obvious, but don't use a choke chain, or similar on a dog as young as yours - it is too easy to damage them.

Dr N you're brave admitting to using a check chain - but I agree 100%

the check takes less than 1 second, but the results are INCREDIBLE

My mate took her 9st ridgeback (yes - nine stone) and was practically riding it like a horse with a harness due to pulling issues.... 20 mins on a CC later - it was sorted and walking to heel! (clearly needed daily reinforcement... but you get the idea)!

daisy, you get different size check chains and different thicknesses - go to a professional and get measured and there'll be absolutely NO harm (IF you put it on correctly - the chain should run freely, not "lock" when checked - check on your wrist before the dog!)

Lewis - sorry, although I know there are appropriately sized check chains, I still strongly disagree with using them on a 13 week old pup.

Correcting behaviour in one so young by using a check chain or similar is inappropriate in my view. It is something that neither I nor any of the people I work with would do.

An adult dog is a different matter!

I would never use a check chain on my puppy - don't worry!

My lower back is killing me today. I have had a few twinges for a while, so think the pulling is not helping!

I like the look of the Ezy-dog lead - I won't tell dd1 there is a pink one! My hand does end up squashed so that looks good.

A friend at school drop off today thought the gentle leader style leads were suitable for dogs over 1 year - is this right? I looked it up online and it did mention puppies, but all the pictures seemed to be adult dogs.

I'll have a go later at changing direction when she pulls - dh is home early so I can go without dd2. He has a couple of weeks holiday soon, so I'll be able to give pup a lot of training attention then.

One more question about the ezy-dog - which length of lead would I want? Obviously I'd measure her for the collar.

She is a fairly big puppy - mother is a springer and father is lab/collie/staffie.

I am so feeling for your back! And your hand! I remember too clearly how it feels to have such a strong dog.

I got a 25" lead for my lab because I needed her to learn to walk close to me - not wander about miles away! I use an ordinary sliplead for her now she's fully grown but the ezy-dog seemed to help because the elastic is actually quite strong and she had to pull really hard for me to feel the result IYSWIM. The elastic took a lot of the strain for me!

It didn't solve the pulling problem of course, but it did at least solve the problem of a crushed hand and a really, really bad back!

Both of my dogs were rescued and had some training issues. We made great progress with sit/come type training, but they were quite difficult to control when out & used to drag us down the road. I started watching the dog whisperer (an american dog psychologist!?!), on recommendation of a friend, and it has completely changed our lives in terms of our dogs. He focuses on reducing excitement when taking your dogs out and remaining calm/assertive when dealing with them. I used to say 'come on walkies', wrestle their leads on then spend the whole walk stopping, pulling back and generally getting stressed & red in the face. Over 6 months later I can walk them with no lead walking at my side! I'm now a dog whisperer fanatic

I have watched the dog whisperer. Amazing man! She is quite calm before I attach the lead - she sits and waits for it to go on. She's last out the door and then she just wants to run!

She is great with me first thing in the morning - I have ignored her when entering a room from day one and now she no longer jumps up at me, but sits, looking at me with tail wagging, waiting for me to call her ... my fave moment of the day!

It's just walking that is the problem. She has pulled from the first time we took her out. I'm about to take her out now with dd2, so not sure how successful it'll be! It's also very windy and she seems very mad when it's windy.

I'll have another look at the gentle leader - goodness knows how I'll get it on her!!

Have got the ezy-dog lead now. Wow - it's fab. It has been greatly admired by other dog walkers.

I also got the harness - nightmare getting it on her the first time, but she doesn't pull as much. I've only used it a couple of times and yesterday she did a lot of great walking at my side. We went on an easter egg trail yesterday. There were loads of people walking through the woods and she did wonderfully well. I let her off the lead when no-one was around and if I saw anyone in the distance, I called her back and put the lead back on. She has good recall when no-one is around, but excitement overcomes her when people appear. I actually enjoyed it yesterday!