Another horrible walk with dog.

[Buda]

She is almost 7 months and I will admit that she has not been walked as much as she should. But I am really trying now to get out every day. Problem is she keeps ON pulling and pulling. My hand is red raw and painful from hanging on to the lead. She is really strong.

And to add insult to injury got up to the field at the edge of the woods where I was planning on letting her off the lead for a good run and there were 2 big dogs loose up there with no-one around. So we turned around and came home.

WE don't have a choke lead thingie as you can't get them here. Trainer showed me how to use our ordinary lead in a way that it tightens when she pulls. But even though she is choking she still pulls. She is very clever in other ways but not with this.

It is driving me mad and I now hate walking her.

Any suggestions?

Halti or harness or half check collar (via mail order if necessary). Looping the lead round her neck is actually worse than a half check collar because it will stay tight and won't release. She'll pitch all her weight against you and choke herself in the process.

Hi Bella!! nice to see you!

But how do I stop her pulling in the first place. I think even with another collar she will still pull.

my boxers pulled so much i was in tears and almost gave up walking them!
highly recommend either the halti or the gentle leader, harnesses are not good imo if the dog is strong as i tried it and my dogs just threw their weight forward on it so still managed to drag me!
i also think some breeds are more of a pulling nature than others as every boxer i have seen is dragging their owner!

Hallo Buda

Most dogs find it almost impossible to pull in a halti.

If you use a half check collar or harness, you give a quick 'check' then, as the dog stops and comes back beside you, you praise and ask them to walk on. (You can click at this point if you're using a clicker.)

Whatever you do, you mustn't just let them lean right into the collar and pull - refuse to go anywhere with them if they're doing that.

Sounds to me as if you need to take her to dog training classes and put the time and effort into training her properly.

AvengingGerbil - I agree. Unfortunately I am not in the UK so it is not as easy as that. I have found a trainer who speaks English but she travels a lot so finding time with her has been difficult.

Bella - thanks. I think you are right. I wonder if just coming back home as soon as she starts that would make her realise?

bethoo - I was nearly in tears too today. And I am not the most patient person which doesn't help.

I am going away next week for 6 days and DH will be 'working from home' so he has promised to try and train her. He is more patient than me. And stronger.

It's positioning too. Hold the lead in your hand. Left hand and right hand holding on lead rigid and about 6 - 12 inches away from each other. When dog pulls. Stop. Make him/her sit. And then start again.

I wouldn't go home as the dog won't associate going home with pulling.

Another idea is that when they pull, go the other way.

But agree with others. Halti.

Another recommendation for a halti here. Know exactly what you mean about how horrible it is to walk a pulling dog. Ours is a big dog and really well behaved in every other way, but we just couldn't master the walking without pulling when he was young. We used a halti for 2 or 3 years, by which time he was so used to not pulling that we didn't need to use it anymore. Brilliant invention!

We've used a half-check collar with quite a lot of success, Buda. That plus positioning the dog as ilovemydogandmrobama says. The dog should be on your left, with the end of the lead in your right hand, and your left hand holding the lead so the puppy is close to your left leg.

At the puppy classes we were told to check the dog sharply when she pulled, then allow the lead to slacken again. We spend ages walking round the hall with the dogs 'at heel' as described above, using the left hand to give a sharp pull to bring the dog back to heel if she pulls or strays.

I like the half check collar, because there's a limit to how much it tightens round the dog's neck, so it goes tight enough to give a reminder, but not so tight as to choke the dog.

If you can't get one where you are, I did find plenty on ebay, and I'm sure you'd find someone to ship one to you.

I am off to walk the dog now - I should be cleaning because I have guests coming this afternoon, but it is sunny here (for a change) so we are going to make the most of it.

Good luck.

would second the halti - it makes a huge difference in my experience. It goes over the nose a stops them pulling because it pulls on their nose which is sensitive.

My collie does still pull with it - but not a fraction of what he does without - and it is much more manageable.

When she pulls, stop walking, i know it sounds daft but i did it with MIL's Border collie and started in the garden, he soon got it.

He would pull, i would stop and when he looked at me i would say "Stop pulling",

Then i would clap the side of my leg say "heel" and if he didn;t move i would do a single 'tug' on the lead and let it go slack and then a "good boy" and ear rub and off we would go.

It was tedious but he is great now and once he got that recall, stay, leave all happened easily.

Good to see she's better (last thread I saw about her she had broken her leg).

Our lab is "pully" as well. They are so strong!

Would recommend the half-check. Our trainer told us to use it. If the dog starts pulling you stop, give a sharp tug and say "heel". They get the hang of it really quickly if you do it all the time.

She is SO better sb6699! It was her hip that was fractured. She made a remarkable recovery.

Well I went to the pet shop and found a halti! So we will try that and see how we go.

My arm is agony now from this morning so this has got to stop.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will try them and let you know how it goes.

The object of the thread is lying beside me snoring away!

A few years ago, I stopped into a shop on the way back from 'walking' the dog and bought a Halti. I never looked back

Aw - best of luck, Buda - do let us know how you get on!

what breed is she buda?

Btw, I don't think the Halti affects the nose sensitivity at all. It just makes their head turn back toward you the walker and if anything, makes it less comfortable for their neck. They almost instantly alter their walking style to one that is comfortable.

Do you mind if I take this thread in completely the opposite direction?

Bella, Minimu, Beautifulgirls, Vallhala - what should I do about a dog on a permanent go-slow? Since we got the puppy, who can't go on 'proper' walks until he's a few months older, my older dog refuses to walk more than a few hundred yards away from the house. If the puppy comes with us for a short lead-practice walk, she's fine. If I drive her to the nearest wood with my DH, she's fine. But if it's just me and the drive to the wood, she's reluctant, and if it's just me and the walk out of the house, she'll go 50m then plant herself down and refuse to move. She weighs 5 stones, and has the super power ability to glue herself to the ground. (Basset hound. More stubborn than you could believe. Not the sort of dog you can drag along against its will.)

I've tried luring her with treats, waving my arms around and generally being 'fun', leading her towards different routes, nudging her from behind, looking disappointed, pleading, not losing my temper... I don't want HER to train ME to dispense nibbles for every 10 metres covered, but nor do I want her to abandon her daily exercise for the four months it'll take before junior can come with us on any distance.

Am I over-humanising to assume she doesn't like leaving the puppy home alone? He's perfectly happy in his crate for an hour, btw - he dashes in for his Kong as soon as he sees she's got her collar on. The vet's checked her out and can't find anything wrong, and she used to walk for miles and miles before the puppy came. People were amazed at what a rippling athlete she was. I thought she'd enjoy time when it was just me and her, but it's getting to be a daily battle.

Any suggestions?

I will Bella! WhatDidISayRoy - she is a lab - yellow.

Solos - I went to shop to buy her some treats and thought I would have a look. So I bought the halti. And a new toy as have had to throw some away as she has been chewing lumps out of them. And bought a fleece for the bottom of her kennel (that was bought at great expense and which she never uses!). And a special new chewy bone as we are out tonight and she will be left on her own!!! She is spoilt rotten.

wildfig - how old is she ?

One of mine got very choosy who she would go for a walk with once she got old.

Have you tried taking a ball or a favourite toy with you - to add a bit of variety to the walk, or taking her somewhere else.

bump

From my indirect knowledge of bassets, your best bet would be to decide how far you want the dog to go, place a large cake on a plate at that point and mention the fact you have done this in the dog's hearing.

But I too would like to know the real answer.

She's only four and a half, so in her prime. If I walk her in any direction from the house, she'll go a little way, to humour me, then sit and stare forlornly in the direction of home. If I take her out in the car to a wood or a park, she traipses round like a sulky toddler. People were laughing so hard at her glued-to-the-spot antics last weekend that I wouldn't be surprised if we're on You've Been Framed.

Annoyingly for me, she doesn't have favourite toys and doesn't do balls - her only interest in toys is rounding them up from other dogs and placing them in her basket. She's known as WPC Toy Police at her breeders.

Am getting resigned to waiting until the puppy can come too. I suppose my question to the experts is: how firm should I be? I don't want to put her off walking altogether by shouting or going mad. But I don't want her to be the Boss of Me either.

Cat: that's totally bassets. I need to build a Wallace & Gromit contraption that'll dangle a sausage in front of her nose...

Re pulling dog so easy to cure but it will take consistence from you and a bit of time.

Get a clicker and take dog to a secure place where he can not escape. Your garden is fine

He must not be on a lead for this - then he can not pull at all!

Lure the dog to the correct position next to you with the treat when he is in the correct position ( I guess you know what I am going to say) click and treat the dog.
Lure him back to the correct position and clicke and treat.

He will soon learn where he should be. When he is quite reliable at this probably after a few days if you do this for a few minutes a few times a day then you can add the lead do not pull on the lead and do not put himinto position with the lead. The lead must be loose at all times. When he can do this in the garden then outside you go.

Again do not have a tight lead if (and he will) pull against you stop and lure him back into place with a treat. For a week you may not get very far but once you have mastered this you can take your dog anywhere in a controlled manner.

it is easy to do but will take consistent behaviour on your behalf if you once let them pull you will have to go back to basics again.

You can use haltis but I think it is better to teach them what you want them to do as some dogs even learn to pull on haltis.

Re the dog that won't walk has this just started or is it an ongoing thing. I would want a check up from the vet first to make sure everything is alright.

What is the beahviour like at home does the dog play with the puppy, or is the dog sleeping a lot?

Shouting at dogs does no good what so ever IME.

Please, please don't take this the wrong way but the first thing I noticed in your post was "I will admit that she has not been walked as much as she should. But I am really trying now to get out every day".
It could be that a little more exercise will help? We always take our dog out for 45-60 mins morning and afternoon plus a 2min walk at lunchtime (to wee, we have a small garden which our dog refuses to wee/poo in!). The twice a day proper walk is non negotiable for us, regardless of weather etc.