Walkies!

[lauratheexplorer]

I have a gorgeous five month old golden lab bitch. She is fab in most ways (we're going through a bit of a stand off with housetraining right now even though she had it down a few weeks ago) but walks are a bit of an issue.

We walk an hour a day. She pulls like crazy and her eyes get all red from straining to bound. She sits at roads but she bounds again on the pavement. I stop and when she's calm we go again but still pulling. Treats? Pulling. All techniques have been tried for a week daily with no progress.

While in the park we let her off the lead as her recall is fab and on the way home she walks perfectly on a slack lead. Since it's a 20 minute wallk to the park it's very difficult.

Does anyone have tips or advice? Thank you.

I would use the "turn around" technique. You are half way there with the stopping if she pulls. But I would go further and just simple turn in the opposite direction at the slightest tug. You do look ridiculous doing it. But basically you keep the dog guessing where they are going - no commands just go. I would also vary the walk so it's not the same route every day and sometimes no letting off lead, sometimes a 5 minute walk, sometimes an hour, sometimes on pavement etc. This is the beginnings of the "teenage" time so you are in it for the long haul.... but if you can get through it you will have a lovely dog at the end of your struggles. It is a battle of wits! I have a chocolate lab and I feel your pain!

I'm taking her out for a fifteen minute walk in about half an hour so I'll try the turning around technique and post how it goes. No off lead today.

From what you say, it sounds like she is managing to pull a lot, which only helps her to learn it as a behaviour. It can take some very frustrating walks where you literally have to keep stopping every few paces - the instant she starts to pull - before they get the hang of it. The turning around technique works well too, as can moving around a bit randomly so that she has to pay a lot of attention to the way that you are going (make it a game).

Teaching a heel command is very useful.

Sometimes it also helps to take the dog to sniff and pee somewhere right at the start of the work, as pulling can lessen after that.

Good luck with it. It is really worth sorting out as a puppy because the bigger they get the more difficult it is to handle.