Quickie re pulling on lead

[needastrongone]

This is the only thing our puppy is just not getting, I know it's early days!! I am clickering like mad, turning, being consistent, stopping, training, training and training this behaviour, praising praising, high value treats, garden, kitchen, outside etc etc but it's no better.

Today I have had a moment and ordered a no-pull harness thing for a tenner from Amazon, I forget the name but it goes round the middle rather than mouth iyswim.

Can I used this IN CONJUNCTION with still training like mad until the behaviour is learned?

Have also watched Kikopup to death - my puppy don't do that!!!!

oh - kids are not allowed to walk him yet and I know DH is being consistent in this one too.

what is a no pull hardness, is it like a normal harness? there is nothing wrong with using a normal harness on a dog

what kind of breed is it?

He's a Springer. Assume it's like a normal harness, just restricts them pulling via the body rather than a slip or choke chain.

We got our boy a Dogmatic headcollar, worked like a charm. He's 35kg and pulls like a steam train when a lead is clipped to his collar, now my kids can walk him with no problems. We were going to use the headcollar while loose lead training but he just doesn't get it, he's a Boxer cross and when he gets excited his hearing goes out of the window. So we are just sticking with the headcollar now.

hmm he is a springer. Is he just like this at the beginning of a walk and calms down afterwards? I have always had collies and they are a bit like this when first setting out on a walk, even when well trained

you are doing all the right things anyway :)

and surprisingly not like it at all when off the lead at the beginning of a walk

I don't use a harness any more for walking as I am teaching my Springer to pull in a harness for tracking, but both the Springers i have had always pulled more in a harness anyway. Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear that

A headcollar works well on my current Springer if we are somewhere different which is when he always pulls with excitement, I use a old and rather broken halti

I normally walk him on just a lead but he is 4 and I still even now stop and wait for him to come back to heel everyday if he walks ahead and pulls.

Yes, you can use a no-pull harness and still keep training loose-leash walking (in fact it's better to do that than to just rely on the harness because you want them to learn). In one of Kikopup's loose-leash videos there is a section where she is working with a dog in a harness (if I remember rightly it is a St Bernard, but I'm not sure).

The no-pull harness has a clip on the front which redirects them when they pull. The kind of harness YouveCat is referring to is designed for pulling so that's a bit different!

Hi, We have a 5 month old springer and this has been my biggest challenge with him. He is so enthusiastic and excited particularly on the way out somewhere. I have just started using a figure of eight lead, it goes round his nose (a bit like a halti I think) and it has been fab. He is an angel to walk now and most of the time the lead is completely loose. Something I was fretting about has become a complete pleasure! So if the one you have ordered doesn't work this may be worth a try.

Thanks for your replies, they are much appreciated.

He pulls at all through the walk tbh, despite me concentrating most of this aspect of training.

I fully intend to keep at it as long as it takes but good to know I can use the harness and train as I feel I am then not reinforcing the behaviour if I get distracted occasionally or inadvertently with realising that I am doing so.

applegate - thanks for the specific springer information, mine is 'getting' the other stuff and so eager to please but the lead walking just isn't sinking in at all yet apart from occasionally in the kitchen if liver is offered! I will look out for the figure of eight lead if the one I have ordered doesn't work.