Pulling on lead - do they grow out of it?

[MonstersBalls]

I have a 17month old border collie and I'm beginning to despair over her ever being able to walk normally on a lead.

She's done puppy training and her bronze obedience thing so she knows the theory but she is just so excited when we leave the house that walking to school is a nightmare! She has 2 hour long runs a day but I usually drive to a field and let her off.

I've tried a harness but that doesn't seem to make much difference and she managed to get her paw stuck in a halti while in the shop so that was a non-starter.

Oh and she's started to pull after/chase cars again which I thought she'd grown out of.

Do I take her back to training classes, even though when she's there she walks perfectly? The walk to school is very distracting for her with traffic and dc on scooters but unfortunately this is the only time I have to take her. The dc prefer to walk rather than taking the car (which is easier for me with the dog). I let her off on the field for a good run then we walk back and she's exactly the same, pulling my arm off!

Please tell me they just grow out of it eventually!

My boy is 2 and has got worse over the past few months, we have gone back to basic training meaning I can't walk him with my other dog. I spent most of yesterday walking backwards whilst trying to go on a short walk, every time he pulled I turned around and headed back towards home ( he walked perfectly walking back towards home ), as soon as we turned around he would pull again. Felt like we didn't get anywhere . My boy has collie in him too. He's very intelligent to the point he turns around before I turn him around making things a bit tricky. It is frustrating isn't it? I am hoping we crack it eventually and walking can become fun again with both my dogs.

No they don't.

Its very boring and will take a while if its become a habit - I use the stop go method as well as teaching the heel command (by holding yummy treats at your side). Also much easier to train if you already use clicker training.

My collie cross still tries to pull and he's 7. He knows perfectly well how to walk on a lead properly but if he thinks you aren't paying enough attention he will try it on.

My border collie is 18 months old and would pull if I didn't use a Halti. I still take him to classes and do lots of training walks to get him out of chasing bikes etc. the classes are outdoors so he has to work with distraction. IMO classes are not a one off thing especially when they are so young.

Re chasing bikes - its best to teach them a solid recall (i.e they will return no matter what distractions are there).

Thanks for your replies. I do try and use the stop/go method, especially on the walk home but she just circles back to me then pulls forward again. Treats don't work while there's so much else to distract her. I suppose I could hold off giving her breakfast until we get home so she's hungrier.

I might try her again with a halti now she's older and see if she'll keep it on. The problem is all the classes near me seem to be in church halls and she's fine while at the class.

It looks like it is something I'm going to have to work on rather than hoping she'll grow out of it.

If you want a 'quick fix' look at a canny collar rather than a halti , not only are they safer dogs tend to be more tolerant of them once they get used to them .

I think some dogs pull more as they get older because its become a habit.
Although energetic breeds need off-lead time its still a good idea for them to have regular on-lead walks, IMHO. Needs to be a proper walk though, not on the way to somewhere exciting.
20 minutes in the evening round the block seems to really calm my two dogs down.
If you go back to basics, lots of info online, you could start with just a daily 10 minute training walk.

It's definitely a collie thing. It takes me 5 minutes of stop starting to get off my sodding drive
Once we're into the walk she calms, but at the beginning tries to pull like a train. All my collies have done this
A lady I know shows her collies at crufts (obedience) they pull the beginning of a walk too. She had in excess of 20 collies, she's never been able to stop them doing it.

I'm sure people do remedy it though. It's just that first bit. It drives me mad tbh, but I don't like haltis so apart from training, I have to accept it

My BC cross was a nightmare for pulling, despite hundreds - probably thousands - of hours spent training it. I still have vivid memories of spending hours walking her up and down the driveway between my house and the neighbours' because that was the least stimulating place I could find to train her, having a brick wall either side of us.

I have to say, she did improve with age, but only with me also constantly being on top of it and keeping on keeping on with the training. The best breakthrough I had was finding one particular brand of squeaky ball that she became totally obsessed with. That became her 'ultimate reward' and could then be used as a reward during training. We just about bought up the country's supply of those balls. I still have some now and she passed away at the age of 14 in 2013!

Just the tiniest squeak from the ball had her back at my side in heel position in seconds, but she learned that through training without a lead, first at home and then in other secure locations. I only added the lead back into the mix once she was pretty bombproof in response to the squeak and I knew she'd be back like a rocket the second she heard it and stay there until I released her. Something like that would work both for the chasing and to teach her that by your left leg is the absolute best place in the world to be.

My golden retriever was the worst puller. I have tennis elbow and torn shoulder muscles thanks to him.

I tried every harness. But he just powered through them. It was a nightmare. As he grew bigger and stronger I felt as if I'd never be able to take him out.

Then I found a trainer who got me to walk him up and down, at first 1cm at a time, along the middle of the road. I did this for TWO MONTHS. TWO MONTHS!!!!!

But, he learnt. And now we can trot along together without me hurtling along behind him (except when he spots an interesting dog - but you can't have everything...).

I would say that I'd ditch the walking the dog to school straightaway. Children everywhere, scooters etc are a bit much to deal with for a human, let alone a young dog.

Google 300 peck

In my experience no they will never stop pulling, my 2 are 6 years old now and pull me down the street I might as well just run with them! Unless your going to take te dog to training classes each week which will be costly I doubt it will stop. Try the 'come to heel' method, if it pulls, pull the dog back to your leg and say 'come to heel' repeating this process should work in time. Hope it helps!

I have to say, I'm not feeling very reassured!

I will have a look at the canny collar and the 300 peck method. I can't carry on like this, it's just not fun walking her. Although it's probably very funny for people watching me try to walk her.

Ahh yeah the canny collar should do wonders just make sure it's not so tight, or she'll undo it!

Not all collies and collie crosses (when trained) pull - I know of several who don't

I have worked very hard with a chronic puller who is a lot better now (not a collie, but a big bruiser...). The technique which finally worked for me was a form of longline training, but I got flamed on here the last time I suggested it, even though it didn't hurt the dog, and made his life better (because he got taken out more often, and had a less exasperated owner). Nonetheless, here's the link: cynography.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/it-takes-two-to-tension-foundation-of.html

I have also never fed my dogs until after their walk, which I am sure helped to teach them recall. I also work on their recall constantly, and always have treats to hand.

300 peck is great, but it didn't work with my girl, as she simply wasn't interested in food when out and about and I couldn't reward every step with a game of ball. We did do something similar eventually though. Once she was totally obsessed with her ball she'd work for just being allowed to snout it to make it squeak - and that's how we used it to teach her to walk nicely on a loose lead.

NeitherHereOrThere so do I. I suspect it depends on the dog, their mix, how experienced the trainer is, etc. As I said, I got my girl as a pup 16 years ago and she was clever enough to outsmart me, training-wise, back then. I doubt she'd get the better of me these days ... but I could be wrong. She actually turned out to be one of the most reliable and loyal dogs I've ever had, basically through sticking with calm, consistent training, despite it sometimes feeling like she was the most frustrating dog in the world!

Collies and their crosses tend to be pretty bright and also very good at picking up on cues and signals, which all adds up to dogs that are both super-trainable, but also very good at training their owners.

Mehsmum using that method of the dog running in one direction and you in the other direction means the dog will get a huge jerk on his neck and will probably flip over. That'll most likely hurt the dog.

Mine has collie in her. She will pull for the first few minutes of leaving the house out of sheer excitement, but I stop until she circles back round to heel, treat and then she soon settles down.

However for times when I don't have the time to do this, I use one of the perfect fit harnesses with a front clip. The lead clips to the back of the harness, and then a second clip on her chest, so if she pulls it turns her round to me. TBH she now knows when she is wearing the front clip,and never ever pulls on it - so I always do the school run with her wearing it. She actually looks like a well behaved dog in it! Highly, highly recommend a try.

HARNESS

AND A LEAD LIKE THIS

Just to add she is a nightmare whenever the kids are with me. They run ahead and she just wants to run with them, so loose lead walking would be non-existent when they are in tow if it weren't for the harness.

Moose - I agree my post was in response to someone who implied that you can't stop a collie pulling.

Just had another thought - are you using a extending lead? I ask as these tend to teach the dog that pulling can be rewarding if you see what I mean and some of the worst dogs I've walked were used to extending leads.

I'd say stop taking her to school with you. It is obviously more than she can process and the excitement and distractions overwhelm her training. Most young dogs are the same. The school run is overwhelming for some people, let alone a young dog.

Taking her is setting her up for a fall and undoing all the training you have done so far. It is also teaching her all about how to pull on a walk and drive you demented - and pulling in her head gets her to the excitement faster so she'll keep on doing it.

Leave her at home for the school run and exercise as normal and go back to basics with heelwork - as you said, she knows the theory, so work on that and build it back up to an acceptable level.

Collies are the easiest dogs in the world to teach to walk to heel once you have worked out their passion.

You will often find that collies prefer to walk behind you than to the side of you in the traditional heel position - think how they herd the sheep from behind.

Does your dog like a tennis ball or toy? If not what sort of collie have you got - only kidding.

Put the ball in your hands behind your back lure the dog behind you and (i would click) praise and thrown the ball behind you without turning around. Do this in the garden out on walks etc. All games start when the dog is behind you.

You will soon be able to add a command to this - (is it just me that finds telling my dog - "good behind" is amusing).

Soon the bossy nature of the collie will start to demand that you play the game and will be hovering around behind you.

When out walking about you can hold the ball behind you and the collie will fixate on the ball - when it is safe you can just drop the ball for the dog to carry for a while - then start again.

Let me know how you get on or any problems.

Re car chasing - very very common collie trait and one that does need to be worked on. With a clicker and treats click every time a car passes - it does not matter at this point if she reacts or not click when the car whooses passed - very very quickly she will turn to you when a car approaches - when she does - reward with a lot of treats - this will be needed to work on for a while before it becomes the default behaviour.

Usually dogs can cope with cars in a busy situation than on quiet country road where there is the long build up to the car actually passing - so try in a busier location but do be aware that this may not always be the case.

I wasn't saying all collies do it, but they do seem to be a bloody nightmare for it