Cavapoo pulls on lead

bellylaughs · 2021-01-05T20:35:35+00:00

Any advice for a two year old cavapoo who walks on the lead pulling the entire time. It’s exhausting! We can’t let her off the lead on walks because she jumps up on strangers and gets them muddy 😬 We do let her off in fields/parks so she has plenty of off-lead time too but I’d love to just be able to walk with her. We’ve tried the Halti and the Gentle Leader one but she hates them both and just scrapes her face on the ground trying to get it off. I just wondered if anyone had found the answer to the pulling issue?

bestbefore · 05/01/2021 20:44

I was always taught to get them to walk to heel you pull them back to your heel and say heel before moving off again. Minute they pull away, pull them back (kind of turn them round and back to heel) and then say heel again and their name and move on. Repeat and repeat and repeat. When they are at heel say heel and well done or something positive. Keep on a v short lead and praise the good behaviour and ignore the bad. Do discourage the jumping up; someone I know dog jumps up and always makes my jeans muddy!! Drives me mad!

Veterinari · 05/01/2021 20:53

@bestbefore

I was always taught to get them to walk to heel you pull them back to your heel and say heel before moving off again. Minute they pull away, pull them back (kind of turn them round and back to heel) and then say heel again and their name and move on. Repeat and repeat and repeat. When they are at heel say heel and well done or something positive. Keep on a v short lead and praise the good behaviour and ignore the bad. Do discourage the jumping up; someone I know dog jumps up and always makes my jeans muddy!! Drives me mad!

Nope. Not this.

You need to teach her the behaviour you want her to do. Continually yanking her back risks injury and also does not teach the correct behaviour.

Keep her off lead or on a loose lead, in an enclosed area, hold treats in your hand and position her next to you, repeat the command 'heel' move steadily forwards repeating heel and rewarding her frequently for staying alongside you, gradually increase the period between rewarding (keep using the heel command so that she knows she's in the right position. If she wanders off simply place her back in the correct position and repeat. Keep sessions short (a few minutes) and repeat frequently

Veterinari · 05/01/2021 20:56

In terms of jumping up, she dies it because it works - you've rewarded her jumping up with touch/eye contact/attention.
It's common when puppies are small and cute, less fun as they grow and become a nuisance.
Now she has to unlearn it
Endure she's only praised/touched etc when All 4 feet are on the floor.

When she jumps up stand still ignore her/turn away. As soon as her feet touch the floor, praise her. Repeat. A lot

vanillandhoney · 05/01/2021 21:01

I stop every time mine pulls - she needs to learn that pulling gets her nowhere. Only move on when the lead is loose.

fireplaceburning · 05/01/2021 21:13

After reading a thread on here I saw someone suggested a figure of 8 lead. I bought one and it has really helped my dog which was always pulling

HmmSureJan · 05/01/2021 21:16

As soon as the lead goes taut I stop till they come back and say "heel" when they do. Every time - countless times during one walk. They have all got there in the end but it's time consuming and patience fraying at times.

Original poster

bellylaughs · 05/01/2021 22:52

Thanks for all the advice. I guess it’s stuff I already know but as PPs have said it’s time consuming and I’m probably too impatient to do it.

OP posts:

Nettleskeins · 05/01/2021 23:46

If she is pulling to get somewhere (ie offlead walk) I would suggest driving there for a bit to break that association.
If she is pulling because you are in a park already and she wants to get off lead, then your focus should be on stopping her jumping up on strangers. Train recall, sit wait etc at home. Try getting her to sit when a family member comes in, and then treat pat when she sits rather than patting her when she jumps up. Four paws on floor is another greeting formula!
Getting excited by strangers is usually proportionate to how under stimulated she is by other stuff in park walks...so reinforce games you do with her, sniffing around, running games (chase me!) Hide and seek is another one. Or playing with other dogs, owners willing. Jumping up on people shouldn't be the funniest thing there is on a park walk.

I have a dog that would jump up and occasionally does but mostly now doesn't, I always let him off lead now and he doesn't pull on pavement walks either unless really bored and sees a cat!! Miniature poodle cross. Clever creatures, easily bored. Love him

Nettleskeins · 05/01/2021 23:48

Walking on lead is quite tiring and boring for a dog if there is a better option that you can train for daily walks. My dog is exactly two years old.

Girlintheframe · 06/01/2021 06:09

It's definitely a long process. Our 2.5 year old will walk nicely most of the time but still goes through phases of pulling.
I literally stop dead until he returns to the correct position. It is time consuming and takes a lot of patience.
When he was younger he was always better on the lead after he had had a run about. We used to do a very short lead walk to the park (I used to walk with treats in my hand and he got one every few steps if walking nicely) then let him have a run about then do a longer walk home (again with lots of treats).
He honestly got so many treats when he was younger I used to wonder how we would wean him off them!
Lots of patience, lots of practice and lots of treats is what worked for us. That and consistency.
Good luck

scochran · 06/01/2021 06:37

I used a tube of squeezy cheese held at my side to get dog in correct walking position and gradually extended the steps between her getting a bit. Did this loads round garden or empty park with no lead on and she never pulled but now she carries her ball or toy she's started pulling in excitement so use the front clip one harness till she remembers.

Original poster

bellylaughs · 06/01/2021 09:15

Some great ideas here, thanks. Love the squeeze cheese idea!
I think I will have to do some more training with her. Will be worth it in the long run!
For those who asked, she doesn’t pull to her anywhere or in anticipation of anything she just pulls. Went on a 7 mile walk yesterday and she pulled the whole way. As I said we do let her off a lot too, but yesterday it wasn’t practical where we were.

OP posts:

SlothMama · 06/01/2021 09:42

The only way to fix the issue is to put the time and effort in to training her to heel, it takes time. Walks are exciting and often training can go out of their heads. I keep to a few short training sessions a day and it works.

Scoobydoobydoo · 06/01/2021 13:46

sorry to hijack this thread op. I hope you don't mind me adding a question.
for those suggesting treats to get the dog to walk nicely, do they not turn greedy.
The dog that I look after is getting a bit reactive to busy roads/wet roads so I have been giving him some treats as we approach the roads which does help.
Today I had some new treats which he absolutely seems to love
He starting barking/lunging at me as soon as he sensed I had the new treat (perhaps with smell)
I had to bring him back home, leave the treat pouch and then do a much smaller walk and he has relatively fine.
How do you stop them mobbing you for the treat?

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 06/01/2021 14:58

How do you stop then mobbing you for the treat?
Teach the dog that he has to sit before he gets a treat. You can add in touching your hand with his nose, as well.

Also, never give in to mobbing.

I have the world's greediest dog, and she will belt up to friends in the park who have previously given her treats, bounce up in the air and then sit. This apparently makes her irresistible...

Veterinari · 06/01/2021 20:05

@Scoobydoobydoo

sorry to hijack this thread op. I hope you don't mind me adding a question. for those suggesting treats to get the dog to walk nicely, do they not turn greedy. The dog that I look after is getting a bit reactive to busy roads/wet roads so I have been giving him some treats as we approach the roads which does help. Today I had some new treats which he absolutely seems to love He starting barking/lunging at me as soon as he sensed I had the new treat (perhaps with smell) I had to bring him back home, leave the treat pouch and then do a much smaller walk and he has relatively fine. How do you stop them mobbing you for the treat?

Use a treat that's delicious enough to get him interested but not so exiting he can't cope with it.

Iootraw1 · 14/01/2021 20:02

I went through three different head collars before my dog would accept one. He used to rub against me and the ground it was awful. I realised that the Halti’s are designed to tighten around the muzzle when the dog pulls. The dogmatic was the head collar which finally he accepted but it still took a few walks before he realised it was a different one. More pricey but worth it. Do try letting her off lead OP, otherwise she won’t have the opportunity to learn about not jumping up. I would suggest using a long line which can give freedom and even just trail along the ground but which you can reach for when you need to take control. It’s a bit like recall training - how can a dog progress if always kept on a short lead? Teach her to return to youR side when she sees a person approaching and use the long line to reinforce this if necessary. Think about it like this : instead of telling her what NOT to do when a person approaches, show her what TO DO instead. And reward generously for it. Overtime she will learn to ignore people and realise most of them are just plain boring and/or grumpy!!