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Original poster

How to stopA dog pulling

20 replies

Sunnydaysarethebestdays · 14/02/2021 21:17

My 7 month old puppy pulls like a train on his lead to the point I struggle to walk him.
I was recommended a halti style head harness which works a treat and really stops him pulling and allows me to walk him.
But I’ve just read an article about how bad these are and how they can cause damage, so now I’m worried about using it.
How do I stop him from pulling on a normal lead and collar?
Any tips appreciated.

OP posts:
pumpkinpie01 · 15/02/2021 00:41

I used to just stop walking every time they pull. Will soon learn if they pull they don't actually get anywhere

Girlintheframe · 15/02/2021 06:33

Train him to walk close to you without a lead first (indoors, in the garden etc). Have lots of treats. Start with very short distances then build it up. Use whatever word you like so that he associates the word with the action like heel, close etc.
Once he has grasped what it is you want him to do add the lead. Lots of treats, use the word. Start small again and build it up.
Takes a lot of patience and practice.
We stop dead now if he pulls but he has a good understanding of what's expected of him.

blowinahoolie · 15/02/2021 06:50

We have just started using a gentle leader with our puppy. It has made a massive difference. She hardly pulls at all.

TriSeaSwim2021 · 15/02/2021 07:04

We hit a similarly age and our LabX puppy pulled my back out she getting such hard work having previously been ok with collar and lead. We bought this after recommendation on here and it’s really helped. It’s not a magic pill and she will always be far happier off lead in fields (excellent recall) but it means I can happily walk her again. mekuti.co.uk/harness_shop.htm

ArcherDog · 15/02/2021 15:06

I used a gentle leader/halti for a few months and now he walks lovely on a collar.
As soon as he starts pulling you just stop dead or turn around and walk in the other direction.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 15/02/2021 15:32

There's no quick fix for pulling - special collars etc. can help, but as soon as you remove the equipment, the dogs tend to go right back to the start and pull again.

I'm a dog walker and I use the "stop and wait" technique. As soon as the dog pulls, you stop dead and wait for the lead to go slack. Then start walking again. It takes a while and you may well spend several weeks getting no further than the end of your road Grin

The other solution is to turn around and walk in the opposite direction so they know that pulling doesn't get them where they want to go. Either technique is fine but it does take a while to master it.

Lots of people struggle with pulling for this reason - it's very time consuming and requires a lot of patience and persistence!

TheChip · 15/02/2021 15:40

The one that helped me the most was the harness that has the clip at the front of the chest. Along with turning around everytime they pull.

blowinahoolie · 15/02/2021 15:59

"The other solution is to turn around and walk in the opposite direction so they know that pulling doesn't get them where they want to go."

Tried this, but if you walk in opposite direction she will then just plonk herself down and you have to wait until she's ready to move again 😂 the joys of walking a St Bernard 🤣

Gentle Leader working well so far, she's not pulling anywhere as much as usual.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 15/02/2021 16:03

@blowinahoolie

"The other solution is to turn around and walk in the opposite direction so they know that pulling doesn't get them where they want to go."

Tried this, but if you walk in opposite direction she will then just plonk herself down and you have to wait until she's ready to move again 😂 the joys of walking a St Bernard 🤣

Gentle Leader working well so far, she's not pulling anywhere as much as usual.

That's hilarious Grin some dogs can be so stubborn!

I once walked a dog that refused to walk in any direction so I had to pick him up and carry him! Luckily he was only small but he was just like "nope, I'm sitting here" Grin

ArcherDog · 15/02/2021 18:35

@sunflowersandbuttercups @blowinahoolie My sister thought she had killed my dog once when she walked him in the Summer and on the way home he suddenly laid down and refused to move. She was convinced he was overheating and about to die of heatstroke.
She rang me in a panic wondering how she was going to carry this huge dying dog back home.

I told her to to turn around and walk back to the dog park, suddenly he was cured! Grin

blowinahoolie · 15/02/2021 19:42

sunflowersandbuttercups yep, no chance of lifting a giant breed pup, she's already 20kgs😂. Luckily we are never in a rush on any walk. Small ones definitely more portable.

ArcherDog seems dog park was just the tonic to get your dog moving for your DSis😂

EcoCustard · 15/02/2021 19:54

It was 10 years ago but my two working cocker pups used to pull on the lead. ( what spaniel doesn’t Grin). We attended puppy classes and did lots at home initially what worked best was every time they began to pull away I would stop walking. To begin with I would walk in the opposite direction but after a while it didn’t work very well. We then tried just getting pup to sit every time they pulled and they responded better to that. It must of looked ridiculous to others as to begin I would have to stop every 5 seconds, it took a few months to train them and as I had two pups I had to walk them separately when lead training or walk around the garden or field we had. They always walked well for spaniels on a lead unless they saw a hare, bin, deer...........

Sitdowncupoftea · 17/02/2021 17:16

Cani collar are recommended over haltis. I've never used one but own huskies which are swines for pulling.

Jayne35 · 18/02/2021 15:33

I just came on mn to post this question, some great tips there. We have a 7 month working cocker and walking her is a nightmare. Pulls, jumps and goes side to side. We are now trying the double lead on her harness (back and chest) and also stopping when she pulls. We have completed three stages of zoom training with her but this and jumping up are a problem.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 18/02/2021 15:51

@blowinahoolie

sunflowersandbuttercups yep, no chance of lifting a giant breed pup, she's already 20kgs😂. Luckily we are never in a rush on any walk. Small ones definitely more portable.

ArcherDog seems dog park was just the tonic to get your dog moving for your DSis😂

Mine is 19kg and while I can lift him, I can't do it for long Grin luckily he's easily bribed with cocktail sausages so I always keep a stash in my pockets!
QueenOfLabradors · 18/02/2021 15:54

I agree with @sunflowersandbuttercups and others up thread, training is the only permanent solution. Sometimes one needs a temporary solution though, and mine is a figure of eight lead. It can be perfectly adjusted to fit any dog apart from very brachicephalic breeds like pugs or French bulldogs. I don't like the cani-collar as you have to maintain perfect tension all the time or it slips off. The Gentle Leader is also much easier to get a perfect fit than the Halti. And Pets At Home did an excellent own brand training head collar, not sure if they still sell it or not.

SunnySideDownBriefly · 18/02/2021 16:02

I bought this www.petsafe.net/easywalk from Amazon a couple of weeks ago and my very bouncy 1 year old Golden Retriever is walking like an angel now! Suddenly very in tune with what I'm doing and it only takes a gentle tug to get her attention. She's not afraid of putting it on either which she always has been with other harnesses so I think this must mean that she finds it comfortable.

persistentwoman · 18/02/2021 18:11

Just starting to get there with persistentdog. Stop and 'heel' every time plus high value treat reward when he's trotting along. He's just starting to return himself to my heel after a bit of "what? You've stopped? Confused, Oh that.... and returns to heel.

blowinahoolie · 18/02/2021 20:36

😂 might try cocktail sausages with Ddog on next walk, thank you. We use cheese too, but can never have enough tasty treat ideas😆

sunflowersandbuttercups · 18/02/2021 20:43

@blowinahoolie

😂 might try cocktail sausages with Ddog on next walk, thank you. We use cheese too, but can never have enough tasty treat ideas😆
Oh he loves cheese as well Grin

I'm a dog walker and I've never, ever had a dog refuse a cocktail sausage!

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