Pulling

[Nanny0gg]

What's the best way to teach a pup (nearly a year) to walk to heel.

If on an ordinary collar and lead, he really pulls so we tend to use a harness.

Due to covid, not sure when training classes will resume

We got a Halti for our dpuppy. Instant perfection..

We use a simple slip lead, you can do the figure of eight over the nose at first if need be. Mostly however learning not to pull comes from changes of direction, varying speed, and learning to position just behind you to respond to signals. The choice of lead is a very small part indeed.

What breed do you have?

Mine is a stubborn scent hound so we found this very tricky. A halti headcollar really helped, but it was an aid to help other training techniques rather than relying completely on it. We don't need it any more.

We did simple things like halting and only resuming walking when she calmed down. If she could see the park and started to pull I would stop and walk in the other direction. Keep repeating this.

It was hard work and took months (partly because scent hounds are stubborn creatures) but we got there in the end.

I don't like haltis. We use a harness with a front attachment and a double ended lead.
Anything that has the potential to cause harm (slip lead, haltis etc.) is not ok by me. But everyone has strong opinions on these things.
Lots of positive reinforcement (a bag of something yummy!) and a phrase like "nice" when they are walking well plus perseverance should do it. Stop start is great. Only start when the lead is loose. They get it. Some faster than others!

I’ve had a ferocious puller, we use a t touch harness with the front and back clips (& training lead) and it’s been hard work - he’s got muscle memory from my son & boyfriend letting him drag him about when I was very poorly when he was young. We use a pull and release technique so praise when there is no tension on lead lots of direction changes praise and good treats (we use hot dogs and sprats (stinky but he loves them!!) he’s really got it we also use the lead over his chest and a 2 handed technique. You need a marker word (yep/nice) then treat.

If nothing works or he seems nervous I would get 1:1 with a trainer as sometimes it’s good to see someone working your pup so you have a visual of what you should be doing. (I spent sat morning working with my boy & trainer as there were a few things I wanted to iron out and needed some help) don’t be scared to ask

We had a canny collar - similar to halti however if your dog is sensitive or nervous it’s not always the best as it heightened his fear of traffic as he hated the nose strap - I did tonnes of work before hand with him too getting him used to it.

We do still use a Perfect Fit harness with a dual clip lead. Most days she's fine, but it's useful to have the front ring attachment for days when she's excited or being stubborn. Due to her breed collars aren't ideal so we need a harness.

I would say this was the most difficult thing to get right but it's worth the effort.

We used a ruffwear harness with a double-ended halti lead.

One end clips to the d-ring on their back, the other to the d-ring on their chest. They can't pull properly or they just twist around.

I don't agree with head collars or slip leads as both "teach" the dog not to pull by using discomfort or pain.

@Nanny0gg

What's the best way to teach a pup (nearly a year) to walk to heel.

If on an ordinary collar and lead, he really pulls so we tend to use a harness.

Due to covid, not sure when training classes will resume

Check locally as almost all trainers are now offering outdoor classes/sessions as an absolute minimum. From Monday, individual sessions (ie not group classes) will also restart indoors Where I work all our group training has been running outdoors for 2 weeks and private sessions have been running outside throughout the entire lockdown for welfare cases and for general training for several weeks