About to sell doggo to the circus

[Ilovetea42]

Not actually. I really do love him but I'm incredibly frustrated with him right now.

I have an almost 2 Yr old springer who is generally just the best good boy. He's very smart, recall etc is excellent and he's so gentle for being a really hyper breed. We make sure be gets the right amount of exercise daily and work on commands etc. I used to do the bulk of his training having had dogs before and he was so so good for me. Then, I got pregnant and it was a really tough pregnancy and I wasn't able to walk him so my dh took over that. Since then our dog will literally do everything my husband tells him without hesitation. He will obey the vast majority of commands for me but our issue is when we're out walking. I've been trying to train him to walk beside the pram nicely. He can do this because when my husband takes the dog and pram out the lead is so slack that his issue is that it sometimes gets tangled in the wheels. For me however, it's a completely different story. He pulls so hard in the lead that he's nearly tipped the pram 3 times today on a 50min walk. I've been extremely firm and consistent. Every time he pulls a bit I stop dead and he knows to come back to beside me, but as soon as we start off he's away steaming ahead again. I'm worried he's actually going to end up toppling the pram with baby inside at some point. Any advice?? I've tried walking him just with collar and with a front leading harness. Harness is a bit better but still not too where I want him to be.

Halti collars don't hurt the dog unless misused which is true of many types of collar. The picture shown above is misleading as it shows a single lead whereas a halti is design for a lead to be attached with one end on the halti and the other on the collar.

Seems to me that the variable is the pram, so when going back to basics make sure you include the pram. Maybe do a few sessions in the local roads with the pram but no baby where it may be easier to back up?

@HappiestSleeping but 98% of people who use a halti use it incorrectly ie with 1 lead. Of course it works on pain/disclmfort otherwise there woukd be no need for it. The dog experiences discomfort when it pulls so it stops pulling. This isnt training the dog to walk nicely, as soon as the halti is stopped being used the dog pulls again.
The background to the halti is that it was only ever designed as a short term (ie 2 week) measure to be used alongside heel training however most owners use it long term because they cant be bothered to train the dog and this is where the skeletal issues happen.

Completely agree that the majority of people misuse them, but that isn't a fault of the tool. The idea that a dog stops doing something painful though is incorrect in my view. My own current dog would (prior to training) have happily pulled his own head off if he could regardless of pain.

The idea of the halti is that it turns the dogs head when it pulls, discouraging it from moving forward but not causing pain. Also, I haven't seen in any of Dr Roger Mugford's literature anything about it being used for only 2 weeks (Mugford invented the halti, so I can't comment on any other brand). In my own experience with a previous dog, I've found that having used a halti for a period of time, the dog no longer pulled when the halti is no longer used, so it was a fixed time use / permanent solution. I concede that this is a sample of 1, but an example nonetheless.

I do agree that there are other tools to use and indeed have been employing those with current dog to great effect, however the halti is a very valid tool to use as long as it is used properly.

Current dog is a rescue and has never been trained to walk on a loose lead. I'm finding that stopping, backing up, rewarding him for looking at me, and again when he comes back to me (im only using a 1.5m lead so not a great distance) before moving on is having much success and is my preferred method, however it takes much time and patience (as does most dog training). This along with general bond building of sit / stay / leave it / fetch / tug etc.