Pulling on lead driving me to despair!

[LumpySpaceCow]

Hello,

I know this topic has been covered many times (I've read them all), but wanted to see if there were any other nuggets of wisdom for me!

We have a 1 year old Black Lab. Inside the house, he is pretty chilled - great with the kids, engages and trains well (he does bark if anyone walks past the house or rings the bell but I need to sort the walking first!).

Outside the house is a different story. He pulls on the lead, can be quiet reactive and we can't let him off the lead yet as his recall is hit and miss in the real world with all the smells and possibility of meeting other dogs.

From being small, we did the loose lead walking as described in the Easy Peasy book - he would basically just come back for a treat but then if a smell took his fancy, would pull like crazy and not come back for anything - he is a big dog and pulled me over once so we sought help from a recommended dog trainer (one to one rather than the puppy classes we had been attending).

The trainer specialises in gun dogs. He advised us to use a short slip lead, be firmer with the dog and sort of pull the lead with a noise to get his focus back on us (hard to describe but if you have watched the dog whisperer, similar to that!) The dog is perfect during the training sessions, but again when out with me just chokes himself on the slip lead. I just can't seem to keep him engaged - the smells and other dogs/people are more interesting!

I want to be able to enjoy walks and not dread them. I need this sorting for Winter as I fear I will end up breaking a limb if he tugs me over!!

Thanks 😀

I want to thank everyone for your responses - lots of useful tips and I've taken a lot on board.
The shop didn't have a suitable head collar so got fitted for a 'normal' harness and have ditched the slip lead for now. Have spent the past couple of days practising 'come' around the house and garden so braved it in the real world tonight! Initially tried the long line and he was great so thought I'd brave letting him off - he (and I) had an absolute ball - running, retrieving and playing- his recall was brilliant! The walk back home was also amazing - he didn't pull once and was so engaged - kept close and casually glancing up at me for praise (I had run out of food by this point!). This may be a fluke, but it's given me some positivity that we can do it and made me really engage with him again which can only benefit us both!

Forgot to add, that before the evening walk, I did 10 minutes of training in the garden as per @drivinmecrazy suggestion - seems to have had a positive effect!

I can only walk our 5 year old black lab on a lead if I use a Halti.

Should add I rarely walk him on a lead as I take him to a large common area where we run together

That’s brilliant!
I need help with recall for our 5 month old lab so can you share exactly what you’ve been doing x

@MamFran of course.

I think the foundations for now were set early on by following the Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy book by Steve Mann - particularly the 'watch me' and the loose lead walking.

• he is fed kibble twice per day. Rather than feeding as a bolus, we use for training.
• in a morning, train in the garden for 10 minutes prior to walk - sit, stay, wait, retrieve an item, find the biscuit - he enjoys it uses a lot of mental energy
• loose lead walking as per the Steve Mann book. Feeding him his biscuits as we are walking keeps him close and constantly checking in on us to see if we are going to give him more treats (he is very food motivated) - lots of praise amd positive reinforcement. If he pulls, get his attention - either just stop and he looks back and comes back to our side, or use 'come' and he comes back or 'watch me'to get his attention - again treat and praise when he does this.

Recall:

As outlined by @Shannith in their previous posts. We use 'come' (not sure why we chose this - think it was from a trainer) and not his name, throughout the day we have been shouting this around the house, garden etc and when he comes praise and treat with his food allowance - make it fun so he wants to come back to you.

• on walks, use 'come' to recall back when he pulls on the lead.
• on field, practice off lead (if appropriate) or on a long line - again, giving food when he comes back, making a fuss, making it fun and keeping him engaged - getting really low and opening arms wise seems to make him even more eager to get back to us. We do this as part of a retrieval game as well - throw the ball/dummy, when he gets it, recall and treat when he returns and drops.

I'm no expert but have taken a lot of advice and this all seems to be working for us so far!

Sorry its long but hope it makes some sense!

Our Choc Lab has just turned 2 and used to pull like a train. He’s a show Lab so stocky and very strong.

He’s so much better than he was and only pulls now if he sees a cat or when the beach is in sight and he’s desperate to get there.

I tried a Halti type thing but he scratched his face so much that he bled so I ditched that idea.

What works best for us is a double ended lead attached to a Red Dingo harness which has rings at the front and on top.
When he pulls, I tweak the front ring using the lead which turns his body slightly and so stops him from pulling.
I still use the same harness now but only attach the lead on the top ring as his pulling is now rare.

Regarding recall, my pooch sounds very similar to yours. Great at home but when playing and in his own “zone”, he completely ignores me.
What I have found though is that he always keeps me in sight and, even if he’s not actively listening to me, he’s never run off.
I feel 100% confident letting him off-lead on the beach (even though he’s developed an obsession with dog fish...) and at the park.
He’s extremely sociable and seeing him playing with another dog is one of my favourite things.

Enjoy your lovely Lab and try not to over focus on the pulling. Like humans, animals are rarely perfect and I bet everything else about him is fantastic.

Thanks for sharing @BaconAndAvocado, especially your last paragraph - i need to remeber this! This thread has been a game changer for us and my relationship with the dog - really appreciating and enjoying our time together!