Dog pulling on lead

[bonzaitree]

Could really do with some wise words on this.

My dog is a nightmare on the lead. She is 2 now and still hasn’t learned not to pull. I feel like I’ve tried everything- stopping when she pulls and waiting for her to come to heel before moving on again. Using treats when she comes to heel/ walks nicely. Walking backwards when she pulls. Practicing walking to heel when she is off lead. Training her to sit at heel.

All to no avail! We have a daily battle with stop- start walks to the park. She is very good otherwise- no other behavioural issues and she is a dream off the lead. Perfect recall. She can learn other obedience such as sit/ stay/ roll over/ turn around/ getting in the car / waiting at the door etc etc.

She really is a very nice dog! She just hasn’t learned to walk at people speed!!!

Any suggestions before I get a dog trainer? Save me some money Mumsnet!

(dog breed is mixed small shi-stu type dog.)

Have you tried a harness? My small dog was the same and a harness improved things a lot. She's old now and totally fine. I did fork out for a trainer whose verdict was that she's a right madam!

Teach her where the heel position is off the lead in garden. Proof it so she is 100%. Then do it with lead and again proof it with constant changes of direction etc. Once proofed in garden then gradually build up to very short distances outside.
Always turn back before she starts pulling so you end on a good note.
Once they have learned to pull it can take a lot of work ie months to re-train.
Keep consistent, don't chop and change technique otherwise you will just end up with a confused dog.
Don't ever reward a pulling dog by letting them continue on a walk otherwise you are just reinforcing the behaviour.

Do you use a harness? My dog 'pulls' much more with one on as she leans into it but doesn't do that when I have experimented with a lead onto her collar. Its taking SUCH a lot of time and effort to get her to walk properly on the lead/harness that any walks are not the relaxing times I hoped they would be, Luckily I'm close enough to fields and tracks where she can run free but appreciate this isn't available to everyone.

Has he been neutered? I found my lab calmed down a lot after that. Previously, he wee-ed at every lamppost. Afterwards, we could go a lot further.

Have you got high value treats? He needs to be focussed on you, not the distraction.

Do you talk to him when you walk? Sounds stupid, but if I don’t interact with him, his concentration goes.

Also, I was told to treat frequently. Keep him focussed on you.

As others have said, practise at home, in the garden, on lead, off lead etc.

if he pulls when crossing the road, go back and repeat it until he doesn’t pull. Then treat him for crossing nicely.

Try a slip lead high up under the chin. Don't tug on it and don't hold a tight lead.

Harnesses allow a dog more pulling power due to them having the whole chest to pull on.

Does your dog only pull on the way to the park? Would it be possible to change your walking pattern?

Slightly different topic, but well worth a read!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5011123-walking-to-heal-off-lead

Thank you for your responses to answer some questions:

• she doesn’t wear a harness as this made things worse. I’ve got her a slip lead to try and stop her pulling but she literally pulls so hard she chokes herself and I feel so mean (also it’s not actually stopping her pulling!)

• I have big parks near by so she at least enjoys her off lead time and can relax and run about on some bits of the walk

• shes neutred

• ive tried chicken as a treat. With treats, she will go to heel, get the treat and then just go immediately back to pulling once she has scoffed the treat 🤦‍♀️ (little turd)

• she pulls every time we leave the damn house, irrespective of where we go we have to walk the same route out of the cul-de-sac.

• i stop walking every single time she pulls but this often means it take 20 mins to get out our cul-de-sac. I’m so aware of her need to tire herself out off lead and it’s a shame to cut her park time because we can’t get out the street!

I can try the garden training… anything else I’m doing wrong!

Not a Harness, it will turn her into a sled dog. Look at something like a gentle leader, these can be a game changer for pulling dogs.

I had limited success with a bungee lead and a waist belt. Once he was walking comfortably next to me without pulling we worked back to a normal lead. I love walking with hands free and a bungee though so in the end really we did that 90% of the time!

Front-attached harness was a game changer for my v.strong-willed beagle. We got one from the brand walk with love from Amazon. When she pulls, it just turns her to the back.

@bonzaitree slip leads doesn't stop pulling, training does that. You need to be shown how to use one correctly ie by gundog trainer.
Her need to walk nicely on a lead is more important than walks at the moment imo. As I said before, if you let her pull to a field and then let her run around you are rewarding the pulling. Pulling is a learned/allowed behaviour.
You have to go back to basics and treat her like an 8 week old. Train her where heel is at home then gradually (over weeks not days) slowly bring in more and more distractions.
Go and see a local gundog trainer for lessons as heel walking is a basic foundation in gundog training.

Mines chronic puller which is weird as his heel walk is fantastic off lead! And like your dog there’s no other behavioural issues… I think he’s just excited and loses his mind. We bought a halti harness which has worked wonders and stopped the problem immediately. Thankfully most of our walks are off road so he’s off lead and I just put up with the pulling for the 1/4 mile to the fields. If we’re walking on the pavement though we use the halti otherwise it just isn’t enjoyable even though he’s only 11kg.

She weighs even less at 8kg. Different harnesses sound good to me!

I might drive her to the park for runs and throwing the ball then practice walking on the lead separatwlt!

@bonzaitree not to do with pulling but please don't throw balls. It is so bad for their joints and creates hyper stimulation + ball fixation. Sniffing is much more relaxing and better for them, so sniffing and searching for the ball in shrubs and undergrowth is better.

Just a thought, do you use a retractable lead? If so, this encourages pulling, as if they surge forward, you react by letting out the lead. They’ve learnt that by pulling, they get a longer lead.

Definitely garden and house training. I’ve walked around the lounge several times with my dog next to me.

Don’t worry about the park. If you have to walk up and down your cul de sac for an hour, that’s an hours walk.

One method we were taught is that, if they pull, you bring them back to you in a figure of eight movement to get them along side you again. It also breaks their momentum.(ie. Get them to turn in front of you, walk them back to just behind you, then turn again so they’re facing the right way again).

Another trick is to don’t let them pull from the start. Does he start pulling as soon as you open the door? If so, teach him ‘door manners’. Ie, if he pulls, return to the house, and start again. Only when he stops pulling does he get the treat and you set off. (You can practice this inside, going from one room to another).

She barely has any interest in the ball- max she has ever brought it back is 5 times in a row before she loses interest! She has plenty of sniff time don’t worry!

I’ve ordered one of these- we’ll see how it goes!

Try to teach her to count. 1 2 3 then treat on three. As she gets better you can space the counting out.
She’ll technically stay at heel because she’s expecting a treat

Bit of a different approach but....don't sweat it.

Dogs, like people, are never perfect.
Sounds like she's a dream in every other area.

Our boy is a 2 year old chocolate Lab and still pulls on the way to the beach/park. For me, it's not a big deal.

His recall is good, he's sociable, settled and tbh downright wonderful.

I use a dogmatic. Start training in the garden before expecting loose lead on a walk. Perfect fit is a good harness.

@bonzaitree - good luck! Let us know how you get on.

If you use a slip lead for training heel, it needs to be right up under the chin. It will be uncomfortable if the dog pulls, but fine if it doesn't. You'll get a lot of time when the dog is at heel and can be rewarded. If you couple that with quick direction changes every time the dog moves ahead of you ('This way! Good!') you will encourage the dog to maintain focus on you and a good heel position.

Google 300 peck method.

Gadgets, harnesses etc arent going to work. You need to build value in being next to you

Please don't use a slip lead on a dog that pulls - you risk doing permanent damage to her neck. Her breed mix means tracheal collapse is already a potential problem and you don't want to increase the risk.

If she pulls she should be wearing an X or Y shaped harness to protect her joints and her nock.

Please don't listen to people saying that harnesses promote pulling - yes, they make it more comfortable for dogs to pull but the also prevent the dog from injury.

I used the HALTI harness today. It worked a treat! Two lovely calm walks and a tired dog. Thanks ladies!