Dog pulling on lead help

[Labradoodlelife]

I just rehomed a 6 month old puppy. He was barely walked before I got him and spent a lot of time in his crate. He's extremely excitable on walks (quite rightly) but the pulling is out of control! I've tried using a normal lead and collar and doing direction changes and pops like the training videos show but to no avail. He is food motivated but once outside he isn't interested in treats at all as so excited. He doesn't engage with me at all on the walks.

I'm wondering if I should get a slip lead to help with stopping pulling so I can correct him when he does this? I used to hate slip leads but with my last dog, she was 30kg by 6 months and pulling me off of my feet so it was dangerous. When we finally got her a slip lead she improved almost instantly. Thoughts or suggestions on any other techniques I could try??

Define just rehomed. You want too much too fast. Tools do not make a loose lead walker. Don't punish a puppy who hasn't been walked its entire life with a slip lead.

He probably needs more time, less stimulation on walks and a harness with a back and a front ring (double clip lead).
Strangling a dog on a slip lead is unlikely to work.

Stop walking him.

This does not mean stop taking him out but take him to places to watch observe and sniff rather than taking him on a formal walk.

He has so many new things to learn and is too over stimulated to learn anything at the moment.

Get him used to live and get him to be able to focus on you out and about by gradually increasing the stimulation.

I would put him on a harness.

Treat him when he is at your side, when you are at home treat him at your side, when you walk down the garden treat him at your side.Let him run off (in your garden) when he returns to you treat at his side.

When he is calmer then you can start working more on lead walking out and about.

I would never ever use a slip lead to teach heelwork.

Sorry I didn't mean to punish him with.it was just looking for advice as it was the only thing that helped my last dog. Decided just to order the halti no pull harness and hopefully that will help with the training too

We have a 33kg dog and use a slip lead and it definitely reduces pulling. She walks really well to heel now. So try it, but also prepare to be patient – starting training from scratch at six months is a tough call.

Hey OP, we used this for our golden retriever who was a nightmare being walked as a pup!

https://walkyourdogwithlove.com/splash-page.html

Walk your dog with love harness. It attaches to the dog in a completely different way so they cannot pull.

We also rescued a 6 month old puppy with zero training so understand how tough this is ! We are just taking things really really slowly. One benefit is our 12 year old lab X so when they walk together puppy likes to be right at the side of her, so one is teaching the other. Not sure if you have friends with older calmer dogs you could maybe try a walk with. When she is on her own though like yours she is pulling, sniffing and excited about the world so she only goes up the street and back again just to get used to sounds etc. We have a one to one with a trainer booked as well.

I used a slip lead on my 11 8 month old at the time. She is a nice walker now and understands what the end of the lead means. I rarely need to use the slip lead now.

It is really important to NOT start by just whacking a slip lead on and setting off. That is cruel, the dog wouldn't understand it or how it works.

I spent time at home with it, teaching her how it works, she is in control of whatever pressure she feels. She understands that when she feels pressure, she moves towards me and the pressure slackens. It's really important that you invest the time and patience to teach this and do not venture outside with it until the dog understands.

I gave up with using treats to get her to walk nicely. Absolutely useless.... maybe works on some dogs but was getting me nowhere fast with mine! As soon as i stopped treat-ing, she resumed pulling. It was as if the treats only distracted her from pulling rather than teaching her not to do it. She was learning nothing 🤦🏼‍♀️

ETA: checked my purchase history and she was 8 months

I also had a friend who helped her dog learn by simply stopping when he woukd take the pi$$ with the end of his lead.

she wouldnt move forward until he "made the right choice" and came back to her side.

she looked like a nutter to start with and it took him a while to figure it out the first few times. This also involved perseverence as would any training technique. But now, He's always checking himself with the end of his lead and knows that a slack feeling keeps things moving. Clever lad.

Have you considered some formal training? Either 1:1 with a dog trainer or a class setting to help you on your way without hurting your dog.
But be prepared, loose lead walking is one of the hardest things to teach a dog.
Consistency is key.

I’ve had three Great Danes, always started off with a Halti, they’re not thrilled by them, but I found that they work really well. My middle and last dogs were rescues, it seemed to calm them down.

Stop popping him! Poor little sod has no idea what you want and you're strangling him - I know you're not meaning to hurt him but you are. Stop watching whatever training videos are suggesting this.

The breed and size make a difference to the right advice. My boy still struggles at 18 months but he's half WCS.

Finally, don't use a slip lead, they strangle the dog - that's the point of them - unless you're using them so carefully that they don't have the effect you're looking for. One of my trainers permanently damaged her dog's throat with a slip lead, completely by accident. Just put him on a harness that has a front clip too, and start walking him on both. Perfect fit, Canuzzo etc all do good, y-front harnesses that won't hurt your dog.

Slip leads work because they choke the dog. Some people are fine with that, I’m not for my dog as she had a very thin neck. Once she was older and calmer I do occasionally use it as she isn’t going to get hurt in the same way.

He sounds very young and has had a difficult start so will take time, plus loose lead walking is difficult!

Get a well fitted harness ( most are rubbish and give you no control, try perfect fit) so you have close control and use a double ended lead, one clip on the top ring, one on the chest, he won’t be able to pull then.

I have a harness with front clip and double ended lead which came a few days ago and it's already going much much better so thank you all