Walking on the lead?

Evening

So we have a little problem - Otis is becoming a puller >
He will walk nicely for about 10mins then will start to pull, more so when he knows we are going back to the warmth ... In the classes we went to they tried getting us to use a treat at our mid thigh to coax them along and walk by our sides but I didn't really like the method as he jumped and tried to get the treat out my hand. Has anyone else tried that as I am willing to preserver if others have found this works.

I have read about a few methods but I just wanted to know if anyone had the same problem and how they went about correcting it. He is 6 months old now so I guess a method for a little puppy just learning may not work as well.

Also collar or harness?

Our instructor told us collar as it provided more control but I know Otis is going to become a strong dog and I don't want to hurt him.

Happy to be re-directed to another thread if this has been discussed as well

Cheers

The treat method can work and if he is jumping up you can always hold it higher. We still use this if there is a distraction such as a cat or bird and we want to keep her attention.

Another method is to stop and turn around everytime he pulls. It takes some time and patience for this to work but most people have success with it.

We use a collar and a no pull harness. The collar is for when we need more control such as areas with lots of distractions or someplace narrow and crowded. The harness is for everyplace else and we simply change the lead back and forth.

Ive heard a 'canny coller' is always worth a shot....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=canny+collar&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=8295780969&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9915246841721419124&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_4hn3ypkqf1_b

I found a harness to be much better when training although others have found the complete opposite. I find the harness meant he wasn't straining himself and getting himself worked up as a result.

The best way to stop pulling is as soon as he starts to pull, stop walking immediately, then wait until he stops then begin to walk again.

If you try to correct him while you are still walking he won't understand as all he'll be thinking about is moving forward.

MatLogan wrote:I found a harness to be much better when training although others have found the complete opposite. I find the harness meant he wasn't straining himself and getting himself worked up as a result.

The best way to stop pulling is as soon as he starts to pull, stop walking immediately, then wait until he stops then begin to walk again.

If you try to correct him while you are still walking he won't understand as all he'll be thinking about is moving forward.

The only problem with that is that some dogs (ahem.....Dempsey!) will just stop when you do & not care how long you stand there!

I used the turn the other way method & he soon caught on.

If you are worried about the collar hurting his neck go for an extra wide collar which is padded too. I know Ezydog do some lovely wide collars and I am thinking about getting one for Rocky as he can pull like a train when walking while wearing his harness. Link below to the Ezydog collar I am thinking of getting:

http://www.ezydog.co.uk/neo-collar/

Thanks everyone Funny enough I did some reading last night and came across the canny collar so I have bought him one as people seemed to have good results with it and also the video I watched was very convincing (obvioulsy it will be)
I spotted those ezydog collars aswell - They do look very comfortable - again I was quite enticed but to save my bank balance think I will wait until he has outgrown the one he has

I tried some of the methods suggested this afternoon and he seems to get the message I just said no and immediately stopped walking when he pulled - he sits down and then we walked again... I am going to perservere as I know he can do it! I know it's not going to work instantly but I have confidence in him

Has anyone got any recommendations for a comfortable harness?

Thanks again everyone

quote
The only problem with that is that some dogs (ahem.....Dempsey!) will just stop when you do & not care how long you stand there! quote

I have this problem with Densil. Sometimes on our walks he will also suddenly stop and appears to be listening at something and won't move for several minutes. I sometimes throw a treat and he will move to pick that up and then stop again. Makes me look a right idiot just standing there with a stuck dog, lol.

Again I would recommend the Ezydog harness, which has a chestplate to spread the strain should they pull. They are supplied with a car seatbelt clip too which may come in handy. We got Rocky the Large size but they are adjustable.

ive had same problem all time too.

harnesses, collars, stop start, heel, treats, stop and turn didnt work.

My last attempt was I sat down and had a quiet word with him one night. He just looked confused and requested a belly rub haha

'In the classes we went to they tried getting us to use a treat at our mid thigh to coax them along and walk by our sides but I didn't really like the method as he jumped and tried to get the treat out my hand. Has anyone else tried that as I am willing to preserver if others have found this works. '

Mine pulls lots, but when i try the treat thing, she sits down for it...which is good in a sense cos she is sitting but im wanting her to keep walking! bless x

Pulling is the most frustrating thing about having my pooch, Louby.
It makes me not want to walk her, we do the stop/start thing, as soon as she starts pulling (straightaway), we say no, stop, tell her to wait, then once she has stopped, we then carry on, but she is really not getting it. I persevere on the walks, cos i would feel so bad not walking her, but by the time i get home i am fuming!!
We are having one to one training next week, i really hope she has some magic way to sort this out, although in reality i know it will take time.

I have recently bought a Halti head collar, which is similar to the Canny collar but a bit cheaper I think. It's like a miracle, instant cure! I have had Suzy for about 10 weeks and we are booked into dog training classes which start at the end of April, but I needed something in the meantime as she was pulling very badly.

I use both collar and harness with a double ended lead, darcy is a puller too but hopefully were getting there slowly but surely.