How To Stop Him Pulling On Lead

Hi Everyone,

My little Jerry is nearly 8 months and he is a terrible puller when on the lead. He is so strong and it makes me worry that I won't be able to control him when he's an adult if we don't nip the pulling in the bud. Nothing seems to work with him. We have tried stopping and taking steps backwards. Stopping and walking the other way. Giving him a quick yank back. We have tried the lead things that slip round their neck (kind of a choker but made from rope). He seems to feel nothing! It doesn't even phase him for a second. He's not nervous so he's not pulling in a panic he just seems to want to lead the way all of the time.

Does anyone have any more suggestions?

Thanks,

Vicki

The only other thing I can think of is the type of collar/harness he has, have you tried maybe a comfier one? Also when walking to ensure that the lead is kept loose so they don't get used to the feeling of the pull from the lead, they can get used to this.
I would advise to go back to basics, I found it helped to take some high value treats on the walk and keep them by your side by feeding a treat every so often and praising for staying by your side! :)I hope this helps, it can be a bit stressful at times, but patience and consistency is the key!
Hopefully others should be along with more advice soon

I would try teaching a heel sit and go from there, lure him into heel position with a treat and get him to sit, then one step sit, 2 steps sit set etc etc this should teach him to walk at your side awaiting your next instruction, obviously it takes a lot of practice!!

Patience and persistence really are the key I think ... do whatever you choose to do everytime he pulls or he will continue to do it

I found that a harness worked better for Chiquito than a collar and therefore use a rear attach harness + collar on a double ended lead when walking. A front attach harness may be an option as well .. they literally remove the 'gain' the dog gets from pulling by turning the dog back into you when they do pull. A head halti is another option which can be useful for pullers - you will need to ensure that this is fitted and used correctly and give some time for him to get used to it.

I personally do not agree with check/half check collars that tighten when the dog pulls, or with no pull harnesses that work on the same principle. Staffs have a high pain tolerance and these styles of 'control' tend to do more harm than good. Teaching a desired behaviour may take more time and effort, but in the long run is better and far more effective and reliable than using force or pain to gain compliance

Stopping when the lead goes tight, and not moving again until it becomes slack again is a technique that I had success with. I found that teaching a strong 'heel' command (we call it 'beside') along with the 'watch' command were most effective techniques though ... when he does pull I gain his attention with the 'watch' before asking to move into a 'heel'. Lots of treats while learning, and learning in places with low distraction initially helped Choc to learn what I was asking him to do with these two commands, we then moved onto doing them while walking.

Hope you find something helpful in there

I like my dog pulling on the lead,weirdly as it may sound to some but i do promote it