Advice please.....

Hi

I'm just looking for some training advice for Cooper. He is a very well behaved dog and in general he does as he's told without any problem at all. He's perfect in the house as well.

He has of late began pulling really badly on the lead and as you are all aware I have Parkinson's and it's sometimes very difficult for me to keep pulling him back. When I say "heal" he does respond but literally for only a few seconds and he's pulling again!
I have seen a leader advertised that goes around their nose and the back of their head and it claims to make pulling a thing of the past. Do you think it would be worth me getting one of these?

Secondly, when we take him to the beach or the park and he sees other dogs chasing balls etc he decides to go and run after them and pinch the ball. I try and call him back but he just ignores me because he is so excited to play and nothing can call him back. I realise that technically he's still a puppy as he isn't even 2 until later on in the year but if anyone has any ideas as to how or what I can do about it I would really appreciate it.

Thanks
Paul

It sounds like both are really training issues. There are so many magic cures to pulling out there, they all make the same claims, and few of them work. I dislike any anti-pulling thing that goes on the face - I've just posted on another thread about why - I wouldn't want to be pulled by my face so won't do it to a dog, and they have the potential to damage the neck.

For what it's worth, I use Mekuti harnesses because I think they help the dog listen to you more but at the end of the day it's positive reward based training that will work best. You need to make it nice for Cooper to be and stay with you, so lots of treats, praise and play, depending on what he responds to best.

What's Cooper like if you take a ball with you to the park or beach? Will he play with you? If so, can you have his bestest ever favourite toy with you on walks so that you are much more fun that the other dogs? You can also use a fun game as a great reward for recall.

At the end of the day, though, you've got a young and playful dog, and the terrible 2s can be testing. Keep calm, never get cross, and just be lots and love and fun for him, and you'll both get there.

There are several methods to stop pulling and I'm sure they all work.
One is called 'the statue' where you stop every time the dog pulls on
the lead and only move forward when the lead is slack.  Another is to
turn each time the dog pulls so that he has to follow and keep by you.

But the one I used was to carry a load of treats and treat Harry every couple of yards while walking quite briskly.  They catch on very quickly  
and Harry was soon staying by my side and keeping with me, watching
and looking at me regularly for his treat.  

I find this helps keeping him focused on me, keeps us walking instead
of the tiresome stopping and starting, and in Harry's case avoids any
dog aggression.  Most importantly he is never pulling.  

Some people have success with head collars but Harry didn't like it
and to be honest nothing you use or wear can beat actual training.

Good luck with whatever method you decide as I'm sure others will
offer advice.  The only thing I would say is to keep with one method.

I used a half check with mia and a very short lead the half check does stop pulling but id only use this for a short period of time.

We are still struggling with pulling, but he is getting much better! My OH seems to be the magic one who has trained him to heal a lot better. But I am finding the statue thing to be working! If he pulls, I stop and call him back to my side, where I treat and walk on.

As for the ball chasing, Bane would do the same if he was off lead. Not sure if it is him trying to join in, just wants to chase the dog thinking it is something else or what! I think it's a natural instinct to chase But he has very little recall, so we keep him on a long lead.

I know people who have had a terrible time with their dogs pulling and have purchased what you described: a halti and it has worked brilliantly. Most of them don't have problems but a few say that it rubs certain parts of the face and can cause hair loss because of this. Or that the dog will scratch at it and end up scratching itself and maybe getting a cut. You could always try it and see how he gets on. If it irritates him then try something else.

We use the watch me command for pulling and a long lead if we know there are dogs playing with a ball she would want to chase