Another chronic puller

CoopersMummy · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject:

Cooper will be 2 years in MArch, and he has been pulling since he was 6 months old. You are right, when I stop he immediately back up, comes along my left and sits. When I start walking he pulls again.

anne · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:37 am Post subject:

Are you walking your dog in heel position the whole time??

anne · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:41 am Post subject:

Electric collars.
They have their place, but they can be dangerous used inapporpriately

People that use prong collars, citronella collars, water pistols, coins in a can, etc. -- You are doing bsically the same thing as an electronc collar does - creating an unpleaseant association. And no dog is the same. A dog that detests water may prefer a e collar stimulation than a blast of water in their faces.

Ecollars can be dangerous, but they ae not evil because they SEEM evil.

It's funnyto me that many that dislike ecollars will knee their dog in the chest to stop jumping, spray them in the face with a water pistol for barking, etc..

CoopersMummy · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:55 am Post subject:

Thanks Anne, I appreciate your wisdom and insight.

GailB · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:12 am Post subject:

We also have a puller with our boy Hunter.

Just guessing but he probably either has not been walked on a leash,or was not trained.

We will personally be hanging up the pinch or prong collar for him as the walk with it the other day was very tramatic for both me and him.

We will contue to walk him and not give up on the changing direction or just plain stopping for a moment when he is pulling hard.I think when using these techniques it will come over time and maybe a long time,but keep at it.

His pulling gets better the longer distance we take him.

You could also try to play him out a bit before walking him ie. playing ball,
or whatever he likes for exercise.

Hunter seems to be a little more relaxed on a walk if I play fetch with him for about 20 minutes right before the walk.

Keep at it....It WILL get better.

CoopersMummy · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:02 pm Post subject:

Yes, we did a lot of off leash work when he was a pup for recall (he has fabulous recall!)
This morning we did a good long hour walk on his gentle leader with constant changing of direction, heel, wait, sit, etc and he got loads of treats - with the exception of the last block home - he did really really good this morning excellent in fact. Perhaps he is starting to grow out of adolescence.
He is now sound asleep!

richandtiff · Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 12:40 pm Post subject:

I use an e-collar with sandi when we are in a big wide open area for recall and I use the tone part of the e-collar, And she does great with it on walks we use the prong collar and she does well with that also. someone posted a link a while back on the proper way to fit a prong collar. Jack pulls on walks but he doesn't go very far and he is still little. so we will wait on the techniques for him.

NateEaton · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:43 am Post subject:

Where to begin... so many comments that hit home. Our Lexie is a big puller and at 13 months and 65 pounds can pull hard. At about 5 months, we started using a prong collar with her and it helped - she at least didn't pull so hard. Weren't using metal prongs - have the rubber tips - so even when she lunges at a bird it doesn't really stop her cold.

We had tried both Gentle Leader and Halti but she made such a fuss walking in either one, even after several weeks. The greatest success we had was after watching Heavenly Dogs (?), the show about the monks who train German Shepards. After seeing them demonstrate walk, turn, walk to teach heal, I tried it with Lexie and she was better after the first day. Still doesn't heal at our side all the time - always pushing to be about 2 feet ahead of us or pulling to the side to stiff out acorns - but she'll slow down when we do and stop when we do.

We started a class called pre-agility last week that covers basic obedience (was recommended by a breeder friend) and since we were supposed to not have her on a prong collar tried using the regular collar. She pulled so hard it was tough to really focus on the class. Having all those other dogs around had her so excited. Afterwards, got advice from the teacher to try the halter again. It was interesting that she recommended leaving Lexie in it for three days (except at night) but to wait till the three days had gone by to start using it on walks.

So, I bought another Gentle Leader today as that was what the teacher recommended and my wife was concerned about Lexie knapping all day in the Halti - hopefully we have it adjusted where it will work without pulling up her face this time. Anyway, I know exactly what everyone means about Weims being sensitive... she fussed about it most of the day, wandering around trying to rub it off. Worse, even when laying in her bed she was clearly pouting. One day down, two to go...

I really hope the instructor's goal is achievable... to have Lexie out of the halter all together by the third pre-agility class (about 12-15 weeks from now if we stick with it). Wish us luck...

tltrooster · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:19 am Post subject:

Wehn we put Champ in obedience class, the trainer told us to us the
gentle leader as he was a puller also. We make him wear it every
time we go for a walk and in class. He doesnt pull at all and walks
by my side. I use a retractable leash when we go to the park.
Let it out sometimes so he can mark every tree in the park.

When we first put it on he hated it. trying to take it off. But as the
classes progress, when he sees me pull it out of the drawer, he gets
so excited and cant wait. We put it on and first thing he does is sit.
He has done so well with the gentle leader.

GailB · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:34 am Post subject:

I will be trying Hunter today with the halti as we have exhausted all other avenues.

I will be borrowing it from my neighbour,so it probably won't have instructions.

Could you guys guide me for proper fit etc.(maybe theres a link somewhere).

Thanks... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.I want Hunter to be able to come on my 7 km (4 miles) walk with me.But as it stands it would take him 4 hrs to achive this with changing direction etc.

If this doesn't work..oh well..we will go back to changing direction etc. and keep that up till he gets it ....but he will miss out on a nice long walk with me Crying or Very sad

Edited to say I hope I have the proper name it is the one that goes across the bridge of his nose.

peppernaei · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:05 pm Post subject:

There are a few that go across the bridge of the nose but the most popular are the Halti and the Gentle Leader.

To fit either one you have to make sure that if they paw at their nose they can not pull it off - so the fit is fairly tight. I believe the Halti now comes with a safety strap to connect to the regular collar in case it does slip off. The Halti's main adjustment is behind the ears while the Gentle Leader adjusts behind the ears and under the chin.

I find for Marvin's face the Gentle leader was a better fit but my friend with a Ridgeback says it rubs her dogs eyes so she likes the Halti better. My vet also promotes the use of a headcollar but its principle is different because the leash attaches behind the head like most traditional collars but I can't remember what is it called...the "easy" something.

sterlingsmom · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:20 pm Post subject:

a dog that detests water may prefer a e collar stimulation than a blast of water in their faces.

It's funnyto me that many that dislike ecollars will knee their dog in the chest to stop jumping, spray them in the face with a water pistol for barking, etc..[/quote]

I NEVER spray my dogs in the face. I spray them in their butt, and they have no idea where it comes from Wink

I also never knee a dog either Wink

weim2mom · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:27 pm Post subject:

Chevy does the same! It's terrible.

But the retractable collar really helps... because it extends far enough so she has some slack.

anne · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:56 pm Post subject:

Rosko · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:22 pm Post subject:

If your dog is heeling fine off leash, then it could be just a thing with the leash. Sometimes the simplest path is the easiest.

I would suggest finding the absolutely widest collar you can find (usually around 1.5-2 inches) and try that. I've found over time that a lot of people jump to the more 'negative' forms of collar before just going wider. Wider is better! It distributes the leash weight more, etc.

You may want to just leave the leash on the dog all the time for awhile. Around the house and everywhere. Just let 'em learn to live with it a bit. Twisted Evil