Martin2005

How do you get a dog to stop pulling when on the lead.

I have a 12 week Golden Retriever, who is a bit excitable at the moment, but obviously want him getting into good habits.

Cheers

pslewis

Stop and snap the lead back while shouting SLOW!

Do it a few times and all you will need to do in future is to stop and he will slow himself down.

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

my missus works as a canine carer she may have a few tips ill get her to message you

Martin2005

Appreciate it

David Lock

Lewis knows his stuff. Here he is in action

legacy_gtb

iTrader: (3)

That cesar milan fella used to be good at stopping dogs doing this by just turning around and walking in the other direction, then when it catches up and pulls in that direction do the same the other way! Doesnt take long for them to realise your the one whos in charge and all that.

Youtube "the dog whisperer, stopping dogs pulling"

RobJenks

Get some Wasabi (apparently hot English has the same effect )on the end of your finger.
Once Rover pulls , thrust finger up dogs **** .
He will soon get the picture.

Devildog

^^^^ this went out with the dark ages of dog training.

Should be no need to either "shout" or "snap"

Positive reinforcement of good behavour (in this case walking at your heel) far better than negative reinforcement. best thing to do is enrol at a local puppy training class - at 12 weeks your dog is very much a pup.

Consistency and repetition is key

DD (with two Rottweilers trained to advanced obedience level)

Pjamie

Not a big fan of Cesar Milan, but I have to agree with this. Alternatively, just stop, wait a few seconds (ask them to sit if they know how), then start walking again.

Another thing that seems to work with retriever-type dogs (whose default condition is very hungry/starving all the time so food is a good motivator) is to hold a tasty treat is your hand on the side the dog is walking on at the position you want them to walk at, and they will walk in that position all day. After a short while give them praise and the treat.

Snapping back the lead on a 12-week old pup's neck is not a good thing.

classic Subaru Si

If I ever seen some ****** doing that to a puppy, I'd have to have a word

Leslie

I hate seeing people yanking a lead when the dog is on a choke collar. Shows no respect for the dog.

You will have to be very patient and teach him to remain at heel when he is out with you and you give that command.

Les

Oakers

Was out training my 16 week lab this morning on the lead. What I do is two things, one I have a handful of kibble in my pocket, whenever he is walking properly he gets a bit. Also if you feel him about to go ahead of you, step in front of him, praise him and if he looks up give him another treat. When he is older, about 6 months use the change direction method as this worked well with my Goldie. But don't yank them in the other direction, not nice. Using all three worked for me in the past, no reason why it wont for my lab.

Leslie

Sounds ok to me.

Les

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Basically though, if you can't train a Lab you've got no hope!

Ours would walk next to you without a lead she was that good.

greenonedave

Positive re inforcement is the only way to go, goggle clicker trainning, teach the dog what to do without the need to beat it up !

ScoobyWon't

I have a 18 month old Newfoundland, who wants to meet everyone and would try to pull to get to them. We didn't want a 10 stone dog doing what he wanted, so when he reaches the end of his lead, we stop dead. Once he relaxes and releases the tension in the lead, we start walking again. Repeat until the dog gets the message, which it will do.

Dave Y

iTrader: (52)

altering direction works well.
i stand still and tell her to wait.
altering the tone of your voice with your commands works really well.
snapping the lead back..........Rediculous !!

wayne9t9

Teach him to drive, simples.

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

http://www.gentleleader.co.uk/ - this was a revelation for us and our mad black lab.

Martin2005

Thanks for the tip people, very useful.

Now how do I stop him trying to hump everything?

mark1esc

take it off

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

The problem we found with the cesear method is that you can't do it when your against time. If you need to walk the dog before work you can't spend forever walking forward and back.

First thing to do is buy a halti. - its a colar that when the dog pulls it pulls their nose to the side stopping them from pulling. Also only use a leav that is short and keeps the dog next to you.

2nd thing we did that was the best thing in the world was get a trainer from bark busters. it was £250 and you can call the trainer out any time in a year!

We had a lady out for Jack for the following
Not listening when trying to get him back - recall
Eating dog turds
pulling
Jumping up at people.

Within 6 weeks we had a different dog that calmed down massivly.

mark1esc

try a harness we had same problem

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

My dog is 5 ish now and 5 years of training has her sitting, lying down, waiting, paw, fetch, drop, bark and go through the bin looking for food ... but can I **** get her to stop pulling on the lead .. and that included 5 other people with "bright ideas" trying and a puppy trainer (paid) ..

No matter what I do .. (all methods above tried) she refuses to walk normally .. off the lead and she will heal .. drives me crazy.

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

Cook some liver for 24hrs on a slow heat, it will harden like toffee and not smell much.

Walk you dog with it in your hand, it smells so good all they will do is look up and possibly jump up as aposed to running off - telling them down is easier to train with this magic treat..

Bonehead

I've done a mixture of things with my 5 month old GSD puppy.

A mate's a Police dog handler and he suggested a check chain. When he really pulls he gets a gentle tug or i stop walking and he sits and once he's calm we carry on.

I teach him that when i say heel he walks beside me on my left hand side with his head level with my knee. When he walks there I praise him and when he moves frm that position I repeat "heel" and he settles back.
I practiced in the garden walking with him on the lead and really praised him when he got it right first time before i used it outside the house

It has taken a couple of weeks but each time we're out he's pulling less and less.

I've found there's some merit in most of the different training methods, but you have to find the one that works best for YOUR dog.
IMHO

pslewis

I've trained GSD's ... they are easy to train, but you need to be tough (I don't mean bullying, I mean gentle persuasion) ... they need to know that you are the boss and do as you command - their reward is your obvious pleasure in what they are doing .... I have never used treats/sweets/liver etc. (that's just plain lazy!).

I could call my GSD's to me and drop them at a distance by voice command alone ... this obedience is vital to protect the dog and yourself.

My dogs never walked on a lead - they were under complete and full voice control and you don't get that from being a namby pamby ....... snap the lead back twice and that's all you will need to do.

urban

iTrader: (1)

Shock collar

Carlh

Good tip for walking.

How about stopping a dog from buring the feckin house phone in the garden though? :S

billythekid

There are a few ways to stop a pup pulling already mentioned.

At 12 weeks old the dog is looking for you to show it what to do. Its pulling because its excited, wants to explore. Show it how to do that.

What ever method you use - the most common mistake is not to reward the dog when its walking how you want. Its easy to forget... a few days later the dog will be pulling again... ALWAYS reward the desired position.

NEVER put up with undesired position. If the dog pulls - do what ever you are going to do - but make sure you do it. Not bothering is going to send mixed messages.

Labs can become a handful - so ensure you set out on the right foot. If you are in the N/W I am happy to give you some free advice and show you some training methods. Or, if you want a pro trainer - again in the N/W I can point you in the direction of a Home Office approved police instructor who (for a fee) will train you up.