Pulling horribly on leash - UPDATED

Hello.  First, I am not nor do I claim to be a certified dog trainer.  I am merely wanting to post this for you because with my 4 dogs I've gone through alot of variations of training to get the behaviors I want.  I too tried the 'tree' method with my Mastiff.  It started to work to a point.  With you and your dog it's not working...may I ask how come your dog is taking off for the end of the leash after he comes to you after you've done tree?  Keep the leash short, you should not be using a retractable leash during this time; doggie is not ready for that.  Anyway, if you can get a 4 foot leather leash this would be great.  You should use leather so as not to get your hand all burned up if it is nylon.  Keep your dog near to your left heel; begin to walk, as soon as your dog starts pulling or trying to take off from your side, instantly turn heel, and make him follow you.  Keep doing this until he begins to get the idea.  When you've done this a few times and he has to catch up to you from the quick turn-around, after about the 3rd time, maybe stop and see what he does or call him to you and give him a reward of a piece of hotdog.  Try doing this during the time when it's quiet outside.  This is a start.  I wish you the best, and again this is merely my thoughts.  Another option which I love and works great is clicker training.  You can find tons of info on this subject online.  I realize you said if you carry anything it would be dropped because of your dog.  You can always put a clicker on a string and put around your neck; although, you do need to have treats handy so that you can click and immediately treat right after the click.  Please I hope no one attacks me for sharing.  Thank you.

Looks like your dog Max is a Golden Retriever. These dogs are sporting dogs and have loads of energy as you know. Max gets excited to be outside because all he sees most of the time are four walls and needs to let his pent up energy out.I am a professional dog trainer and would like to help you.You didn't say whether or not Max has had obedience training so I'm going to presume he hasn't. You say he listens well inside the house but not outside. This is typical for dogs who don't have the opportunity to run outside so don't despair.I don't know if you are athletic at all but if you are, an excellent way to help Max release his pent up energy is to take him on a run with you. You don't need to worry about the pulling at this point, just let him tire himself out. You might consider roller blading and let him pull you. If you roller blade, you might consider purchasing the skates that Cesar Millan wears when he works with high energy dogs like yours. The skates are available on the Internet and if you go to Cesar's web site, you can find the link. Another idea is to purchase a used treadmill and let Max walk on it to tire him out a bit before you start leash training. When a dog is tired, he is more apt to learn. When a dog is full of excited energy, the brain can't focus on learning.If you had access to a private swimming pool, Max could swim his energy out. These dogs love the water and will fetch practically anything tossed in for them to retrieve.The bottom line here is, you have to find a way to tire Max out before you even think of training him. These dogs, as you found out, are very strong and you are wasting your own energy plus getting very frustrated trying to get Max to walk nice on the leash when his brain isn't ready to learn.Do yourself and Max a favor and find a way to tire him out.When you do start leash training, come back to the forum and let us know and you will find many training tips and you can decide what's best for Max. 

By the way, if you own a bicycle, there is an attachment for your dog to run along beside you. Look for it on the Internet. You would have to ride on a wider path than a regular sidewalk to give your dog the room to run, perhaps throughout your complex where there isn't much traffic. You don't have to ride for miles and even with roller blades or jogging, just enough to exercise your dog.

[linkhttp://www.landroller.com/]http://www.landroller.com/[/link]This is the link to the skates that Cesar wears on the show. [linkhttp://www.dog-training.com/springer.htm]http://www.dog-training.com/springer.htm[/link]This is the link to the bike attachment. 

Some good tips have been given. Using an activity to tire your dog out a bit before you work on the heel to set your dog up for success is a helpful tip.
 
Being a tree won't be much help at this point, as your dog's behavior has already escalated. Clicker training is good for teaching tricks, tasks, and specific behaviors and you might find some of it useful for these purposes, but I would not use it out on the street when things are more serious.
 
I recommend reading "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan. It is an excellent book to help you see things from your dog's point of view, how we affect our dog's behavior, and how to establish yourself as your dog's leader. Although, it won't give you specific training advice, what you learn will help your entire relationship with your dog, which will will make training easier in the long run. []
 
I'd practice with the leash in the house at first. Just keep it on him and walk around the house doing turns, going up and down stairs, etc...
 
Then move out into the yard, around the yard, back into the house, and repeat. Practice sharp right and left turns so that you are moving into the dog and away from the dog. Keep the dog close to your side with a gentle bumping with the leash to set a boundary of the point you don't wish him to move past. You should have the leash shortened up, but don't allow tension or steady pressure on the leash. No need to to use the leash harshly, just get him into position and stop if need with a bump to let him know where the boundary is.
 
Don't wait until the dog has already escalated to set the boundary. He's already mentally out of reach at that point, and all you will be doing is reacting to what he is doing, as a follower would.
 
Hard to describe this on the net. If you can get a chance to watch Cesar's "Dog Whisperer" show, you can pick up some of his body language tips to help your dog see you as the leader through how *you* project yourself.
 
If your dog shows any sign of getting pushy towards you and tries to bite, I suggest finding a canine professional to help you in person through:
 
[linkhttp://www.dogpro.org/]www.dogpro.org/[/link]
 
This site also has a list of Cesar's tips. []
 
Nice and easy, consistancy, steady as you go, good luck, and keep us posted!
 
 

ORIGINAL: Fawnice

Hello.  First, I am not nor do I claim to be a certified dog trainer.  I am merely wanting to post this for you because with my 4 dogs I've gone through alot of variations of training to get the behaviors I want.  I too tried the 'tree' method with my Mastiff.  It started to work to a point.  With you and your dog it's not working...may I ask how come your dog is taking off for the end of the leash after he comes to you after you've done tree?  Keep the leash short, you should not be using a retractable leash during this time; doggie is not ready for that.  Anyway, if you can get a 4 foot leather leash this would be great.  You should use leather so as not to get your hand all burned up if it is nylon.  Keep your dog near to your left heel; begin to walk, as soon as your dog starts pulling or trying to take off from your side, instantly turn heel, and make him follow you.  Keep doing this until he begins to get the idea.  When you've done this a few times and he has to catch up to you from the quick turn-around, after about the 3rd time, maybe stop and see what he does or call him to you and give him a reward of a piece of hotdog.  Try doing this during the time when it's quiet outside.  This is a start.  I wish you the best, and again this is merely my thoughts.  Another option which I love and works great is clicker training.  You can find tons of info on this subject online.  I realize you said if you carry anything it would be dropped because of your dog.  You can always put a clicker on a string and put around your neck; although, you do need to have treats handy so that you can click and immediately treat right after the click.  Please I hope no one attacks me for sharing.  Thank you.

He does not have a Flexi. I use a 4 foot nylon leash. He comes in right beside me, then he thinks he's done, so he goes straight back to the end of the leash.

ORIGINAL: ldyharley

Max gets excited to be outside because all he sees most of the time are four walls and needs to let his pent up energy out.

He actually gets a pretty good bit of exercise every day. I take him out for a 30 minute walk in the morning, and another 30 minute walk at night. I also try to take him to the park down the street so I can let him off leash in a fenced area and let him fetch and run around for at least an hour everyday. Plus he's a pretty laid back dog. It doesn't seem like he just has so much energy that he can't control himself so he pulls at the leash cause he's so excited to see the light of day... He's pulling on the leash because he's just never been taught how to walk on a leash before. He doesn't really know what it is.

ORIGINAL: Angelique

I recommend reading "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan.

Honestly, I know that a lot of people support him and his techniques, but I just don't believe in them. I think there must be better ways to handle. When my dog looks at me, or comes up and nudges me to be petted, I don't think he's trying to dominate me, as Cesar would probably say. No offense to you or anyone else, but I just believe a lot of it.

Now back to my original question. Would an EasyWalk harness teahc him not to pull even when he only has his collar on or will he learn to not pull while he has the harness on?

Now back to my original question. Would an EasyWalk harness teahc him not to pull even when he only has his collar on or will he learn to not pull while he has the harness on?

 Using any type of head harness or body harness will not teach your dog to stop pulling on the leash. It will, however, allow you to walk him without getting your arm ripped off.

ORIGINAL: ldyharley
Using any type of head harness or body harness will not teach your dog to stop pulling on the leash. It will, however, allow you to walk him without getting your arm ripped off.

 
I have to differ there.  Using a body harness HAS taught my dog not to pull when he's on a collar and leash.  I'm not sure that's a typical result, but it did have that effect for us.  Saying "it will not" just isn't accurate - although it may be true for the majority. 
 
Kate

ORIGINAL: nGoldenm

ORIGINAL: Angelique

I recommend reading "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan.

Honestly, I know that a lot of people support him and his techniques, but I just don't believe in them. I think there must be better ways to handle. When my dog looks at me, or comes up and nudges me to be petted, I don't think he's trying to dominate me, as Cesar would probably say. No offense to you or anyone else, but I just believe a lot of it.

Now back to my original question. Would an EasyWalk harness teahc him not to pull

I won't comment on the use of the harness as others will give a better hands-on opinion of this tool. I do not use them.

Point 1: Nothing you have used so far is working.
Point 2: Your dog is out of control.
Point 3: You find no value or interest in Cesar's philosophies, and that's okay. []
Point 5: You have already been given some helpful examples of leash work exercises from several members.

Honestly, I don't think you can do this on your own without an intervention and instruction from a professional.

I recommend you look for the best balanced trainer with good experience in clicker training and behaviorism you can find. Your dog is out of control, you are in over your head, and things will only get worse.

Talk to your vet for a positive reinforcement based trainer, and do a net search for an APDT trainer/behaviorist in your area. Do not sit on this.

Good luck to you! Your dog deserves the best! 

Please, keep us posted on your progress.

You may be able to find a trainer at one of these sites:
[linkhttp://www.clickertraining.com]www.clickertraining.com[/link]
[linkhttp://www.peaceablepaws.com]www.peaceablepaws.com[/link]
[linkhttp://www.apdt.com]www.apdt.com[/link]
Free clicker lessons: www.clickerlessons.com

I think the easy walk harness would do wonders for you.

ORIGINAL: Angelique

I won't comment on the use of the harness as others will give a better hands-on opinion of this tool. I do not use them.

Point 1: Nothing you have used so far is working.
Point 2: Your dog is out of control.
Point 3: You find no value or interest in Cesar's philosophies, and that's okay. []
Point 5: You have already been given some helpful examples of leash work exercises from several members.

Honestly, I don't think you can do this on your own without an intervention and instruction from a professional.

I recommend you look for the best balanced trainer with good experience in clicker training and behaviorism you can find. Your dog is out of control, you are in over your head, and things will only get worse.

Talk to your vet for a positive reinforcement based trainer, and do a net search for an APDT trainer/behaviorist in your area. Do not sit on this.

Good luck to you! Your dog deserves the best! 

Please, keep us posted on your progress.

Ok, I must have made it sound much worse then it actually is. Max is by no means out of control on leash. It's just if we are walking outside, and he sees someone he knows, he will try to pull me over to them. He will normally walk ok, not the best, but ok. He will also pull if he really has to go to the bathroom. I just wanted something that would give me the upper hand on his strength. Sorry if I made it sound really bad, I didn't realize I made it sound like that. I don't think I'm in over my head either. He was REALLY bad two weeks ago when I got him. He's now learned to keep the leash loose, when there are no distractions. I just wanted some help trying to figure out how to deal with the times that he gets distracted and almost pulls me off my feet.

Off leash, I will agree, he is out of control. Too many distractions and he just really doesn't care to listen to me. But I'm trying to work on that. For this I wanted to know what I needed to get under control before I even thought about training for off leash. I know he needs a solid recall, but what else would be necessary commands. I want to get a "game plan together" so I can start working toward that off leash goal.

I went ahead and bought an EasyWalk harness today. It has worked wonders already. He started out trying to pull because he had to go to the bathroom. I tried the "be a tree" method again, and this time it worked. He was walking around with me with other people, dogs, and food without pulling whatsoever. I even tried switching to his collar every now and then, and he seemed to pull much less. I know this is going to take time, but I think these are good signs.

Thanks for all of your help.

Sorry, double posted for some reason.

Ok everybody stop...... riiiiight there is your problem:

ORIGINAL: nGoldenm

he pulls at the leash cause he's so excited to see the light of day... He's pulling on the leash because he's just never been taught how to walk on a leash before. He doesn't really know what it is.

I   f he gets out the house being excited then the entire walk will be that way, it does not matter what kind of leash you use, is how you walk the dog, you have to make sure that your dog is totally calm:

1.-When you grab the leash ready to go out
2.-When you put the leash on
3.-When you walk towards the door
4.-When you open the door
5.-When you cross the door

You can ask him to sit down but that does not mean he is 100% calm, he can be seated and excited, especially when the door is open you have to make sure the dog is seated and calm, if you give just one single step to go out and the dog changes from dr. Jekyll to Mr Hyde right away and pass you by to go out then you have to get into the house and try again, remember, he has to be calm, calm, and more calm, at one moment you will start walking to go outside the door and he will be looking at you like for "permission" to do it too, also once you both are at the other side of the door he has to be calm and waiting for you to close the door, repeat the process once the door is closed and ready to walk, some dogs think that some rules only apply inside the house but outside is different,  before starting the walk make sure he looks at you for "permission" to start walking outside, he can not pass you by because he will start pulling, if you have a short leash it will be better for him to realize that he is not allowed to pull, if you give him one inch of "freedom" he will look for two

I use this technique will all my friend's dog's and they cant believe they are not pulling me, it sounds like if it takes a long period of time if i write it, but the excersice does not take you more than 10 seconds inside the house and another 10 outside and ready to start the walk

I write "permission" like that not because you have to order him and he has to listen like a soldier, no, he will look at you and will start getting what you are trying to say "well if i pull she ask me to sit down, so i will wait to see what does she do first and i will start little by little to avoid any mistakes"