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My dog pulls the leash and then waits for her dog friends, pulls and waits,...

Posted : 10/27/2009 11:27:38 PM

Hello everyone, I just joined these forums, so I feel kind of guilty asking questions right away. Anyway, I'll get to the point (or points). I have a five-month-old female Jack Russell Terrier named Luna. We have daily walks about 40 mins long and for most of the time she heels and/or keeps a loose leash, but: 1. She pulls the leash during the first block. Magically, after turning the first street corner she behaves. 2. Luna came to my life when she was three months old. The first month (fourth one in her life and while I was making my apartment dog-friendly) she lived at a friend's house with other three dogs and they became close friends to her. A couple of times my friend and I got together to walk the dogs. It was a nightmare! Luna kept pulling the leash to be ahead of his dog friends and then she stopped to wait for them. Then, again, pulling to get ahead, and then waiting for the dogs, pulling, waiting, pulling, waiting. She made the walk unbearable for me, cause she was pulling so hard I could hear her struggling to breath. The second time we all got together for a walk, I couldn't do it again. I told my friend I was gonna take another route cause Luna's pulling-waiting was very stressing for me (and I guess for her too). We parted ways. For half a mile Luna kept whining, squealing and refusing to walk. She kept squealing even when I carried her in my arms. I felt embarrased cause other people kept looking at me as if I was killing Luna. I see the first problem as not so serious. I've been working with Luna to heel during the whole walk (stopping and resuming walking after she sits for a few seconds). I just wonder how come the pulling problem is only during the first street block. For the second problem I really don't know how to stop it. She gets so hyper when her friends are around and pulls and waits during the walk, but she behaves fine with strange dogs. If anyone has any idea why these two behaviors Luna shows, I'd be very grateful. Thanks! (My paragraphs are not separated. Sorry, I have to see why.)

spiritdogs

Posted : 10/28/2009 6:34:09 AM

She pulls because you go with her when she does;-) Until you get her in to a good training class where you can learn to teach her to walk nicely by your side without pulling, you can use one of these:

http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/easywalk/productdescription

hukes

Posted : 11/1/2009 1:38:42 AM

Thanks for the link. Though I am aware that training is desired, I'd like a more behavioral approach. I know I must work on my alphainess, cause most of the times Luna heels, except on the cases I explained. I just can't figure out why she behaves differently at those times she is with her ex-roommates or when we walk that first street block.

JackieG

Posted : 11/1/2009 7:20:16 AM

hukes
Thanks for the link. Though I am aware that training is desired, I'd like a more behavioral approach.

Training is a behavioral approach. You train her that pulling doesn't get her where she wants to go and this changes her behavior. Dogs do what works to get them what they want. It seems obvious that she is excited to go for her walk and thus she pulls. She's excited to see her doggie friends and thus she pulls. Make the reward (what she wants) contingent on her good behavior.

spiritdogs

Posted : 11/1/2009 11:01:32 AM

Actually, you don't have to work on your "alpha-ness" to get a dog to walk nicely by your side. The reactivity to others is a behavioral problem, as Jackie points out. But, working on a nice leash walk is also valid, and is a training issue.

Here's another link for you: http://www.clickerlessons.com/looseleash.htm

RubyandStewiesmom

Posted : 11/4/2009 10:23:21 PM

Although I do believe that an easy walk harness may be a fantastic tool...I have trained my pit to pull me on my mountain bike (sort of dry land mushing lol), and I use a harness for her pulling my bike to tire her out...so an easy walk harness was not the best idea for me.

I used a bit of a different approach. Instead of getting a head lead, or easy walk harness like our trainer suggested, I used the method where when Ruby pulled on her leash (with her normal collar on only), I would stop, turn around, and ignore her. She quickly learned that pulling meant it was going to make me stop, and not continue on the walk. Basically I just acted like she wasn't even there, stopped, and turned my back to her and then rewarded her by telling her good girl and giving her treats while she walked nice.

It took about 2 weeks, but was well worth it. After only the first couple of walks I noticed her pulling to substantially stop. And like I said, it's not ideal in all situations, but I wanted my dog to learn that when walking when her regular collar on a leash she should walk nice, but once I strap the harness on and get her set up on my bike, then she's allowed to pull and run.

So I hope that helps a bit...I love the idea of easy walk harness and head leads, but they're just not for me. It's kind of like cold medicine in my opinion...it treats the symptoms but not the virus. I'd definitely use a head lead or easy walk if I had a very stubborn dog that had failed other methods as they are much more humane that some other ways...but I prefer the stop and ignore bad behavior...and the dog soon learns it's not desireable.

erica1989

Posted : 11/4/2009 10:29:45 PM

The easy walk harness is totally different from a regular body harness. An easy walk harness does not allow the dog to pull ahead - it tightens around the front of the body, and loosens as they back off the pressure. A regular harness - allows for pulling. The easy walk clips in the front of the dog, not on the back.

RubyandStewiesmom

Posted : 11/5/2009 12:24:19 AM

erica1989

The easy walk harness is totally different from a regular body harness. An easy walk harness does not allow the dog to pull ahead - it tightens around the front of the body, and loosens as they back off the pressure. A regular harness - allows for pulling. The easy walk clips in the front of the dog, not on the back.

Oh I definitely understand...I just figure that using any form of harness other than her pulling harness might make things considerably more difficult/confusing than it should be. My dog is smart, but I don't want to push her! She's not a rocket scientist...but I don't want her to have any confusion based on which harness she can walk with, and which one to pull. lol I choose to use only a harness of any form for pulling, and let's face it...it's a lot easier to snap a leash onto a dog's collar rather than putting on a harness every time for a walk!

I think that being as clear as possible with my dogs is the best way to go...so I'm not ever going to attempt to try and teach my stubborn gal how to walk on another form of harness. To me, if they're called a harness, then it's a bit more encompassing, whether it's for pulling or walking, and I'm afraid it would confuse. Best to be clear with dogs. A collar for walking, a harness for pulling. Just my opinion.

erica1989

Posted : 11/5/2009 12:28:00 AM

but there is a very big difference. my dog knows that when he has his body harness on, we're going for a hike - or someplace where he can wander, pull up hill - work on things that require a bit more exertion on his part.

now, when he has his easy walk harness on, he knows we're just going for a short walk, or to the park, or something like that. my dog is a collar escape artist. and while I know he wont go far from me, I'd rather not chance an escape. Wink

the way the harnesses work - the dogs can FEEL a huge difference on how they fit and work with their bodies.

RubyandStewiesmom

Posted : 11/5/2009 12:32:53 AM

erica1989

but there is a very big difference. my dog knows that when he has his body harness on, we're going for a hike - or someplace where he can wander, pull up hill - work on things that require a bit more exertion on his part.

now, when he has his easy walk harness on, he knows we're just going for a short walk, or to the park, or something like that. my dog is a collar escape artist. and while I know he wont go far from me, I'd rather not chance an escape.

the way the harnesses work - the dogs can FEEL a huge difference on how they fit and work with their bodies.

Right, however the issue here is that she is having difficulty walking her dog without pulling, and it sounds like she isn't interested in harnesses...so I offered an approach to eliminate having to use a harness. It's worked well for me. I also feel that if a harness isn't needed, then it's better for me. I take my dogs on walks 2-3 times a day since we live in a very quiet subdivision...and just being able to clip on and go is worth it's weight in gold for me! For me, no harness unless pulling...I don't want to introduce any problems if I don't have to. Ruby does great with just her collar, and I think that my training worked well for that. Certainly it wouldn't work for all dogs, but it's worth a try! For an escape artist I definitely understand, however my dog even with pulling has never escaped from a collar, and since I trained her not to pull it's never really been an issue. But I understand your concern. I just don't want to introduce an easy walk, because I'm a firm believer in trying to train first. Dogs are smart...I don't think we give them enough credit! lol

Also, when my dog goes to the groomers or to the vet, they don't use a harness...they use a slip leash type of thing (I guess you'd call it), I like the fact that she knows well to walk and those and doesn't require a harness to walk nice. Like I said, I've heard they're fantastic...but with only a few weeks of training, I think it might be a nice fast solution!