Dog Community

advise on dog walking

Posted : 8/23/2006 9:23:32 PM

i started on a mission to train my 85lb golden retriever to walk properly just a few days ago (i know i should have started sooner [8D]). Of course she started resisting and pulling at the beginning, but she learned not to pull so much or i will stop or pull her back. One problem I'm still having is that at the beginning of each walk she likes to get ahead of me, she walks faster than I am and likes to stay at my 11 o'clock position instead of next to me. It doesn't matter how many times I stop or pull her back, she always get ahead. The only time she will walk nicely is after a long walk and she gets tired. Will a no pull harness or head halter work on her since I feel this isn't really a pulling issue? Thanks!!

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 8/23/2006 9:46:10 PM

A lot of the time Max is a little ahead of me, too. Right where your dog is - the 11:00 position. I just let it go as long as he isn't pulling or dragging me.

Joyce

Erica

Posted : 8/23/2006 10:33:28 PM

The harness is a wonderful item, esp. for goldens. They are STRONG doggies! I always try the harness first, and then the head halter (no real reason, just a personal preferance, I have used both before). Both seem to work wonders on pulling. I say "no pull" when I walk pullers. For some reason it seems to help some!

eric tong

Posted : 8/23/2006 10:55:53 PM

i bought a gentle leader harness but couldn't get the chest strap to fit tight, both the shoulder and belly straps are tight though

jones

Posted : 8/24/2006 7:33:38 AM

goldmember - I don't mind my dog walking at 11:00 position either. In fact I like to be able to see him instead of having him down by my side in my peripheral vision. Like your dog, my dog always starts out a walk going a little too fast and ends up trotting nicely... in addition to teaching him not to pull, I also have learned to walk a little faster. [

] Better exercise for me and he doesn't have to get as annoyed by my slow pace.

As for the harness, I used the Sense-ible which is slightly different from the GL, but on ours the chest strap was not tight and wasn't supposed to be. The back and belly straps should be snug but not tight, like a flat collar would be, and the chest strap is always the loosest. I thought this was incorrect but I asked our dog trainer at the time and she said it was fitting right.

denise_m

Posted : 8/24/2006 7:46:34 AM

I love the harness as well. My dog would pull so hard (seeing squirrels) I was afraid he would pass out from lack of oxygen. With the harness he stops immediately. My dog usually walks in front as well. If we are passing people or other dogs I make him come to my side, but other than that the front is OK with me.

eric tong

Posted : 8/24/2006 7:49:13 AM

she actually "escape" through the chest strap a few times because she refused to move forward and i pulled on the harness....her front paws squeezed through the chest strap and the harness came off. I don't know...maybe she needs a size smaller but a golden is supposed to wear Large accordingly to them.

eric tong

Posted : 8/24/2006 7:52:27 AM

i think i need to walk faster to pick up her pace, afterall she has 4 legs lol

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Posted : 8/24/2006 1:21:14 PM

Well if he's not pulling and just trrying to walk ahead of you I would defintly go for the harness. It puts your handle on him in a way that makes it easy to keep him at your side and not pulling on the neck. I used the gentle lead when I was training to not pull but the location of the leash connect is hard to relay to your dog where you want him....if that makes sense!

mudpuppy

Posted : 8/24/2006 2:06:20 PM

when "just walking" I actually prefer to let the dog stay out in front of me, as long as she's not pulling.

Ruth

Posted : 8/24/2006 2:35:56 PM

Ace also likes the 11:00 position. He started out with a huge pulling problem so I am generally OK with him being a little ways in front as long as he's not pulling on the leash.

The Easy-walk harness is a great tool if the dog is actually pulling.

If it's just the placement issue (not pulling), then I do have one thing you can try -- if he's walking on your left side, make a lot of left turns, or even walk around in some circles, going to the left. (Reverse it if he's on your right). When you turn in his direction like that, you'll start to run right into him unless he stays back a little. My dog hates that and so he'll move back into heel position to avoid it.

Diane Gilby

Posted : 8/24/2006 3:21:13 PM

It puzzles me that most of you just don't teach your dogs to walk on a loose lead.....most of you seem to be very interested in dogs, behavior, nutrition, etc. But you choose to use a halti or harness rather than spend a couple of weeks teaching the dog not to pull. Loose lead walking is relatively easy to teach, doesn't involve a lot of correction and isn't harmful to the dog. At the end of the two weeks you have a dog that walks on a 2 ft or 20 ft lead w/o pulling. Don't mean to offend anyone here, am just posing the question.

dianeg
training dogs for 27 years

eric tong

Posted : 8/24/2006 3:21:19 PM

i almost tripped walking into her because she was almost in front of me a few times

eric tong

Posted : 8/24/2006 3:23:16 PM

what is a loose lead walking?

ashland

Posted : 8/24/2006 4:30:17 PM

I must have used the harness incorrectly or something because a harness NEVER kept Ash from pulling. The only thing that worked was a GL. She walks right by my side with that thing on.