Dog Community

SICK of fighting with her....

Posted : 6/30/2006 9:47:55 PM

There has GOT to be a better way to do this. All I want is for Sally to walk next to me without pulling. I have tried the Halti--it worked for a while, but then she learned to pull on it. I've tried a choke chain to no avail, she just chokes herself. I've tried stopping when she pulls and praising/treating when she is next to me, but she gets bored with being next to me, and after I stop she seems even more determined to pull.

Right now I've been using the prong. If I let her go in front of me she is totally in her own little world, and will eventually start pulling. Therefore, I have been trying to keep her by my side when we walk. It CAN be done, but I'm popping her every 2 minutes or less. I hate it. I feel like I'm fighting with her the whole time. I don't want to fight, I just want to go for a walk. I love hiking with her, but I hate having to fight with her to walk next to me the whole time and it can't be much fun for her either being yanked at.

Does anyone have any suggestions--at this point I'll take anything. I know it can be done--there are tons of people that are able to have their dog walk next to them without pulling. What am I missing here? What do you guys do?

Mark

Posted : 6/30/2006 9:53:40 PM

the ONLY way i can get my husky girl to walk next to me with no tension on the leash is to run her like crazy,play with her in the yard or bike her for a 10 minute sprint before actually going for a walk..and even then i need the choker...

some high energy dogs needs ALOT of running around excercize to burn off that crazy amount of initial energy they have...good luck!

Xerxes

Posted : 6/30/2006 9:56:11 PM

sillysally,

I suggest reading "Playtraining Your Dog." I don't know how old Sally is, but she can be walked without her pulling. It can be done, I know it can and I know you're just the person to do it. And it's going to be fun too. A tiny little bit of work, alot of fun.

Another suggestion: Something I did to get X to pay attention to me was always have a treat in my off hand. Or I'd put a treat in a breast pocket. He'd keep looking at me to see when the treat was going to come out. Most of the time the treat fell out behind me and I had to make a big fuss...I lost my treat, can you help me find it? All of a sudden he was walking close to me, glancing up every few seconds.

We've now got commands like "With me" (Stay close) and "Heel" and "Wait" and "Easy" (we're on a flexi and that's when it's almost fully out-he's a squirel hunter-go figure)

I don't know if this will help with Sally, but I'm sure someone else will be along to tell me I'm all wet.[

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Also maybe a few minutes of fetch or other playtime before the walk.

Xebby

Posted : 6/30/2006 9:56:36 PM

What I found with most correction collars is that the owner has to be trained how to use them. If you gave me a prong before I learned how to use it I would have never even had a clue what I was doing. A trainer showed me how to hold the leash correctly and how to use the prong. I don't know how to even explain it without showing you how, it's really somethin you need to be shown in order to use it correctly.

Thats just my input maybe someone else can be a little more helpful.

jensw

Posted : 6/30/2006 10:16:03 PM

Trust me, I know your pain. We've owned Roscoe for 15 months, and he has been a puller every step of the way. I've been working with him in BABY steps. Baby, baby, baby steps. Practically pre-natal steps. [

] For a year. [&:] And it is working. We passed the CGC, which requires loose leash walking for a short distance!!

If you choose a non-tool-requiring method of training, the problem is that you can't take your dog for a walk ever 'til you've completed the training, right? 'Cause you can never let your dog pull if you want the training to take. How is that possible? Walking on a leash is part of daily life.

So here's what we're doing -- flat buckle collar means NO PULLING. And if the leash is attached to the collar, we do the training even if it means taking 1/2 an hour to go the length of the block. BUT harness means "pull to your heart's content." So if I have to get somewhere fast and Roscoe has to be on leash, he goes on the harness. It seems goofy, but it's really working for us!! He does get the difference between collar and harness.

Anyway, just something to consider if it might work for you. I know it's not a traditional method of dealing with the problem, but it's working for us. Bella doesn't pull right now, and I am making D*** sure that I never let her so that I never have to deal with this really annoying issue with her. [&:]

(oh, and the baby steps? I started with getting Roscoe to walk on a loose leash for 1 step in our hallway, then 2 steps . . . then 1 step with the cat in the hallway, then 2, then 1 step in the main portion of the house . . . then through the house . . . then in the backyard, etc.etc. I'm talking REALLY baby steps.)