Pulling on Leash...My Mistake!

[MyPemCharlie]

On our walk this past Monday, we saw a beautiful sight. Charlie and I passed a young man and his rather huge dog. They were walking in fluid, relaxed unison, side by side. The six foot leash hung silently, lying still between them in a low-slung U-shape, having no purpose other than fashion accessory perhaps. The sun shone. The angels sang.

By contrast, I had shortened Charlie's leash to about two feet of strained nylon. It was but a feigned attempt to keep him beside me, pretending Heel. We walked quickly and choppily, as I had stopped and started, finally giving in. Let's just get home. My arm ached from the 2 mile battle.

I have failed my dog at the art of loose leash walking.

Three months ago with puppy immunizations behind us, Charlie and I left the safety and comfort of leash training in the backyard and ventured forth into the neighborhood. When we started, Charlie was good about staying with me and only needed a couple of corrections. Day by day, Charlie started pulling a little more. The change was so subtle, so gradual, that I hardly even noticed. He was getting worse, not better. Seeing the young man and his well-heeled dog on Monday hit me like a ton of bricks.

I now have a bad habit to break and a renewed commitment to learn the right way to walk my dog. No excuses for my lack of discipline (or competence). From now on, we will not take one step forward if the leash is tight. I will "be a tree" or walk backwards. I have relegated us to training in the backyard and on the driveway again. No distractions. I'm grounding myself until I learn better. We are making progress.

The questions: Has anyone else here trained your dog the wrong way to pull on leash, then corrected the problem? How much time did it take? I'm committed to fixing my mistake, but wonder if I'm looking at days, weeks, or months (with daily practice sessions).

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

The questions: Has anyone else here trained your dog the wrong way to pull on leash, then corrected the problem? How much time did it take? I'm committed to fixing my mistake, but wonder if I'm looking at days, weeks, or months (with daily practice sessions).

Yes, and no. Let me put it this way, I had a litter in June, 4 years ago. I lead broke them, then over the winter my son took them out on leash to the runs. Well, he let them pull. So come spring and I want to show Blaze and Lizi, what a pain!!!

Ok, Lizi didn't like showing so we didn't pursue it with her, but I did with Blaze. I ask another breeder for her opinion on my puppy and she scolded me for not having him better trained. So I got real serious about "leash walking" lessons.

There were still a few times that I had to keep him on a tight short lead in the ring, but over a few months he got better. (And finished his Ch. last year. On a loose lead!)

Depending on how dedicated you are will depend on how soon he'll catch on. You can try the tree thing, he pulls you become a tree. Or you can try the changing direction method, you change direction frequently (even about turns) and when he doesn't follow, (and may a time or two get pulled off his feet) your response should be something like "uh oh, what happened? You need to watch me." He'll soon think he's got a nut for an owner that can't decide where she's going and keep an eye on you.

I took Lizi to obedience classes and taught her to heel. JJ and Keno were taught "easy" (which means slow down and don't pull), by the above methods. I either stopped or changed direction.

Keno still pulls some but responds to "easy". The others will try to pull at times but will stop when I say "easy". They will often walk on loose leads now.

It can be done, and I can't give you an exact time frame, but be consistant and determined.

Peggy

[MyPemCharlie]

Thanks Peggy! I know it can be done with my sole objective of "Don't let him pull. Period." as the focus. I got lazy and impatient (and selfish), wanting a nice brisk long walk everyday, and lost the focus on training the dog to walk right even if we didn't walk as far.

Originally Posted by Peggy

Depending on how dedicated you are will depend on how soon he'll catch on. You can try the tree thing, he pulls you become a tree. Or you can try the changing direction method, you change direction frequently (even about turns) and when he doesn't follow, (and may a time or two get pulled off his feet) your response should be something like "uh oh, what happened? You need to watch me." He'll soon think he's got a nut for an owner that can't decide where she's going and keep an eye on you.


Peggy

I'm sure my neighbor thinks I'm a nut too. Charlie and I were walking around in circles and zigzigs in the front yard Tuesday or Wednesday when the neighbor came home. I'm sure he probably caught me pretending to be a tree too as he was driving down the street toward home. He looked at me kind of funny when he got out of his truck.

[Michael Romanos]

I have always used a slip chain ( slipped on the opposite way to a choke chain) and have not experience any sustained pulling problems.

[MyPemCharlie]

I am going to try not to use any crutches like choke or prong collars, harnesses or halters. To pass the CGC test, I have to have Charlie walking on a loose leash with a standard flat collar and 6 ft leash. If I need to go to a training collar or Halti later, I will. I'd have to wean him off that back to a flat collar before the test. I'm not sure which is easier, weaning off a training collar or trying to train up front on the flat collar we need to test.

[jakort1]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

I am going to try not to use any crutches like choke or prong collars, harnesses or halters. To pass the CGC test, I have to have Charlie walking on a loose leash with a standard flat collar and 6 ft leash. If I need to go to a training collar or Halti later, I will. I'd have to wean him off that back to a flat collar before the test. I'm not sure which is easier, weaning off a training collar or trying to train up front on the flat collar we need to test.

I too am guilty of letting Will pull. At night when I go for an evening "constitutional" I use a flexi-lead and let Will go in front for a while. When we're working he will wear a correction collar (chain or prong) but, he will also practice walking off lead at heal. One thing that I learned from my father is that the dog must understand what you are asking of it (he was magic with training dogs for herding...must have skipped a generation).

John

[Corgis4me]

Does Your Dog Pull on Leash?

A good article to read - it does work, just be prepared for your walks taking much longer than usual, and always be consistent as it says in the article.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

I'm sure my neighbor thinks I'm a nut too. Charlie and I were walking around in circles and zigzigs in the front yard Tuesday or Wednesday when the neighbor came home. I'm sure he probably caught me pretending to be a tree too as he was driving down the street toward home. He looked at me kind of funny when he got out of his truck.

LOL! I understand, been there, done that. My neighbors think I'm nuts too. Sometimes dog training makes us look a bit funny.

Peggy

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

I am going to try not to use any crutches like choke or prong collars, harnesses or halters. To pass the CGC test, I have to have Charlie walking on a loose leash with a standard flat collar and 6 ft leash. If I need to go to a training collar or Halti later, I will. I'd have to wean him off that back to a flat collar before the test. I'm not sure which is easier, weaning off a training collar or trying to train up front on the flat collar we need to test.

IMO, a training collar would be easier to use and then go back to a regular collar. And unless they've changed the rules you can use a chain "slip collar" (aka, training collar, choke collar). I did with my guys.

However, you can retrain not to pull using a regular collar too. It's the idea that he either has to watch you or that you're not moving at all that will get the point across, not necessarily the collar.

Also, using a training collar backwards puts constant pressure on the neck making the dog think the collar is tight. And for a dog that's intent on pulling, well, IMO, they're going to pull anyway. And you can't use the collar this way at the CGC test. It has to loosen not stay tight.

Peggy

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by jakort1

I too am guilty of letting Will pull. At night when I go for an evening "constitutional" I use a flexi-lead and let Will go in front for a while. When we're working he will wear a correction collar (chain or prong) but, he will also practice walking off lead at heal. One thing that I learned from my father is that the dog must understand what you are asking of it (he was magic with training dogs for herding...must have skipped a generation).

John

I know what you mean about skipping a generation; when it comes to teaching a dog to walk right, that part of my brain must be missing! My dad almost never used a leash with his dogs and they stayed right with him.

I did read that Charlie doesn't know "where" he's supposed to walk (next to me) because I haven't taught him where to be. I've taught him to "Mush!" instead of to "Heel." Maybe I should buy a sled.

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by Corgis4me

Does Your Dog Pull on Leash?

A good article to read - it does work, just be prepared for your walks taking much longer than usual, and always be consistent as it says in the article.

Thank you for the link. I was so mad at myself for letting Charlie's pulling get as bad as it got that last Monday I re-read that article and at least 30 other articles on leash pulling. The link you posted is one of the better articles written.

And yes, our walks are taking longer...we haven't even made it to the end of the block since Monday. No more 2 mile walks until we can walk 2 feet in our yard without pulling.