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Pulling on lead in group


fitz
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I'm sure this has been done before, but for the sake of my shoulder and elbow I would love some help from the more informed amongst us.

 

Meet Freddie;

 

IMG_0804.jpg

 

Don't be fooled, deep through this calm gaze is the devil. Perhaps not all the time, but certainly on the lead in groups. Freddie is 16 months old now, off the lead she is great, recall is very good and she has a lovely nature. On the lead she wants to pull me (mainly) in whichever direction we're all walking. It tends to be worse if Liz is with me and our other dog Hollie. If I'm walking Freddie she watches where Liz is and wants to follow. So this in my head makes Liz the alpha male and I'm the idiot on the end of the lead.

 

From what little knowledge I have gleaned its my fault.

 

According to the lady at puppy school I did all the wrong things with Freddie, rough play, letting her up on the sofa etc.

 

So now to correct it. We've tried normal collar and leads, harness and leads etc. Regardless she will pull, even more so if she wants a dino-poo. I tend to keep her on the harness for now, even though it means she has better pulling strength for want of her doing harm to herself as she pulls on the collar just as much.

 

After a long walk at the weekend she'll trot along nicely next to the lead, so she can do it.

 

How do we best correct this? Do I simply stop and walk in the opposite direction when she starts pulling me on the lead? Should I be taking her out for more one on one walks?

 

Thanks in advance.

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OK cheers, how far do I take it though, literally walk back into the house and take the lead off, or just until she stops pulling?

 

What I've found is that she'll walk ok in the opposite direction, but as soon as I turn around she'll pull again - even more than before.

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Don't let her make any progress by pulling. If she pulls, just stop and wait until the lead is slack again. If she holds the tension then start walking backwards. You could try a figure of eight slip lead - my dog hates it as it forces her head to the side if she pulls at all - normally only takes a few yards before they grasp the idea

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Cheers, we have one of those figure of 8 leads (one of many I've purchased to try), maybe its time to break it out of its packaging and give it a go.

 

This is definitely my fault as she's so good off the lead and we have loads of fields nearby to walk around she's used to having her freedom and her way. Doesn't work that well if we want to walk to the pub!

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I had this showed me many years ago by a very small lady.

If the dog pulls,do NOT Try gentle tugging,,it will not work..!.

One Damn good jerk off its feet and swing it to the side of you,,MEAN IT..

There are NO Half measures,She walked it past me the First time after that,it gave a sideways glance but never lost step..I was amazed,,if you think saying heel and gentle tugging will work,it will not.. It must be really Firm and mean it..Half measures will NOT WORK..

Sorry for edit,, She did use a chain and welding gloves to do it.lol.

He was a Big Lad..

Edited by subsonicnat
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I'm not really for yanking her around. This morning was a bit more positive. Every time she pulled we returned to the spot we started on. In about 30 minutes we managed to get half way around the block. I say it was positive because towards the end she was paying a lot more attention to me, making eye contact etc. rather than just heading off in her preferred direction, also with each re-start we were getting a little bit further. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

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Well done - you are building a relationship with the dog and reinforcing that you are in charge. It takes time and as you said, you'd probably allowed this to happen. Just need to correct a few things.

 

Be firm, repeat, repeat, repeat (and reward).

 

Eye contact is really good so keep working on it.

 

I'm not a big fan of chucking a dog around but you can be really firm in a good way - I did understand where subsonicnat was coming from and it reminded me of Barbara Woodhouse!

 

No-one said it would be easy but you seem to be making progress already. :good:

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Cheers, funnily enough today she got all around the block with a few return to starts. Its been a fault of my own doing. My first dog, and a severe birth defect for me of having zero patience which she's teaching me in abundance.

 

I know this is extremely basic to some of you guys, with how your dogs can behave and perform, so I appreciate the feedback.

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Fitz - every dog starts the same and needs to be taught the basics and just like kids, it's down to personality as well (don't we know it).

 

The joy of dog ownership is the bond that you develop but also the partnership (obedience and doing what they are s*dding well told!).

 

"first dog and zero patience" are 2 phrases that always make it fun :lol:

 

If you think that having kids is bad, a wilful dog can be worse. Permanent teenager syndrome!

 

Is Freddie a Cockapoo? (the butter wouldn't melt look doesn't work on me....)

 

Also - my 3 yo black lab still pulls on the lead if his stablemate is in front of him. Figure of 8 lead works wonders and he hates it! Every day is a school day.

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She's an Italian Spinone, although a petite one. She was the runt of the litter, amazing character with such natural friendliness. She's eager to please and wants to learn its me understanding what I should be teaching her and how that seems the be the stumbling block. Irritatingly its walking well on the lead that I have ducked for too long. Everything else she is coming on leaps and bounds.

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Whenever my dog pulls on the lead I stop and ignore her, after a few seconds she turns her head to look at me and to begin with I'd turn 180 degrees and go to walk off and she'd quickly fall in line, however as she got more wise to this it just takes me stopping and making noise to get her attention and she quickly comes back to my side - as soon as she's back in position I praise her and we move off again.

I'm certainly no expert but this works for me.

 

One thing I do see a lot of is people yelling "HEEL!!!!!" At their dog when they are out pulling at the end of their lead - well Id reckon that their dog thinks that's what heel now is if they always here that word when they are out pulling... I never say heel unless my dogs actually at heel, and when She is, I say it a fair few times and give her some praise

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I use a walking stick just put it in front of the dog and tell it no and it walks to heal.we have two springers mother and daughter they are a right hand full live in house as pets but when out in field they both work fantastic.just try it with a stick but PLEASE dont hit.

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Fitz one thing I do is take my pup into a large field, tell it to heal, the change direction.. Plot out in your head a square, make it as big as you like, just dont leave it. So turn let, right, left, 180 left, 180 right, walk a tight figure of 8. Make Freddie know that you are walking her and that where you go they go. Dont have to be cruel and tug or yank... Just change direction. Dont let her know your next move, when turning left dont go around her, go through ( gently ), she will soon learn that she has no idea where you are going so best stay close so.she knows

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Electric fence posts are useful for marking out the square.

 

Fitz one thing I do is take my pup into a large field, tell it to heal, the change direction.. Plot out in your head a square, make it as big as you like, just dont leave it. So turn let, right, left, 180 left, 180 right, walk a tight figure of 8. Make Freddie know that you are walking her and that where you go they go. Dont have to be cruel and tug or yank... Just change direction. Dont let her know your next move, when turning left dont go around her, go through ( gently ), she will soon learn that she has no idea where you are going so best stay close so.she knows

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Forget the harness. Never understood why people use harnesses on dogs. Try the Halti nose collar. That usually works best for powerful dogs. And the advice about stopping or changing direction if the dog starts to lead you. At the end of the day it is a domination issue. The dog is trying to assert itself. You need to take back control and the Halti is a better idea than yanking the dog off its feet.

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The dog isn't trying to assert itself lol!

The dog feels like it has to lead the way and take charge because nobody has TAUGHT it where it's supposed to be when on the lead. When that happens then the dog is far happier to take direction from the handler plus see the handler as a protector than it is to have to make all the decisions - no dog likes that and that's when you can wind up with problems.

Edited by bigbird
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U

The dog isn't trying to assert itself lol!

The dog feels like it has to lead the way and take charge because nobody has TAUGHT it where it's supposed to be when on the lead. When that happens then the dog is far happier to take direction from the handler plus see the handler as a protector than it is to have to make all the decisions - no dog likes that and that's when you can wind up with problems.

You make a very good point and its true, as I have now taught the wife walk five steps behind me and do as she's told..

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So as a little update - she's walking much better now and I am too. She understands pulling means no forward progress and is grasping it nicely. Appreciate all the feedback and comments. This is just when we're one on one. It'll be interesting to see how she behaves at the weekend when its all 4 of us.

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