Questions about walking my not so gentle "pup"

[Kori]

I have an 18months old female german shepherd which ripps my arm out of my body when I take her to the park... I started using a choak collar but she doesn't mind at all! She pulls me so hard I just can't stand still! And nothing works, I snap with the collar, yell at her, sweettalk her...nothing. She just stops for a second and then she's back again pulling me. I read on another post someone saying you should just snap her and give her a treat or a praise when she stands or walks by you, and she does... for a second at most and then - back again!
Since there is no way IN HECK I'm using the E-Shock collar I was wondering could you spare some "been there it works" words for the head collar... or gentle leader as they call it. Does it actually work or is it just a waste of money?
Thanks...

[brandon]

Try a prong collar or a gentle leader.
Maybe some obedience classes to help you & the pup figure out who's boss.

http://www.leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm

[chaos270]

I love the Gentle Leader for my two.  She may fight it so if you get the chance to try it before you buy it take it.  The prong generally is easier for them to get accostomed to but can do major damage if not fitted properly.  The Gentle Leader also comes with training DVD too.  Also try doing abrupt changes of direction with the choke and snap it as soon as she gets a little ahead...her head should stay even with your leg...and it helps if you help solidify your dominance by going out the door first and make her follow you while your walking.  I'd also look into the dog pyschology form of training to help you become alpha.

[k2campbell]

I personally think an obedience class is the best answer, for the both of you.  The instructor should be able to show you many different types of collars & leads (and most importantly) how to correctly use them.  You'd be amazed at how many people use certain types of equipment the wrong way.  Not intentionally, but because there are just specific ways to use certain collars.  Such as a choke chain (also know as a "slip" collar), it has to be put on a certain way, and set (on the dog's neck) in a certain position to be 100% effective...

When we took Kate to obedience, we were amazed at how much we learned.  She is completely different on walks now, she used to pull me like crazy.  The most important thing is to go into any class with an open mind, because if your set in your ways (regarding how you handle your pup), it won't be effective for you.  As our instructor said, "I train people, not dogs" and she was SO right!  It's all about listening and practice, practice, practice!

Good luck! 

[NoDogNow]

Try not putting the leash in your hand.

Unless I'm walking a fully walking-broke dog, I always put the lead on my belt.  It's not nearly as easy for a dog to pull your whole weight off balance from your center of gravity as it is to leverage you off balance by pulling your arm, even if the dog's bigger than you are. 

My mom has had bad hands with arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome since I was a kid, but has always gotten our dogs to walk like decent creatures using these 'rules of the sidewalk.'

Put the lead on your belt (it should be a heavy duty leather one that will fit around your coat, jacket, etc. in the winter, not a belt you wear with your jeans) and around your waist is better if the lead or chain is long enough. Only use your hand to control how close she's staying to you, and to keep the lead out of the mud/muck. 

NEVER try to pull her back to you. You need to reserve that for if there's a problem with another dog.  Pulling on the leash just makes a dog think it's a normal part of walking. If you only pull when there's a danger, it's a more accurate signal for them, and they will respond to it if you ever have to pull them away from something.

DO NOT MOVE if there's any tension at all on the lead.

Start by practicing a little walking around in the house, where there's very little room for her to create any tension on the lead, and you can praise her and treat her--my mom praises with a "Walk nice, good dog! Walk nice!" as she's walking thru the house with the dog, plus treating with lots of loveys. However, when your dog does pull to the end of the leash, you need to freeze where you are, call her to you and give her a sit command followed a treat when she obeys.  That way, she understands that she's treated for Sit and for Walk Nice; but she's stuck when she pulls on the leash

NOW, move it outside.  (If you have a yard to practice in before you hit the sidewalk, practice in the yard before heading off to the park.)

Any time she pulls on the lead, FREEZE and don't move an inch, saying NO PULL. If you have to, sit on the sidewalk to keep from moving, but DO NOT MOVE.  Having the lead around your waist turns you into kind of a fire hydrant, and she'll be stuck 3 feet from you and unable to sniff a thing.  Let her worry about it for a minute; then call her to you, sit/treat her. Then start walking with her, the same as in the house.  As long as she's walking nicely beside you, with plenty of slack in the lead, you can praise her and scratch her ears and give her treats.  But every single time she pulls the lead, you have to freeze and give the NO PULLING correction.

Mom gets a nice walking dog in a matter of days--it's taken as long as 2 weeks with some older, outdoor raised half-wild dogs we've had, but it's never failed.  And putting the leash on your waist will totally save your arms!

[lins_saving_grace]

I have an article I'll copy and post Monday.  I have had this issue too and am getting it under control for the most part.

[nostaw]

This may sound a daft question but are you anticipating that the dog is going to pull so are pulling on the lead from the start?

Leads are for controlling the dog, not restraining them. Having had newfies for more years than I care to remember and currently walking two newfies together I cannot afford to have  both dogs pulling. Personally speaking I would never go out with a lead fastened to me. Imagine that your dog takes off after a cat across the road and a car is coming. could you stop yourself and the dog from going in front of the car?

Walking a dog on a lead is a combination of voice and lead signals. I always go somewhere quiet when first starting, an enclosed field with no distractions is good. A Dog pulls at a lead because it is keen to get where you are going. When you first start, if the dog pulls, call your dog and turn and walk in the opposite direction and repeat this every time the dog pulls you can do this for 20 or 30 minutes then have a break and some time off the lead. Eventually the dog will realise that it doesn't know where you are going and should start to calm down. You should then be able to walk the dog with the lead loose. the best way is to fold the end over your right thumb and to grip the two parts in your hand hold this hand at waist level roughly at your navel. Use your left palm to jerk the lead back AFTER you have said heel to stop your dog from getting too far ahead, be loud and positive with your command. Keep the lead loose and use the jerk to control the dog. Contant pressure on the leash will cause the dog to pull against it.

Well that my method of Newfie lead training anyway, best of luck with the pup,

Andy, Bell and Hovis

[smsmith]

It might help if you jogged or ran as fast as you can for the first minute or so -- I think Einstein's initial energy-level is so high, he tends to pull on me until we work that hyper-stuff off.� 

Since I am not physically capable of running or jogging, we usually go to the fenced in yard and hang out for a little while.�  THEN we go for a walk.�  There have been times when we spent most of the walk re-learning how to stay even with me, not pulling ahead.�  After a few minutes, he gets the idea that I'm not going to "let it go" this time and he might as well behave.� 

I have friends with golden retrievers and their idea of a "walk" is the dog stopping to sniff the ground or leave their mark on every thing!�  They feel sorry for the dogs and think I'm mean because I won't EVER let Einstein do that.�  Einstein is too strong -- if I let him walk me, we'd be in middle of a busy street while he stopped to smell an old shoe someone dropped.

[Teamshredit]

I have a "puppy" that given the chance will drag me down the sidewalk....I feel your pain. Luckily I discovered the Easy walk harness...made by gentle leader(god I sound like a commercial ) and it has changed my life!!! get it....she'll stop pulling immediately. We've tried halti's, gentle leaders, stop and start...almost everything, and this is the only thing that has helped. I also recommend a trainer, we will be doing this at some point this summer. But to regain your sanity quickly I highly recommend this harness. Good luck!

[Senghe]

With her being a GSD and them usually being very responsive to training, I'd try an obedience class or the stop/changing direction every time she pulls method. I've had a friend's supposedly uncontrollable male GSD walking to heel in about 5 minutes using that method - she couldn't believe it. However, being a total massochist, I seem to be attracted to the most stubborn and intractable breeds you can imagine and believe me, the above DOESN'T WORK with an adolescent TM. I've tried it and at one point I actually tied him to a lamp post in frustration and walked off! Did he care? Did he h*ll! He's okay 99% of the time, but it's that 1% where he's likely to drag me under a truck that worries me.

I'm currently having great success with a head collar on Flynn. I have him on a Halti for the moment and he's like a pussy cat. I've also heard good things about the Gentle Leader and the Gencon head collars.

I've tried the no pull harnesses, but to be honest I found that they work better on medium sized dogs - my previous shar-pei Phoebe was wild as a puppy, but only needed a week on a no pull harness and she walked the rest of her life without wearng it or pulling on her lead, however Flynn just carried right on pulling and the point of control is between the shoulders rather than the head where you need it with such a large dog.

[smsmith]

I recently tried putting Einstein's collar up around his ears -- like they do in dog shows.  It's amazing how much more responsive he is than when the collar is around his neck (which is stronger than 20 men). 

[rickysmom1]

I tried using the halti and the gentle leader on Tater. They didn't work for us. We also did many hours of training(even with the instructor at class and private lessons)and he stilled pulled. So I bought a Sporn (www.sporn.com) to try out and I am so happy with the results. Tater no longer pulls when we walk. He actually gets VERY excited when I get the straps out to put on for his walk. It isn't for everyone, but for Tater is has been a godsend. We can now walk further and peacefully. I'm planning on trying it out on my new dog and seeing how that goes.