Leash manners - Page 1

Hey everybody,

My girl Lexey has very bad leash manners.  I have tried everything and she is at the point my wife can not walk her anymore.  She constantly pulls on  yhe leash till she actually gags her self.  I have her in a beginner obedience class and they say I have a very strong willed girl.  This past Monday we tried a pinch collar, but she sure hollered alot.  Is the pinch collar the best way to go or are there any other suggestions. Bye the way she will be 5 months old in two weeks.

Thanks in advance,

Harry

I always think the important point that sometimes gets missed is that you have to learn to walk before you can GO for a walk.  Sort of like learning to drive before you get on the highway.   So it often means NO WALKS until you have taught the dog the skills to walk;  otherwise you are continually undoing your training because she WILL reinforce lunging and pulling if your goal is to actually get somewhere.  If you are worried about exercise, find other outlets.  Ball in the yard, fetch at the park on a long line.   Somehow a lot of puppy owners get the idea that you HAVE to take your dog for walks. 

I personally haven't used prongs, but lots of others here can give you better advice.  She seems young for it to me.

Heather

PINCHER COLLAR SAVED MY LIFE,

My female was just like your GSD, always wanting to lead and sniffs everything in the world. and leap , jumped and did not listen for any thing....... Pinche Collar was intro duced, by driveway walks and short walks till she understood that pain is involved with not listening..I find it useful to tap her butt with my foot wich breaks her of whatever she gets fixed on...And if she tries to lead. I stop and make her sit and start over again till she got it right."pain in the ars and took for ever". The choker collar was a waste and all she did was pull and wriggle it down so it was on the lower part of her neck wich does not choke her at all.

My male never had a chance to lead, after the female, He was on the choker at 6 mnths and the picne collar at 9 mnths and My 6 yr old can walk him to this day. It just trial and error and alot of work. Now when i walk if i stop they sit look at me and wait till I take a first step then they move and they are beside me or behind me.NEVER LET YOU DOG WALK INFRONT OF YOU. That  teachs them that they are the pack leader on walks wich can lead to dog fights and you possibly getting hurt.

When you tell your dog commands never pet them or talk  to them unless its a comman "this is what pack leaders do to there young"and always make firm eye contact to let them know you mean  business, Stay calm assertive and DO NOT GET FUSTRATED, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.. Doing this kind of training will make the dog trust you and bond closer wich make training alot easier for you in the furture...

ONE THING THAT STUCK WITH ME, IS THE PACK LEADER NEVER HURTS, YELLS, OR SCOLDS THE PUPPYS, This way they will trust you and they keep there SPIRIT, which you never want to break!!!!!

Make sure you connect the snap on the lead to BOTH rings if you are trying to get the pup to lead on a prong. If you just have it on the live ring the pup is just going to resist more and want to shut down (same with choke). Tell the pup what you want BEFORE you move. Use your hand tapping your leg encouraging the pup to follow. IF the pup makes any attempt to follow on lead be sure to praise with the command included in the praise. Example...."heel" ...."good heel". If the pup tries to pull out in front of you then go the opposite direction. Tell the dog "heel" BEFORE you change directions. Don't jerk, just steady pull.  

Lexey,

In reading these responses all are somewhat right but if you ask 12 trainers the same questions you will get 13 different answers. And not all wrong.

I just so happens that I am currently working with a 6 month old GSD that is very high strung and is going to be a fantastic working dog.  However, given the opportunity, he will drag me or a helper off our feet.  Let me say, that from a working dog stand point I would rather see this than one that is a dead head.

We have taken this pup backward in his training schedule and we have introduced a Training Collar (prong). When fitted correctly (right behind the jaw bone) and the leash is latched to both collar rings,  Remove enough links to make the collar fit.  Also, Training Collars are not intended to be pulled over the head.  Take the collar apart at a link to remove it.  

The training collar will not hurt like a choke collar unless the handler is abusive.  The only choke collar we use are fur save, and not for discipline (we hook to the dead ring when we hook to them.

It will Take us about 2 weeks to 1 month  to get our pup to start having proper mannerns for his age level.  After a couple of months we may be able to remove the Training Collar.

The secret:  Patience and Lots of short training sessions.

Tuff