Walking the dogs!?

Question

whats the best way to learn your dogs to walk by your side?? and stop pulling?? ill have no arm left soon! choker chain seems to not be making much difference

Answer 1

The most preferred method is to quickly and sharply pull the lead then turn around and walk off in the other direction, when it does it again, yank the lead and turn around.

Practice in a park otherwise your neighbours might think you are a mad man!!

Good luck.

Answer 2

First off, be sure you are using a leather lead, the dog will feel more of your control than with a nylon lead. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.

Pick a large area, like a park or field or even a large empty parking lot (like at a school after hours). Walk in the direction you want to go, the second your dog pulls, turn and start walking the other direction. He may yelp, flop on the ground, protest, etc., but keep going, then repeat the same process over and over.

As a general rule, try not to train for more than 20 - 30 minutes at a time because they will lose interest and you've lost the battle. Also give tons of verbal praise.

Once you've done walking and turning thing for a while, you will find that your dog will start actually walking next to you and watching you for clues of when you're going to change direction. Every time you change direction and they follow you without protest be sure to tell them what a good dog they are.

Answer 3

I have been a dog behavioural specialist for many years now, nearly 11, and as you can guess, i have had many pulling dogs.
When training a dog, i would NEVER use a choke chain, because of the reason it's name sugests. I always use a half check which is a normal colloar with a small choker at the front, so when he's pulling i would give a sharp tug on the lead, to remind him he is in the wrong, and follow straight away with a very sharp 'NO!' in a low tone voice, as dogs don't understand english, but they can tell if your word is possitive or negative by the tone of which you say the word...
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Answer 4

Dogs like to walk. If they pull stop, tell them heel, wait until they stop pulling and are waiting for you, reward them with the walk continueing. If they pull again you do this over and over. It may take you an hour to go a block the first few times but eventually they will get the idea.

Also, you will want to make sure you are the first one out the door to do on the walk. Make sure they do not bolt out the door until you have gone through it. This shows your dominence in the pack.

Answer 5

The best way is to take them to obedience classes where they will learn to walk with you properly. A choke chain isn't much use if it isn't used properly.

The lady above is talking about a Halti or a Gentle Leader, which is much like a horse halter. They work quite well with some dogs, but they still need to learn to stop pulling.

Answer 6

I have had great success with a Halti collar. It fits over the dog's muzzle and back behind the ears and the leash clips to it under the dog's chin. This way, when you turn his head follows and you can redirect his attention.

I have had to use a pinch collar on a larger more stubborn male, and the advantage to a pinch collar is....it's more like a "self correction". Totally different dog as soon as I put it on him.

Answer 7

The halti collar. I have a alaskan malamute so it was born to pull and the halti saved my hands been torn off. it fits over the nose and on to the collar so if they pull it will pull they head to the side its very effective and now my dog walks like a dream

Answer 8

Pinch collars work great. They are similar to the design of a choke collar, but they have flat metal bars that "pinch" the skin when pulled together. I have a 120lb lab & that collar keeps him under control. They are easier on the dog than a choke collar because they don't apply any pressure to the trachea. Chokers break down the trachea's on a lot of dogs.

Answer 9

Go to a obedieance class's.

Take your chain with u u are not using it properly which can result in injury to the dogs neck.

Or try a Haltie but read the instruction for use first.

Answer 10

Try using a Halti, they're available from most pet shops. This applies pressure to the nose when the dog pulls. I use one on my dog, she's huge and if she's not wearing it she almost rips my arm from its socket when she sees a cat, but when she is wearing it she doesn't pull at all. They work really well.