Only have had my 13 week old puppy less than a week, and he's already walking pretty well on a loose lead with only occasional resistance. The key to not have a pulling dog (learned from stubborn AmStaff) is not to engage in pulling. I use the dressage concept of "half halt" with a small correction upward, not a tug forward or back, followed by moving purposefully in the direction I want to go. No treats on walkies, since I don't want him stiffing around for food when he's supposed to be paying attention to me. Short practice sessions of only 5-10 minutes is all his brain can handle right now, and we follow it with serious play time. I use a martingale collar because it gives an effective gentle upward correction then loosens immediately after. Lots of verbal praise & pats/scritches too. He really prances when he gets it!
In dressage riding, a half halt is a quick closed hand accompanying a closed leg. The leg encourages forward, the hand says "listen, this is important" and converts impulsion to a more collected energy.
Corrections must be subtle but firm and timed well so they're more of a nudge to distract from whatever is causing him to pull, and moving with a happy "Thabo, heel" or "Thabo, come along" seems to do the trick.
Young puppies are pretty easy to get to walk on a loose leash. As they get older and start to have more confidence in exploring their world, they can become more of a challenge.
Using treats does not mean the dog is not paying attention to you, there are many exercises that you can do to teach the dog that attention to you gets the reward and attention to the treat gets none.
Lately we have been using the Sporn Harness. This halter appears to be very effective for our 4 year old and also effective for our 4 month old. Granted, they do have to be adjusted properly to have good control.
My only concern was that a harness can be backed out of. Lately I have been double leashing the 4 year old. This includes a leash connected to the Martingale collar as well the Sporn Harness. This seems to work well for me and our 4 year old responds well to it. We have used a gentle leader on him but do not like it pulling on his head and neck. So the Sporn Harness has been really nice to work with.
There are several no pull harnesses available. I like the Freedom Harness by Wiggles, Wags and Whiskers. It can be well adjusted to fit the dog, has a couple of option for how it is used depending on how much the dog pulls.
http://www.wiggleswagswhiskers.com/newsite/no-pull-harness.htm
The harness is very interesting because of the double leash attachment control. Comparing it to the Sporn, I do notice there does not seem to be any padding on the nylon straps and it appears to be a plastic buckle type. They do appear to offer a great warranty.
I do like the options they offer.
Here is a link to the Sporn no pull harness just for comparison:
http://sporn.com/training/mesh-non-pull-harness/
We do like the fact that this is very easy to put on the Basenji, there is a flexible mesh against the chest, padding under the legs where the straps come up. Adjustment is very easy because both straps that give you control go up through a metal guide and a one button slider lock is used to tighten up the harness on the dog. The big plus for us is that our Basenji's do not seem to mind wearing them or getting them put on. The second plus is that this no pull harness actually flexes some with the dog. Like any no pull harness, I think it has to be adjusted right to be effective.
Since there is a money back guarantee offered by the manufacturer, I thought it was a no brainer so we gave it a shot.
The nylon is very soft and the strap that goes behind the arms is made of velvet. I have one for my 14 year old who cannot wear a collar. It is also made in USA and they will replace damaged harnesses if you send them back to the company.
Great advise Q!
Hello, we use http://www.animalking.nl/Nylon-Hondentuig-Mokka-Hamilton and attach the leash to the chest ring.
It works great because when the dog pulls, it automatically turns itself toward you.
Binti, our very strong B, walks very nicely with it - not always, but way better then with a neck collar. Once in a while I walk her with her neck collar and she is improving with this, too!
There are several varieties on the market.
[QUOTE=
My question is: How do I get Duke's attention if the treat isn't reward enough and he turns deaf to my voice?
Maybe you can try this: when out for the walk and he pulls, just stop. He will try to pull, run around you. Wait patiently without saying a word. If he stops and even looks at you for a millisecond, then say "Good and Ok, let's go" or what ever you want that you'll remember to say all the time he looks at you and to let him know this is what you wanted. The reward will be the start of the walk again. You may have to do this numerous times before he realizes that he needs to look at you, be calm, then the walk will continue. Be patient, calm, and set aside enough time for this 'training walk' exercise so that you won't be rushed for results. It will happen. It has taken many months before Uzie finally recalls with the word 'come'. I still use the whistle with the treat on our walks, or at the house when he is required to COME NOW! Conditioning for any response takes time and patience, persistence, and consistency.
What do you guys suggest I do to train Abby to walk like a good puppy? I did not have the oppertunity to take her to puppy classes when she was younger as the one school in my area was full and the other offered classes only on saturdays which I have to work. So now I am playing catch up with her to get her to be the good puppy I know she is. I have been trying to snap the lead to make her stop pulling (without a choker) but I was wondering about getting a halter lead and see if that works. My snapping her lead does not seem to phase her at all, I have even tried to use treats and that didn't work either.
instead of 'snapping' the leash, just walk like us humans do, swing your arms alternately as you walk. this gives an auto correction as you walk, and your pup will get the idea of where he should be at you legs. Don't even have to say anything at first. If the 'auto' corrections or snap eventually feels uncomfortable, then he'll slow down and when this happens, say the command of choice, 'walk' 'with me' heel-whatever you want. Too much of a pull, then slow down or go the opposite direction, 180 real fast. what your saying is pulling will not get you where you want to go! Make doing the wrong thing harder: pulling gets you the opposite direction, or we stop, and you have to sit….walk nicely, we go forward.....
These front-attaching harnesses work really well in my experience. As soon as the dog starts to pull, it will turn itself towards you, slowing it down. Otherwise the dog has every bit of freedom to do what it wants.
