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lucy97

New Member
I Have a wonderful dog named Lucy.She is very freindly.She is hard to walk. I love reading articles on how to teach her how to walk.The only thing is that none of them work.If you have a way to teach your dog to walk without pulling then please tell me.:dogwub:
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Hi! Welcome to the Academy!

There are a few ways to stop your dog from pulling, many of them are listed throughout the site. If you do a search in the forums you will find more detailed answers.

You can turn around and go the opposite way the moment that your dog pulls.

You can stop immediately when the dog pulls and start walking again when there is slack in the leash.

Have a great valentine's day!
Jean
 

princessbride029

Well-Known Member
Hi Lucy97, and welcome to the forum! What type of dog is Lucy, and how old is she? I am currently working (slowly) on loose-leash-walking (LLW) myself, but my dog is still a puppy (not quite 6mos old yet) and has all the exuberance her little body can muster... haha. She's just SO excited to see that dry leaf or tiny pebble 5 feet ahead that she chokes herself trying to get there faster than I want to go. :)

It's definitely slow going, but I've found it's best to keep sessions short (as my temper can also be short sometimes) and try to keep it lighthearted and fun so the dog is enjoying being with you - they learn so much better that way!

Good luck, and welcome!
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Leash training CAN be challenging, but DON'T GIVE UP!! It is well worth the time-investment, to help ensure your fur-kid WILL get the excercize he needs. Cuz If the walks are unpleasant, they might end up getting skipped! Plus, i've heard if some dogs pull a lot, their necks can get sore/injured.

Me, it took me a lil while to get Buddy to not pull. After trying everything else, what worked for Buddy is stopping. Just flat out stopping each and every time he pulled, after a verbal cue "No pull" ...yeah, it took us 45 minutes to go around the block. And yeah, sometimes, he forgets a lil bit. But not often.

Also, i brought along a clicker and treats, and when i could catch him walking nicely, i quickly clicked and gave a treat. THAT helped Buddy put it all together in his mind, "Ah ha!! I get treats if i walk this way!"... For some reason, Buddy walks WAY better if he KNOWS i am packing treats...:dogtongue2:

Also, i played with Buddy for a while to kinda help wear him down a bit prior to walking.
 

lucy97

New Member
Walking Trouble

My dog is Treeing Walker Coon Hound. She is 5 years old and I've been trying to train her since she was a puppy but she just can't grasp the concept. I even took her to puppy class at Petsmart when I first got her but that did not help. I have tried reading books watching videos and I was thinking of another class but I can't afford it. It would be so nice to walk her without getting pulled down street.
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
In GENERAL, Petsmart trainers aren't always the best anyway. That's a whole different subject. My dog just graduated from an Intermediate class, but my trainer was sooo not the average Petsmart trainer.

Coonhounds can be difficult. IF you have tried leash training methods and followed them to a T, and nothing's worked, then you have to try something else. USUALLY, it's not that the methods don't work, it's that they weren't used correctly.

However, my dog that just graduated Intermediate is one of those who could not be leash trained, and I've been training for many years. I use a Gentle Leader on him, and I SWEAR by them. I LOVE them and have recommended them to numerous people with difficult dogs--and they always work. Only met ONE dog who could not be trained with a Gentle Leader alone, and she was a deaf pitty who needed the GL AND the turn-around method.

Gentle Leaders are WONDERFUL. They come with a training DVD and training manual. If you READ the manual and watch the vid, then follow it EXACTLY, you can teach your dog to walk perfectly with this. They do not like the GL at first--it's just like a puppy's first reaction to a collar. They scratch and try to get it off. They fight it. The training manual and the DVD describe exactly how to handle this. Abrionline.org also has some great vids on training with headcollars(GL).

Another thing that you have to keep in mind is that YOU MUST BE CONSISTENT. You have to stick with it or your dog will be dragging you around for the rest of her life. 9 times out of 10, the problem is not the dog--it's that she's gotten away with it just enough times, that she knows she doesn't HAVE to listen to you. Please do not take offense to this--this is just typically the issue with most dogs. Anyway, the GL would probably help you a lot. Petsmart carries these. The Halti is a cheaper version, but I DO NOT like them near as much. The GL has a clip just under the chin that makes it hard for them to slip out of. The Halti does not, and dogs get out of them very easily. And the Halti doesn't have the DVD. With both of these, the dog can still pant, open their mouth, drink, eat, whatever. So don't assume it's a muzzle just because it goes around the mouth--I constantly get that reaction with my Zeke, who uses a GL.
 
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