Loose leash walking

[tricia beaver]

with my huskies, I put them on a Gentle Leader ( face harness. NOT a muzzle) and ran around randomly. Lots of turns and changes of direction. about 30 minutes every day for a week or so. It helps teach them to watch you so they know what you are doing. Though my neighbors thought I went crazy. when I walk them, if they pull the leash I yank the leash and force them closer, then let the leash hang loose. It took a while but they learned. A choker works for my girls. I ONLY use it for a quick "snap" when I yank the leash, never choke them with it.

[bridget246]

I bought a gentle leader back and I don't like them at all. Dog doesn't get good head movement. We are training for AKC titles and the gentle leaders are not allowed. Same with the harness that goes around the legs.

Today we went on a slow walk after bathroom with a normal collar. The goal for her was to stay right bedside me and watch me the entire time. Treats were held at shoulder level. She lasted about 15 minutes of awesome focus. We are going to take it slow and let her keep that focus and then add more speed. By slow I meant 2.5-3 miles a hour. Hoping to get her going longer and allowing her to leave my side as a reward.

[wolfsnaps88]

I have noticed gentle leaders and halti's can often rub the fur off the dog's faces. And every dog I have seen wearing one doesn't look too thrilled. LOL. But whatever works. People think I am a horrible person for using a prong collar. Tomato. Tomahto.

Gotta say, I don't like chokers at all. I know, weird coming from a prong collar user. I just don't like them. And they have never worked for me.

[Liz]

I like prong collar when used correctly. I have found that if I start my pup on a martingale they get just enough correction at a very young age to inhibit pulling. All the people who have my pups say they have lovely leash manners - they just never think to pull.

[xellil]

I have noticed gentle leaders and halti's can often rub the fur off the dog's faces. And every dog I have seen wearing one doesn't look too thrilled. LOL. But whatever works. People think I am a horrible person for using a prong collar. Tomato. Tomahto.

Gotta say, I don't like chokers at all. I know, weird coming from a prong collar user. I just don't like them. And they have never worked for me.

A gentle leader actually injured my dog. He sliced the side of his face and lip when he started spinning. If he wasn't spinning, he would plant his legs and pull and shake his head like crazy, trying to pull it off. he hated it fiercely and it was the only restraint I ever put on him that he would actually hang his head and whine when he saw it.

I only put it on him three times, and it was two times too many.

[ciaBrysh]

I HATE the gentle leader! I tried it with Willow but because she is so high prey driven, she almost got really hurt because she lunged so fast >.< i began using a prong collar and had fast and amazing results =)

[chewice]

Cash and I have been using the gentle leader with awesome results. He flings himself like the puppy comment above but once he is done his spaz he feels "defeated" and walks right beside me. After we have had at least a good 10 minutes of loose leash he gets to go offleash to release the energy. He is beginning to realize the sooner he calms down the sooner he gets the darn thing off his face.

[Deco]

Not sure if you have them in the US but many have moved away from the Gentle leader and shifted onto a dogmatic. Which doesn't ride up. Can't comment as I use a standard flat collar and always will.

The dog has learnt either from you or it's previous owner/s that pulling makes them go forward. Walking is a massively high reward and it is a very slow process to unlearn this behaviour. Obviously you can choke your dog, stick bits of metal in it's neck & electrocute it if you want. It seems many people do.

But personally I start off training using food treats in the house getting the dog to follow you at your side. If your dog isn't food driven use a favourite toy. Eventually they learn that being next to you is the best thing in the world. Do this for a few minutes every day and just before a walk. Once in the outside world which is obviously very different to your house, you teach the dog that pulling either results in stopping or turning around and pulling will eventually stop. Reward your dog with praise and/or treat when they are loose on the lead next to you regularly.

Patience, be consistent.

And if you think that I have a tiny dog, think again. I have a Great Dane, before that Irish Wolfhounds and Afghan Hounds.

[bridget246]

Not sure if you have them in the US but many have moved away from the Gentle leader and shifted onto a dogmatic. Which doesn't ride up. Can't comment as I use a standard flat collar and always will.

The dog has learnt either from you or it's previous owner/s that pulling makes them go forward. Walking is a massively high reward and it is a very slow process to unlearn this behaviour. Obviously you can choke your dog, stick bits of metal in it's neck & electrocute it if you want. It seems many people do.

But personally I start off training using food treats in the house getting the dog to follow you at your side. If your dog isn't food driven use a favourite toy. Eventually they learn that being next to you is the best thing in the world. Do this for a few minutes every day and just before a walk. Once in the outside world which is obviously very different to your house, you teach the dog that pulling either results in stopping or turning around and pulling will eventually stop. Reward your dog with praise and/or treat when they are loose on the lead next to you regularly.

Patience, be consistent.

And if you think that I have a tiny dog, think again. I have a Great Dane, before that Irish Wolfhounds and Afghan Hounds.

I have no doubt that you had experience with larger dogs. We only use the prong for classes and stores. Today we are going on a nature walk with other dogs so the prong will be on. Otherwise I would leave the prong off and keep her beside me with treats. Works well enough outside. I've trained pretty well in areas of low to mid distractions. It is when we get into those highly distracting areas that she can not control herself in. I'm hoping to correct this behavior by getting her even more focused on me during walks than she was before. Going beyond not pulling to actually having her walk right beside me.

[xellil]

I was patient through six months, three trainers (both classroom and private lessons), a million treats, at least 10 different types of harnesses/headgear/collars, clicks, looks, touches.

If i hadn't decided to find a trainer to teach me how to use a prong collar (even though all the previous trainers didn't use them) we'd still be trying to get out of the driveway.