How Do I Stop My Dog Pulling?

[raindog]

Like Claire and Bec, I'm not a fan of head collars and have seen a lot more damage done by them than by the evil "check" chains or "half-checks" (I can't comment on prong collars because I have zero experience of them and have never even seen one in real life).

My answer to the "problem" of a husky pulling is simple. Take your dog to ringcraft training (training for dog shows). If you go to a Championship Dog Show you will see dozens of extremely well-behaved huskies walking, running or trotting to heel under the perfect control of their handlers, responding to the most minute movements of the handler without jerking, manhandling and certainly without pain. Yet (in the UK at least) the majority of these dogs will also be working/racing dogs who, if you show them a working harness will go crazy to pull. Our dogs are intelligent enough to know the difference between working in harness and walking on the lead. It just takes time and training - and show training seems to be the most effective way of stopping them pulling when you don't want them to.

Mick

[Brady]

We're going through training with Sherlock, but we've got him walking on a leash with a chain collar at the moment, and he walks perfectly at class, with no pulling or running off to meet other dogs. We want to get him a harness when he's older (he's only just about 6 months), and train him that he can pull while wearing that. We're still working on 'perfect' walking when not in class, but he's doing much much better.

[ccb72]

Hmm... do you take the Husky on walks and it pulls?

[chinook n sashas mum]

i walked my huskys on harnesses and it seemed to trip a swich on chinook now i have some real probs with her pulling she can be a nightmare so everytime i walk them i go a different route or just the opposite way to what i normally go it does stop a bit of the pull as they have no clue where they r going i love my fur babys but ill have arms like arnie schwarz if mine carry on much more (im using a teflon collor and 26 ft extender lead at the mo)

[Awesome.]

harness = for pulling

collar = for walking NEXT to me, not in front.

If the dog pulls I stop and ask it to sit and if it is my show dog I ask him to stand, then proceed walking again if he/she pulls then I make it sit again until it gets the message, has worked on severe pullers yeah it takes a while but the training is strong and effective.

[RoseWillow&Dexter]

Both my two do obedience and they have beautiful heels in class, but it doesnt always translate to walks.

I guess because obedience is boring to them, and I am the most exciting thing there so they focus on me, on a walk there is so many other sights and smells that are more interesting than me lol

I am getting there though, i can have them walking nicely on our usual walk around the neighbourhood, but somewhere new or from the car to the dog park...forget it

[VanIslandSibe]

I am not trying to be a sales rep or anything but I literally just got the "walk your dog with love" harness in the mail yesterday. I put it on Kojee and took him out and was shocked. He immediately stopped pulling. It was like magic. He still pulls a little but at the most about 25% of what he normally would. He seemed to understand right away not to pull hard on it. I have worked endlessly to get him to stop pulling with little success and this was probably the easiest walk we've ever been on. There are several things I noticed. First I think the harness helps eliminate the URGE to pull as it is attached at the front of their chest. Second, it is easier to control him. He responds more to steering and stopping/changing of speeds. Third, I think the walk was more enjoyable for him, not just me. And believe me, he LOVES to pull. But the fact that I am happy, and praising him, instead of being miserable and fighting with him, constantly trying to correct him makes both of us able to simply enjoy the moment. Maybe it wont work for everyone, but I am so excited that I can finally walk him without worrying about it. Obviously this is not a solution to the training part of walking a dog as he would still pull if I put a normal collar on. But as far as going on a leisurely walk it works great. For 30$ I would definitely recommend trying it.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

I am not trying to be a sales rep or anything but I literally just got the "walk your dog with love" harness in the mail yesterday. I put it on Kojee and took him out and was shocked. He immediately stopped pulling. It was like magic. He still pulls a little but at the most about 25% of what he normally would. He seemed to understand right away not to pull hard on it. I have worked endlessly to get him to stop pulling with little success and this was probably the easiest walk we've ever been on. There are several things I noticed. First I think the harness helps eliminate the URGE to pull as it is attached at the front of their chest. Second, it is easier to control him. He responds more to steering and stopping/changing of speeds. Third, I think the walk was more enjoyable for him, not just me. And believe me, he LOVES to pull. But the fact that I am happy, and praising him, instead of being miserable and fighting with him, constantly trying to correct him makes both of us able to simply enjoy the moment. Maybe it wont work for everyone, but I am so excited that I can finally walk him without worrying about it. Obviously this is not a solution to the training part of walking a dog as he would still pull if I put a normal collar on. But as far as going on a leisurely walk it works great. For 30$ I would definitely recommend trying it.

its brilliant isnt it i have them for my 2 but want to get 2 more so i can wash the 1s they have as i wont not walk Blaze without it now

[Povodny]

Cos so many of the straps lift up too near the dogs eyes, too many owners yank the lead which results in yanking the dogs head/neck (risking injury), most dogs do their best to paw the thing off its face and not actually enjoying the walk, the dogs are expected 'just to walk' not able to have freedom to sniff etc which is all stimulating for the dog, they are a tool to hide poor or no training. I just seriously hate them (but thats my opinion).

Mine pull me HARD and i mean HARD but thats why i got a huskys (on a belt). if i stopped them from pulling i feel like they would loose their 'mojo'. They do walk really well if i took them out on their own which took little training, but walk them together and they go into work mode (but they are worked).

Oh I hear what you're saying, if I take mine out together they're in pack mode and pull tremendously, individually they're angels. I bought the halti harnesses and it's made a huge difference. The first thirty minutes is actually enjoyable rather than stressful. Oh and while I've been typing safi did two of the noisiest farts and turned to look at her bottom in total amazement lol

[Jackson'sMom]

I'm not a huge head collar fan either, I think there is a lot of room for injury even when the tool is used correctly.

I'd prefer a martingale or prong collar if a tool needed to be used for the owner to get some control back

I use the prong collar but only strictly for training purposes because he listens when he has it on because then he knows its training time. Otherwise, if its not training time he has his regular collar on.

[Fable]

I use a gencon for Fable, he doesn't pull as hard in it and when we're at training he's beautiful on it, it even comes off so it doesn't sit on his face. The problem is, with anything else I get pulled too much (he pulled me across a busy main road before:dog3: ) I'm sure he hates it but he hates his harness too, he loves bikjoring though. I also use the stop start method as he doesn't always want treats/toys.

[Hyshqa]

Wooooah, hoping no one saw the random, slightly dodgy webcam picture that had somehow replaced the Canny Collar image - I've sorted this now! No idea how that happened

[Fable]

I did.

very dodgy.:eek:

lol.

[Hyshqa]

Not a sticky anymore? Just tried to find this and it took ages!

[Andy]

[MENTION=2580]Hy'Shqa[/MENTION]

It's "Sticky" again.

Had to lick the back and rub it with a pritt stick.

But. . . It's stuck again.

[Hyshqa]

@Hy'Shqa

It's "Sticky" again.

Had to lick the back and rub it with a pritt stick.

But. . . It's stuck again.

LMAO! Thanks

[Povodny]

My answer to the question if how to stop your husky pulling...

With great difficulty :|

Lol

[Andy]

My answer to the question if how to stop your husky pulling...

With great difficulty :|

Lol

I prefer . . . . with time, patience and training

(worked for us ).

[glenn]

time, patience, training and REGULAR excersize. If my dogs miss one of their walks, they'll try to pull. If I keep on a constant, consistent excersize regiment - they have no need to pull.

Training goes a long way too - if my boy hears me say 'relax' he knows to back off the lead.

[Tilly]

Very informative, my 13 week husky wants to say hi to every one. She pulls and doesn't listen to sit command.(she does in doors). She doesn't jump at people only dogs as she wants to play. She has also started to get funny about crossing the road ( only at certain places ). She backs up and try's to run in opposite direction.

im worried this behaviour will cause me problems when she is bigger as I'm only little in build. And I can imagine me being dragged behind her. I am the main career of her and she tends to listen to me in the house, but when we are on walkies or in the garden I might as well talk to the wall.

we started with a normal collar and lead but she pulled ++ so now she has a harness on a sort lead. Do u think I should use a harness that is like the canny collar.

Thanks

[Leyka&Diva]

Very informative, my 13 week husky wants to say hi to every one. She pulls and doesn't listen to sit command.(she does in doors). She doesn't jump at people only dogs as she wants to play. She has also started to get funny about crossing the road ( only at certain places ). She backs up and try's to run in opposite direction.

im worried this behaviour will cause me problems when she is bigger as I'm only little in build. And I can imagine me being dragged behind her. I am the main career of her and she tends to listen to me in the house, but when we are on walkies or in the garden I might as well talk to the wall.

we started with a normal collar and lead but she pulled ++ so now she has a harness on a sort lead. Do u think I should use a harness that is like the canny collar.

Thanks

you can but i wouldnt just yet as she is still really young you can take her to puppy classes they would help x

[Tilly]

Thanks. Waiting for classes to start.

[siberian_wolf]

Negative Reinforcement

Not the kind of reinforcement you're thinking of I'll bet. Negative reinforcement is defined as the strengthening of a behaviour by giving the dog a chance to behave in a way that will avoid an unfavourable stimulus. With the idea of pulling in mind this boils down to the 'Stop....go...stop...go' method.

Have the dog on a lead, in the heel position if you can (try getting the dog to sit and position yourself alongside). It helps to have a release word for your dog such as 'OK' so they know when they can start to head off. I have this for my dog and it is useful in many situations such as when I feed her – 'OK' tells her she can release from her sit and chow down! Once you're ready to set off tell the dog 'OK' and start walking forward. As soon as you feel any tension on the lead stop where you are and pull the dog back. Get the dog back into a heel position and start again. Eventually you'll notice the dog pulls less often because it learns when it does it has to stop and go back - they don't get anywhere by pulling. An alternative to this is to change direction when the dog pulls instead of stopping. The dog essentially learns the same thing - it doesn't get to where it wants to go by pulling. Changing direction also prevents the dog from getting a heading; it doesn't know what direction you're heading in and so will hang back and look to you for a direction instead (in principle!). This has to be incredibly consistent though - my housemate's dog was 'trained' like this but not well enough. Now when you take her for a walk she reaches the end of the lead, runs back to heel and then runs to the end of the lead again, effectively running in an oval shape the entire way to the field unless we're walking fast enough for her to just stay at the end of the lead!

Some excellent information there Steph

The stop...go method I've been using with my 3 (only for a few days at current) but with a slight difference and so far been going well.

The difference I've done is not pulling them back when they do pull and I've stopped as I read online (when looking at training methods):

Point of Power: The NeckDogs naturally do this thing, where they pull in response to pressure. You pull. They pull. Hence the drama that unfolds in so many families, where yanking, tugging … and even choking, pinching, and shocking … come into play. (Some call traditional dog training “crank & yank.â€)

That’s why head collars or harnesses change the focus from the neck to the head or body. They use what we know about dog physiology and dog behavior in our favor, rather than working against us.

Loose Leash Training

One of the main reasons dogs pull on leash is because it gets them something they want — closer to that other dog, closer to the park, the chance to steal that snack from a toddler’s hand. It’s a very rewarding process. They pull. We get frustrated and give in. They get what they want. Pattern established.

So for this reason what I have been doing is stopping still and emotionless when they pull and letting them decide to come back to me on their terms and praising them with a "Good Boy" and then continuing with the walk and keeping the "good boy" consistent when they are walking on a loose lead. I dont have them at heel as I just want a loose lead so they get their reward (moving ahead/to where they want to go) and praise when I get a loose lead. If I see a potential issue (i.e. people or dogs, etc) then I deal with that as necessary (I have different methods for each of them as they react differently, i.e. Marley doesnt get on with other dogs, Bandit tends to jump at people, etc) but it mainly consists of giving them something better and more rewarding that their other behaviour (i.e. aggressing at other dogs).

What I have also been doing is enriching their walks by pointing out to the ground and encouraging them to smell and follow scents and also Ive been taking food treats with me and hiding them in parts of trees (so they can reach of course) and in a small bunch of leaves and stuff so they have to smell it out but they still get the reward of being able to eat it when they find it

We are in very early days but so far so good

[Steve]

I really enjoyed reading the advice on getting your dog to walk to heal. I have spent more time reading about getting your dog to walk without pulling, and I now finally think that Storm has got it, though not by any one method (and who knows whether he will still walk to heal tomorrow!).

When we got him as a 14 month old, he had no idea how to walk to heal. I think his previous owners just accepted him dragging them down the street and ultimately this was, I think, the reason they wanted rid. He came with a no-pull body harness, but this had absolutely nil effect – he could pull me on the bike with this harness, so they obviously had not considered Huskies when guaranteeing its effectiveness. I have always been a big fan of Ceasar Millan and so started off with his trade-mark little taps with the side of the foot to his rear quarter. As if by magic this worked...for all of about 24 hours! He got wise to this, and started pulling just the same, but putting his body at an angle every time he lunged forward to avoid the tap. I tried treats, really nice bits of sausage for him to die for, but I fould that these only kept his attention for a very short space of time, and as much as I tried, he got wise to how long he would wait for the treat, and then lunge forward once more!

Next came the choke chain, but I quickly found that trying to force Storm to heel was a non-starter. After this came the Halti head-harness. I was very pleased with this, especially as by this stage, it felt like my shoulder was about to be separated from the rest of my body (I had a shoulder problem previously and after a month of owning Storm it was as bad as previously when I had had to resort to physio for 6 months). The Halti did physically stop him from pulling hard. Psychologically, he was still pulling, but only to his pain thresh-hold of his nose where it applies pressure, so it did give my shoulder a chance to fully recover. He hated the Halti as much as I loved it, and after three weeks, he finally managed to get the strap from over the nose into his teeth, and that was the end of that. I replaced this with a new one, but this one has never been out of the packaging, as I had decided that a change in tactics was required.

Back to the drawing board, and this is where I wish I had read the contributions here previously regarding the stop-start method. The walk to my local park which normally takes 3 minutes, could now take 40 minutes – I would wait for Storm to come to my side before moving, set off, but stop dead if he lunged forward, waiting until he returned to my side. Another step forward and the same. It took a while for the penny to drop, but at last (and I’m talking about a week in which I did not weaken my resolve), he realized he was going nowhere while he was pulling, and got to the point where he would almost jump back to heal. The problem over time is that he still wanted to feel the tension of the lead, and it became like walking a yoyo. He was a hundred times better than when I got him, but I was still having to check him like clockwork – he would jump back to heal, but within a second or two, he would lunge forward to feel the tension of the lead, then back to heel again. He wasn’t pulling like previously, and certainly not enough to damage my shoulder again.

I was happy with this, as it was a huge improvement, but this week in Poland, where the streets and pavements were pure ice for the first few days, I realized it was time to take it another step, or I would be on my back before I knew it. As he now understood heel, I tried him with the extendable lead (which is his normal lead) but without the catch on. That way, when he lunged forward, he would not have the satisfaction of feeling tension in the lead. A quick oral correction would bring him back to heel, and he is staying to heel with far fewer corrections. At last, after 4 months, he is finally there, and I don’t think it’s a false dawn. Only time will tell.

[Maliwoowoos]

I have 2 malamute girls aged 1 year and one of them is a nightmare to walk, i have tried the stop and wait, the turn in the oposite direction, the gen con lead and the haltie and she still pulls like mad. I even tried a harness which is designed to let you pull them back but she still pulls like mad. my partner is now saying if she cannot be trained she will have to go but we love her too much so if anyone can help us it would be a blessing ..thank you