walking nicely

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

ok so i need help teaching blaze 2 walk nicely - but heres the catch - i HAVE 2 walk all 3 at the same time and i can only take them out for about 20 mins / half hour a time as i have 3 jobs and can only walk them inbetween jobs so i cant really do the stop till u stop pulling then walk - i cnt do the turn and walk then turn and walk when he pulls as its not fair on the others - and im the only 1 who walks them as mum hasnt bin well so cnt do it and dads always at work - so i need a way 2 teach him 2 walk nicely on walks thats quick and easy 2 train - ive tried the short lead - doesnt do much - atm im walking him on a canny collar - which is great but he isnt keen on it he normally woos when its walkies now he just sits down n looks sad even tho ive tried teachin him that the collar is a good thing and not a bad thing!

HELP!!!!

thnx in advance

[Sarah]

hmm tricky one - i have a similar problem with my boys i can't take one without the other and they just pull constantly.

have you considered getting a walking belt or attaching a bungee of some sort to the lead so as to take a lot of the strain? It does't resolve the problem but may help your hands in the short term?

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

i no i shudnt ov - and its not a walkin belt but i tied his lead round my waist earlier so my hands could recover abit and OW! lol - cnt afford a walking belt or a bungee lead till payday and that 2 weeks on friday away

[Bec]

Is there any way you can dedicate five or so minutes to leash training them individually? You don't have to walk far or even leave your street.

This is why I recommend people get their current dogs to where they want them training wise before adding in another addition

[Kells xx]

hey nix,

i walk my three togeher, they are all on haltis and i tie all three lead handles together and then put the tied lead around my back with the leads either side and i have pully dog echo on one side gripping her part of the lead in one hand, and i have the two non pully dogs on the other, holding their parts of the lead in my other hand.

with the tied lead around my back its more weight for them to strain against and they havent pulled me in a while, also tieing the leads and havin it around your back shortens the leads and allows more correction.

it works for me anyway!!!!

hope you find a soloution matey

kelly

[Bec]

Just to add BB, you will need to be very careful if you decide to use a training tool when walking all three together. You want to make sure the tool is being used correctly and the dogs have been properly trained on them and this can be difficult if you are walking more than one at a time. Dogs can learn to pull on any tool which is why it's best to start them off on the tool individually at first so you can make sure you are using it properly.

[Andy]

Lol BEC

unfortnately Nix isn't living in a perfect world and doesnt have the option of doing ANY kind of one on one training.

she HAS to take all three at the same time due to time and work constraints. she needs a solution where she CAN walk all three at the same time without doing herself injury.

while Haltis and other headcollars are not ideal they can help in the short term to curb the pulling and get the job done.

As Kelly said we are using them to get them walking nicely then once that is working we are alternating between the haltis and normal collar or harness gradually phasing out the headcollars until they walk well without.

[Bec]

Andy, she can chuck all three on head collars but if they aren't used properly they can injure the dogs and the dogs can learn to pull on them which not only defeats the point but desensitizes the dogs to training tools. Sometimes quick fixes will only create more work in the long term.

We all live busy lives, we all have time restraints, sometimes there is no easy option. I am lucky that I don't have that big a problem because I don't add another dog to my pack until my current dogs are trained at the level I am happy with. I'm not sure why BB can't dedicate five minutes to each dog, if she has time to do twenty minutes of walking.

[Andy]

Yes I agree with you on the general principles of safe usage the headcollars.

nix has to get some exercise and poo wee relief in a short period. We are simply trying to find a practical solution.

[Bec]

Yes I agree with you on the general principles of safe usage the headcollars.

nix has to get some exercise and poo wee relief in a short period. We are simply trying to find a practical solution.

yep I totally get that but as Nix said, she is already walking one of the dogs on a head collar and it's really not working

unfortunately when it comes to training a dog to walk on a loose leash there is no immediate fix any safe solution will take some level of time and commitment to produce the results you want.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

andy thnx - i HAVE 2 walk all 3 at the same time - i rly only get about half hour between jobs 2 walk them - bing and sklya walk nice on their leads - so they dont need headcollars - i hold both their leads in 1 hand or have bings in one hand skyla's lead round my waist and hold blaze in the other hand and focus on him - but hes not reallly LOVING the collar so i wanna not have 2 use it if i can

and im ready to put in time and commitment BUT i cant spend hours at a time training him

[Andy]

I've yet to meet a dog who does'like' the headcollars.

Echo and Darwin will spend the first 5 minutes of the walk rubbing thier heads along the grass or rubbing against my legs. . .but soon they settle and walk mostly loose lead from then on on. As kelly says we have all 3 leads tied together at the handles and they pass around the back so if any of the dogs gets distracted by cats or birds or in echo's case other dogs and lunges or pulls the wieght is distributed across your back. Also it means you hold the leads close to the ends and they walk close to heel position. So you have close control and they are not stretched out in front of you, swapping around and tangling leads etc.

Works for us

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

what happens when u get the head collars out tho - blaze will either just sit or lie down and look rly dad bless him - my mum occasionally comes on a walk but will hold skyla as she cant walk blaze which she misses as hes her boy so we rly wanna get him walkin nicely

[Andy]

Lol. . .yeah, at first we had to chase Darwin around the house to it on. . .now there is just a few head turns before he lets us put it on. persevere. . .we were told that Darwin would throw sommersaults and drag backwards on a halti. . .while he doesn't like it. And tries to rub it off on the grass he does walk so much better. . . .as I said earlier it should only be for a couple of months till they are routinely wslking well by your side then start to alternate between halti and normal collar over another month or so phasing out the halti he should continue walking nicely.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

thats great thanks andy added 2 rep

[Andy]

fanx. . .it will work out ok. . . Also as YOU said when you do have the chance you will work on long term loose lead training with Blaze. one way or another he'll do you proud.

[valkyries]

Good luck nix xxx

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

thnx guys - got a week off soon and then 6 weeks off in july/august - so thats when i will b able 2 take him out on his own and do abit ov 1 on 1 for as long as we can manage

[valkyries]

you'll get there nix xxx

[Kells xx]

me n my dad are always on here and will help if we can

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

and you do both give great advice

[Kells xx]

we just use our own experiences and cack handed ways which whilst aren't professional.....................actually work lol

we have had the ups and downs of training and now have three large dogs walking nicely beside us................. now tell me that haltis and canny collars do not work!!!!!!! two headstrong and pully dogs transformed into lovely dogs to walk

good luck chick........ will put up pix of my lovely well behaved dogs tied together and will have linda (valkyries) to back us up when she meets us at the oxford gathering

[AnnaB]

and you do both give great advice

Good luck with it Nix!

Something we got for Nooks, which doesn't solve the problem of pulling but takes the strain off your arms/ shoulder/ elbow is a spring action shock absorber. you just attach one end to his collar/harness, and the other end you clip the lead on to. Like I said, it doesnt stop him pulling but it takes the strain off you, trust me it does! lol. Pets@Home do them, theyre about 4 quid i believe. Hope this helps, its something to bear in mind anyway

[Bec]

Head collars often appear to work because they shut the dog down. I personally wouldn't want to put a tool on my dog that creates so much avoidance in him that he will shut down at the sight of it before I even put it on, but trainers who use the tool tell me it's all about desensitizing the dog first. I don't really want to use a tool that will take me that long to get my dog used to it enough I can put it on him without him shutting down, but that's because I'm lazy So yes... head collars often look like they are a quick fix that works but it comes with a price if your dog finds them so aversive that they go into avoidance. I don't like to create that much stress in my dog if I don't absolutely have to.

Nix you don't need hours to train him, a good trainer can have any dog walking on a loose leash in ten minutes max, it's all in the method and how you continue the training that produces good results.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Nix you don't need hours to train him, a good trainer can have any dog walking on a loose leash in ten minutes max, it's all in the method and how you continue the training that produces good results.

how wud u suggest i could do this bec?? really need sum help lol - would love 2 not have 2 use the canny collar if i can help it