To Pull or not to Pull....that is the question :)

[Sandy]

Toby is doing well with training - class three of Grade One obedience is under our belts. Well....he's doing well at home. At class, he is not demonstrating all the brain power that he has. He is pulling, being goofy, going after other people's treats, etc. So I thought, to help with the pulling, I would get the Easy Walk Harness. Two instructors have recommended the Gentle Leader, but after a very brief demo session with Toby, it became clear that is was going to be a BIG struggle to use. Plus, I don't like it. So I thought this harness might be the answer. The inaugural walk was this morning. The winds were howling, the snow was blowing (come on, this is April!), and off we went. It did indeed stop the pulling, but I was unable to do any other corrections because the lead is not attached to his collar. Toby also was kicking the lead with each step, because it is attached onto a loop at his chest, which is obviously lower than the collar. He was also tangling in the lead. So I think, for now, we persevere with just the flat collar.

I do believe that if one more instructor suggests the Gentle Leader to me, I will suggest to them that I have paid plenty of money to be here, and they can work with me in correcting my dog on the flat collar, thank you very much!

P.S. There was a money back guarantee on the harness, so I see myself getting my money back sometime later today. :)

[Sam]

We have the same harness for Ollie and our instructor advises us to put the lead on both the harness loop and the collar loop.

[Stella]

I remember I used to get so frustrated because we would practice and practice at home and Hartley would do well, then we would go to the class and behave like he had no clue what I was asking him to do!! He would either ignore me or just give me a blank stare!! I am sure we will go through all the same stuff with Chase too. As you say, at the end of the day as long as he does the things that are important to you, you will have achieved your goal.

I remember when we were working on our 3 minute down-stay and I saw one of the other dogs practicing on the school field near D'Arcys place, she did it perfectly. Once we got in the class they couldn't even get her into the down position!! But, at least I could say I had seen them do it!!

[Sandy]

Stella - thank you for your righteous indignation on my behalf! I agree, Toby is doing well, as far as I'm concerned. He was heeling quite nicely yesterday. I'll just have you come with me to McCann's and give them firsthand, neighbourhood accounts of how he usually behaves. :)

I have to keep reminding myself that Toby is not quite 8 months old yet, and he will continue to learn and improve as he gets older. And that if he's not good enough to get a certificate, but good enough for me, then that is fine too. We'll keep plugging away - five more classes.

[Stella]

You tell them Sandy, you are paying those guys an awful lot of money to help you train your dog, so they should be helping you train your dog!! Seriously though, stick with it, maybe revisit the heeling basics with him again (did they get you to walk holding a treat just above his nose??), and just for short periods through your walk ask him to heel properly. Then give him a break, and let him walk on a long leash for a while before asking for a heel again. We did this, gradually extending the length of time we asked him to heel for, and then let him "go sniff" on a long leash through the park or somewhere else interesting. You can also include 'watch me' exercises to keep him focused on you, then progress to asking him to look at you around distractions!! We stuck with it with Hartley and although he went through a stage of pulling like a train, he hardly ever pulls now. We, like you, wanted to have control through just a regular collar, and that is what we have finally got. We never tried any of the anti-pull devices, didn't want to, but I can see that they may help if you have a dog who pulls to the point of almost strangling himself or putting you as the handler at risk. I've never seen Toby doing either of those around the neighbourhood, so I'm pretty sure he is going to improve with practice and maturity! I'm sure you don't need to worry about passing the class, but in case of disaster what will they do for you? You should be able to re-take the class with a discount or something.

If you are still struggling with off-leash exercise, does anyone in your family jog?? I know you aren't supposed to run them too much when they are younger. But when Hartley was getting a tickle in his feet, Dave would take him for a jog around the park (that way you are on grass rather than the sidewalk). I figure this is no more stressfull on their joints than a game of fetch. And it helps to get rid of that "running energy" that they build up. Some days I could walk him for hours and it wouldn't make a bit of difference, he just needed to run!

If you need distractions to practice around, we could meet up one day and distract each other!!

[Sandy]

Toby doesn't get much off leash exercise. Well, he has the run of the backyard, and does race around back there, but he also gets three 1/2 hour-45 minute walks a day. There is one dog park in town, but it does not have a very good reputation. However, where we train, they have two fenced run areas, so I think before the next class we will go early and let him race around outside before we go into class. I do wish we had somewhere safe and clean to take him to run, but unless it's somewhere fenced, I just don't trust his recall yet.

We train sporadically throughout the day. Of course, every walk is a training period for many of the things we're working on. We work on some of the other things - stay, look at me, down, come, etc. in the house.

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

I know a lot of people don't like the pinch collars - but I used one on Abby and the correction was almost immediate. Check one out at PetSmart/ Petco - put it on your arm and tug down on it - it really doesn't hurt. But if you do decide to give it a try, don't correct harshly. A LITTLE tap was all it took for Abby. She is like a different dog on a leash now.

[Sandy]

By correcting, I mean things like, if we are at a street corner, and I stop and ask him to sit, and he doesn't, I can't guide him into a sit using the leash. Or if he starts going ahead and pulling, I can't give a little "pop" on the leash to say "Excuse me - I'm back here!"

As for the treats - he does love what I bring, and I do fast him from lunchtime on. I bring cheese pieces, and chicken weiners, which I cut up and bake in the oven. He loves those things! I think he's really just quite social and wants to visit. Also, he loves to actually GO to the obedience school, so he practically drags me in, which the instructors see, and want me to correct. I'm trying, I'm trying.....

[Adina P]

You mentioned "correcting my dog on the flat collar" -- do you mean simply teaching you how to train him more effectively or actually giving a correction? You can't really give a correction on a flat collar...not unless you have a super sensitive dog. I have to admit I didn't really like Rosco's head collar...drove him nuts and thus it drove me nuts. But I know they are effective at preventing pulling in dogs and sometimes that's a good thing so they don't practice the bad behavior. Half of positive training is preventing the bad stuff the best you can so you can focus on teaching. If there is no prevention of bad behavior you may just need to expect to progress more slowly. Rather than setting your sights on heeling for a whole walk...expect to heel 1 block...and then when that is excellent, 2 blocks..3...etc.

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

I use martindale collars for our doodles. The collar tightens up if the dog pulls. If a flat collar isn't working then this is one step up in control. I have found them very useful because the dogs are always so excited to see people, etc. Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)