9 months and still not walking properly

[Amy & Bernie]

Hi all, I'd appreciate any feedback or tips you have on getting your puppy to walk properly on a leash!

Bernie is 9 months, and while we realize he's still very young, he's already 65 lbs and if we don't get his pulling under control I won't be able to walk him much longer!

We use the gentle leader but he still pulls, just not as much, so we're convinced he's not really  "learning" anything.

And when we take him out on his regular collar, to the car, out for a pee on a car ride, it's like a free for all, and we were hoping to avoid that as well, we didn't want not wearing the gentle leader to equal crazy time.

We've done training walks around the neighborhood, short ones, where progress is only made when he's not pulling, and after about 30 minutes he does well, but no matter how many good training walks we have under our belt, all is lost when we head out on a real walk.

I realize walking is rewarding his pulling to a degree, but we live in Tacoma, WA (lots of rain, which seriously cuts into dog park time) and we don't have a fenced yard (which cuts into play potential), our walks are important.

Thanks in advance, it's much appreciated!

 

[Amy & Bernie]

I totally get this Anita! I wish Bernie would =( We've tried this, and I keep trying, but without fail whatever is going on around us, or just the excitement of being on a walk, trumps treats and praise. And it doesn't seem to stick with him that not paying attention to me means no treats, it's almost like the occasional treat is  bonus, but he doesn't care when or how it happens - or if it happens at all. Grrrr.

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

As for the other stuff, with the regular collar, I make Polamalu wait in the car with the door open until I tell him he can get out. Did you teach Bernie a wait command? And anytime I get the leash out or it is time to go somewhere he knows we aren't going anywhere until he sits down calmly. So same scenario, you have the regular collar on, leash on, walking to the car, he starts acting crazy, you stop and make him sit. It could take you 10 minutes to get to the car. You have to remain patient and consistent. I know it is frustrating.

[Amy & Bernie]

My husband and I discussed this, that we'll have to start getting ready to leave the house 10 minutes earlier than usual just so we can be consistent. Bernie does sit and stay while we put on his collar and leash, he knows "back" when we're leaving, so we always go out and back in the door before him. A good friend of mine says "he's just excited about life because he's a puppy!" But he's a 65 lb puppy.

[Amy & Bernie]

Tricia you're so brave mentioning prongs on DK! Thank you though, and I know what you mean, it's not something that's usually considered for these lovable goofballs but it sounds like you definitely know what I'm talking about, having such a big boy to control. I have a friend, a lovely ex-kindergarten teacher who swears by the prong collar for her Wheaten Terrier. He's only 45 lbs but was literally all over the place, and she has a personal trainer she works with who eventually agreed to helping her, utilizing the prong.

We've been meaning to take a trip to Petsmart, after the dog park when he's well exercised, to try one on. They're really great at our local store about testing things out before purchasing, and since Petsmart is always very stimulating I think we'll get a good idea for whether or not it will help keep Bernie's attention on us despite the surroundings.

If you don't mind me asking, have you noticed whether or not Dexter is better on a leash with his regular collar on yet? Ideally we want to keep Bernie on task through his adolescence, but then go back to his regular collar once he's matured a bit and knows how to walk properly.

[BG and Gavin]

Prong collars are a very good training tool when used properly (like any other training tool).  Make sure that you buy a quality one though, Herm Sprenger is the very best.  The cheap knocks off have jagged finish on the prongs and can come apart. 

[Amy & Bernie]

Thank you for the recommendation, definitely not something to go "cheap" on.

[Jodi and Stella]

Hi Amy. Actually many DK members approve of prong or pinch collars if used correctly, Adina included. (I had posted a question regarding them a while back) http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/prong-collars I used one for Stella and she is only 32 pounds and it worked like a charm. I hardly use it anymore, maybe when we are training in a high distraction area. If you go look at them put one on your arm and tighten it and you will see it is not the medieval torture device that is looks like! I would not use one with a retractable lead because there is always a slight tension on the collar, and like BruceGirl says the Herm Sprenger is the one to get. You want to keep it fairly snug and high up on their neck and take it off as soon as you are done walking/training.

[Amy & Bernie]

Great to hear Jodi! I will check out the forum, thank you so much. Bernie is SO much fun, but he's just getting too big to excuse any naughty behavior, puppy or not!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

We had this same problem with Lucy. Every time we went for walks she was just so excited that nothing else mattered... not treats, praise or anything. We never tried a prong collar, but started out with the Gentle Leader head halter and that helped, but she still pulled with it, and really HATED it. After doing some research online I found the Canny Collar, similar to the GL, but quite different in design. Lucy actually can tolerate the Canny Collar, and it DOES deter her from pulling. Its more expensive, but well worth it.

Every walk is an opportunity to train good habits. I allow Lucy time to sniff and walk at her whims desire for a limited time, and then switch to a heel type walk for a good long while. She's learned both ways of walking, with limited pulling. We started using 'heel' walking when she was quite young, inside the house at first, using treats and praise, and then progressing to outside walks. I use the words, 'heel' and 'stay with me' and give positive reinforcement when she's doing well. We set a good foundation, but as I mentioned, her excitement level while outside trumped everything else, so its taken quite a long while to get her to where she is today (she's now just over 15 months old). We also live in the rainy Pacific NW and walks are a real staple in our everyday life.

[Amy & Bernie]

Thanks so much Debb. Honestly it's great to hear people who have had similar problems say "we're still working on it" but that progress has been made. Makes me feel normal!

And I smiled reading your comments about the Pac NW! You understand! I know it's a lot easier to say bad behavior = no walk but if we can't walk it means dog park, which = 1.5 hours of clean up with all this mud we get.

I just really want to find something that seems to make sense to Bern, I'm determined to be consistent once we have a good method, but finding the method has been challenging.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I wanted to add, too, that Lucy has become excellent at waiting at intersections until we give her the ok to cross. When she comes to an intersection she always stops and looks to us for her release to go. We've trained this (with the 'wait' command) mainly for her own safety if she should ever find herself out on the streets alone, but its been a real pleasure knowing she won't go bolting out into the street while on leash. We started this training on her very first outside walk when she was 10 weeks old, so its really ingrained in her head now.

[Sandra Griffith]

I would try walking him on a gentle leader or no-pull harness when going for an exercise walk and use your collar when working on the training.  In this way you will not be confusing him by reinforcing him when you just want to go on a walk for exercise as this can be a bit slow down his progress and send mixed signals ("It's okay to pull sometimes and not others-how do I know the difference-I think I'll try pulling as it allows me to go where I want sometimes").  The no-pull harness and gentle leaders are more management tools than training tools but they work well.  I particularly like one made by Wiggles, Wags and Whiskers called the "freedom no-pull dog harness".  It is available on-line, comes in a variety of nice colours, and fits a wide range of dogs really nicely.  You just need to take his measurement around the chest to determine the size needed.