Two weeks of leash training, and my doodette is still pulling...

[Sara & Trix]

I was so excited in early July when Trixi finally got her last shot! We had been leash training in the house and yard in anticipation of being able to start walking as soon as possible. I was also very aware that our first dozen walks would be challenging, even if she got the concept of heeling in puppy class, in the house and in the yard. It's been two weeks now (and over 30 short walks) and I every time she pulls, I stop, lead her back to the heel position, she sits, I praise and give a treat. Then, three steps later, she's pulling again. I've also tried holding a treat in my left hand while walking to guide her...but that usually only works for a couple steps before she lunges for the treat, or looses interest and runs head. Some days we don't even make it to the end of the block! So I have two questions....first, am I being too hopeful thinking that she should have gotten the concept by now (she's now 4 months old)? Second - does anyone have advice or person experiences they could share that could help me? I'm a first time dog owner, so I'm not sure if I'm missing something here. Thank you!!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Maryanns advice is very good. I felt like we were never going to go more than 3 steps at a time without stopping. He's pull, I'd stop, leash would go slack, we'd go, step-step-step. leash tight, I'd stop. It took months and months. The gentle leader finally got the message across that if you pull, we stop. No pull, we go. And it did take one refresher at least once after I thought he finally got it and started pulling again.   Don't give up.  It is such a pleasure to walk both my guys now. I hardly have to watch them cuz they are always right by my side. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I use the Easy Walk harness and wouldn't have it any other way (I got the recommendation on DK!). My neighbour, who was a die hard for the gentle leader was won over when she took Sophie for a walk one day. She went out and bought the easy walk the next day. That being said, the trainers I've consulted insisted that this is the lazy way and that the dog should learn to heel and loose leash walk. I agree, but I'm not very consistant with practice. I think you need to give her some time. She'll come around as she grows. Consistancy is key.

[Sara & Trix]

Thank you so much for all the great advice everyone!  I think the key point here is that I am probably expecting too much out of her (and myself) in a short amount of time.  I will keep at it and will defenitly try the different types of collars and harnesses until one works.  I can muster up all the patience in the world - but it really helps to get great advice from experienced dog owners to help you stay on the right track.  I'll let you know what ends up working :) 

[Lee Seidman]

We have two Goldendoodles,  Lexi and Billy.  Lexi actually pulled my wife down twice and Billy was a puller as well.  A friend advised that we try the chest type gentle leader.  We purchased one for Lexi and the result was instant.  I believe she just did not like the leash attached to her collar and pulled against it. Once we got the Gentle Leader properly sized and adjusted, she stopped pulling and heels perfectly.

Seeing how it worked for Lexi we purchased one for Billy and experienced the same result.  We had tried Martingale, and the Gentle Leader face leash and neither had any effect. Purchase one and try it for a few walks.  If it does not work return it.  Make sure it is sized correctly.  We swear by it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxfMiC-B6tk

[Carol Brand]

Loose leash walking takes more than two weeks to master.  It is good that you are starting early on this.  There are a number of ways to teach loose lead walking, but in my experience it boils down to cause and effect.  If the puppy pulls, it gets a leash correction either by you changing direction or by you delivering a collar pop.  Then it is praised for walking nicely on a loose lead.  

 

Many Doodle puppies blow off a collar correction with a flat buckle collar.  For that reason you may want to step it up to a prong collar.  I really DON"T like the Easy Walk harnesses.  I feel like they don't give owners good control of the dog's head and they don't allow you to deliver a correction.  Also, when the dog does pull,  the harness turns the dog into the path of the handler which I think is dangerous.   I don't like the Gentle Leaders because they don't allow you to deliver a correction.  Plus, many dogs hate them.

 

Ultimately I think the harnesses and leaders simply mask a lack of training.  While I've seen plenty of folks transition out of the prong into a regular buckle collar, I have not seen the same results with the Easy Walk Harness or the Gentle Leader.  Here is a telling video that is supposed to be promoting the Easy Walk.  Although the dog is not actively pulling, the handler has zero connection to the dog.  She does not have the dog's attention or focus at all.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROvQWsOwBoQ&NR=1

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

It sounds like there are differing opinions on this subject!  Is this a correct generalization - If you are willing to practice leash walking with your dog, it is best to just train them with regular or prong collars, but if you would just like a quick fix that works, get one of the harness types?  It kind of sounds like you either commit to train & practice a lot OR you might as well just get one of the harness type collars. 

Has anyone who started with the Easy Walk or Gentle Leader actually graduated to regular collars for walks or are you stuck doing your walks with those forever?  I am trying to decide which route to go with Bexter.  I just know I need him to be able to walk next to me correctly for when we start running together (which obviously won't be a while because his joints aren't ready).

Do any of you RUN with your dogs?  What do you use for that?

[Bonnie and Kona]

Hi Traci, My husband run/walks the dogs every day. He uses the prong collar with Owen. Owen is almost 11 months and eventually he will be running 3-4 miles a day. We have two dogs and Owen has been the hardest to train of all of our dogs. He has found that when running most dogs keep the pace of the runner. Owen has not proved to be so cooperative and was pulling when running. Our other dogs for the years past were very easy to set their pace to his.

[Adina P]

I think that's a good generalization.  Some training methods work better/faster than others though.  So I think it is reasonable when someone's chosen method takes seemingly forever to reach desired results to finally decide "heck this isn't working and I want to go on a walk, darn it!" and to opt to use a special harness/head halter.  Why would someone want to spend years getting polite leash walking from their dog when they can use a harness or head halter and enjoy going on walks right away?

 

But because the method I'm most fond of works fairly quickly and I want more than just polite leash walking (I want more reliability than that) I am not a fan of halters or harnesses.  The few times I've tried a harness what I found is that all it does is keep the dog from pulling me around, but it doesn't control the dog in any way and doesn't keep the dog from being way out in front of me.  It seems for the harness to prevent pulling the dog has to be out in front of you and not at your side.

 

Now for those who believe in 100% positive training, it doesn't matter because their training philosophy and approach is different and the leash and collar/harness combo is there merely to keep the dog attached to you and not running off.   So they aren't trying to gain physical control with the leash/collar/harness combo.

 

I happen to believe in balanced training where there is reward for doing things right and unpleasant consequences for doing things wrong and from my experience working 3 dogs in my chosen method, getting to the point where they don't pull me around on leash happens exponentially sooner/faster than other methods I've seen/read others follow or have tried myself.

[Carol Brand]

Yes, I do sometimes run with my Poodles.  After setting a good training foundation (I used a prong collar in the beginning), my girls are now in buckle collars.  I can now stick the leash into my waistband and take off.  My girls will stay by my side with minimal direction from me. 

 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Carol - (or anyone else who has used a prong collar)  I have heard this type mentioned a lot.  I looked at it online.  Is this something you try AFTER a regular collar has failed over a significant amount of time (kind of a second step) or do you use it right away with the pups?

[Carol Brand]

I think you can start out on a buckle collar, but if the dog is ignoring your corrections, it is best to move to a prong collar.  Part of training is teaching muscle memory.  I need my dogs to have what in horses we call "self carriage".  I need them to move next to me without constantly leaning against the collar.   The prong collar is very helpful with this.  BTW... I have used the prong on my Mini Poodle puppy with great results.

[Adina P]

A flat collar just isn't much of a training TOOL in my opinion.  It's there to hook a leash to and for a tag to hang from but it isn't intended to DO anything beyond that and most dogs won't respond to a correction with a flat collar.  I used a prong on Boca before we started training officially just so she wouldn't drive me crazy on our occasional walks.  She was just a young thing (16-18) weeks (we got her at 16 weeks) and it improved walks to the point where she wasn't pulling like a sled dog.  It didn't teach her much beyond not pulling in that short time before we really started training but it helped.  With the halti head collar (similar to the gentle leader head collar) she just bucked like a bronco and that was not fun for either of us.