Broken Record

[Gayle & Hunter]

I am starting to feel like a broken record with my boy Hunter. I was curious if everyone feels this way when walking your puppy? We take a 40 minute walk every morning I continue to try and fight with Hunter about heeling and he is one very stubborn little guy. We have completed puppy class one and because I live in a small town we really don't have any good trainers. I did find out that at our fairgrounds starting in January there will be classes training for the CGC so I can't wait for that.

Sometimes my frustration gets the best of me and makes me exhausted. Today I also did find a place for puppy day care where maybe just by getting Hunter more socialization will help with him mellowing out. Do others have your puppies in any socialization type play days? Thanks for any advice.

[Tammy and Violet]

How old is he? when you say heel do you mean to make him walk by your side ? what kind of collar do you use ?

[Gayle & Hunter]

Hunter is 6 1/2 months old, we are using the easy walk harness and sometimes the Martingale Rooled Leather Choker which I really like. Yes when I am taking about the heel position it is walking by my side with a loose leash this is something that is required of the pup for the CGC test. Thanks.

[David and Franklin]

Gayle, I also use an easy walk harness. 

[Gayle & Hunter]

David I think I am going to try the other easy walker harness that goes around their muzzle....that is supposed to really stop the pulling because it forces them to have to watch you when they pull. I think it is worth a try. Thanks again.

[David and Franklin]

I used the easy leader on my last dog and it was helpful. The key is to introduce it to the puppy very slowly. I would droop it across his nose, click and give him a treat. After a few times I would slide it on and click, treat, and pull it right off. If you push in on too quickly, Hunter will react badly. I switched to the Easy Walk when Bommer was about three or four. It is not good for example, to control a dog in the car, where a violent jerk on the lead could injure the dog. Remember, attempting to overpower the pup to get the behavior you want is a set up for failure. Even if you succeed, the dog will likely develop some other problems later on, like aggression. I think the suggestions offered you on this thread have been excellent, BTW.

[David and Franklin]

What will not work is trying to drag or shout him into position. 

 

Franklin is 21 weeks and has had an introductory puppy training class.  In the class, I was taught to walk with Franklin on my left side, holding the leash in my right hand.  In my left hand I have a handful of tasty treats (beef, liver or salmon).  I give Franklin a whiff and then I hold my hand down at my side and begin walking.  If Franklin wants a treat, he has to walk in a manner that allows me to pass him a treat, which puts him the correct position for a heel. I have used a similar method on my previous dogs, often times using a clicker to pinpoint the good behavior.   

 

We started this when he was about 12 weeks.  He is not a chowhound, and often just does not seem interested in a treat.  Timing my walks just prior to dinner seems to help motivate him in that those are the times he is hungriest.  I also switch up the treats to keep him interested.

 

He is just a baby and some days he is just too distracted to play the Heel Game.  On those days, we work on it in the backyard and inside, where there are far fewer distractions.  Other days, the little guy is hungry and really wants to play the Heel Game.  It has been about two months and he has come to expect us to play the Heel Game each time we go out.  This is fine with me,  though I have had to take out a second mortgage on the house to afford the beef tripe.

 

Good luck:  I think it is about starting with low expectations, and knowing that it takes 10,000 repetitions to begin to get a behavior that you want.  Remember, every moment is a teaching moment for a puppy, but he is just a baby and has the attention span of a gnat. It has to be fun.  In the beginning, I try to limit our training moments to just a few minutes, and then we just allow puppy to be a puppy.

[Gayle & Hunter]

Thank you David.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Great replies! Only thing I'd add is to set him up to win by draining some energy before you go on your walk. He'll be less likely to pull if he isn't at top of the energy chart, and then you can more likely enjoy reinforcing the good walking experiences. It takes a lot of consistency on our parts. Rip is almost 7 mos and we are still working at it, though he is mostly good. I struggle not to get lazy with him. Keep correcting, will be worth it in the end, right!? And yes, we did socialization a bit at training facility in addition to classes. But best experiences for us have been local play dates with good owners/dogs. Town tradition for us. Aggressive dogs are not welcome back, but it is tradition to meet at our local open field with the dogs. Social norms are to keep eye on your dog and train well, so it has been wonderful. Maybe you could start something like this in your town? How about that app - meet up?

[Gayle & Hunter]

Thank you Cindy I know it will get better, just some days worse than others....lol. I will just keep training him he is such a sweet boy wouldn't trade him for the world....just a puppy!

[Tammy and Violet]

do you keep the same pace ?

[Gayle & Hunter]

I try too.

[Debbie]

Oh my goodness do I understand your frustration! Maggie is 11 months old and I still have trouble with her...she does what she wants when she wants! We are in agility classes now...I am trying to find something that she loves and challenges her brain! 

I use both of the collars you mentioned and we have also participated in dog training class - I had heard that once our doodles are older...they mellow out more????

debbie and maggie