# Desperately needed leash training advice.



## zombiesrkewl (Nov 28, 2013)

So about a month and a half ago I adopted a 7 yr old Springer Spaniel from the local shelter. He'd been surrendered by his previous family because they literally knew nothing about owning high-energy dogs. He wasn't abused or anything, in fact they really really loved him. They just had no idea what they were doing.

The biggest issue this dog has is that he's TERRIBLE at walking on a leash. His previous family always walked him on one of those long extendable leashes and basically let him drag them down the street. For over a month I've been trying to get him to walk properly on a short (4.5 ft) leash, and while he's gotten a bit better, I still have to stop at least a dozen times during a 30 min walk to remind him to heel. He'll walk great for half a block or so, and then he'll get distracted by a noise or a smell and he yanks towards it. I'm getting really frustrated and now that it's snowy and icy outside, I'm afraid to walk him because I don't want to slip and fall.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for leash training a dog?


----------



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

What kind of collar/leash are you using? there are some good collars and harnesses to use for a dog that pulls too much. Prong collars are good to keep him from strangling himself if he's one of those dogs that pulls so hard he makes himself wheeze. They look a little scary, but are very safe and keep him from pressing on his windpipe and give a more even distribution of pressure around the neck when he pulls. Head collars are popular options. It goes around the neck and loosely over the muzzle (they can still breath and open their mouths perfectly normally) and the leash attaches to a clip on the face. When the dog pulls too much, it ends up pulling his own face back slightly which forces him to stop pulling. Basically it just turns his head so he can't keep hauling forward. I would recommend using two leashes at first though. One on his normal walking collar, and one on the head collar. If he's not used to the head collar, he might pull too hard and twist the head collar off or could sprain his neck if he's SUPER crazy, so you can always let go of the head collar leash and keep him on the normal leash, for his safety just until he is used to it.

The stop and go method you're using is a good one, but frustrating if the dog is just not "getting it". Whenever you stop him, try to make him look at you. Maybe keep treats in your pocket (you can just take out a portion of his normal kibbles from dinner/breakfast and use that if you're worried he might gain weight). If he pulls, stop and stand still. He will have to stop too and then will most likely look back at you like "why are you stopping??". Get him to come to you and when he is calmer and stops pulling, give him a treat and then continue walking. You might have to keep doing this for a while, but hopefully it should help and he will hopfully understand what you're doing soon! That paired with the head collar I hope will help.


----------



## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

I have 8 dogs. Two chocolate labs, black lab/wolf mix, German shepherd, golden doodle, pit bull, puggle, and a Russell. I would upload pics, but I has to delete some first. Here's the best picture of them walking I could upload. One of my chocolate labs(7 years) and my golden doodle(3 years) just chilling on a walk. 

View attachment 102394


All of them are trained to either hunt in some way or herd( Except my puggle who's just there to cuddle). With all of them a harness and head halter thing didn't work. It took a corrective collar, and when walking, if they pulled, I would start walking in the opposite direction or stop. If they stopped and made direct eye contact with me for a few seconds they'd get a little treat. 




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

A good harness will deff help. Personally, i dont like haltis/head collars, I like "ez-walks" they go around the chest and your leash connects to the chest.if you think about it, a dogs power isnt in their head or muzzle, its in their chest, they pull from their chest. But, there is no one "right" harness, try a couple and see what works for you and the dog 

Also maybe a good game of fetch or something to get his initial energy out first might help. Cause he wants to gogogo and if hes all wired up hes gonna try and get that energy out at every expense. I have a high energy border collie/springer mix and weve never needed a harness and only use leash/heel when in the neighborhood or in town. He gets a good 45 min run off leash every morning plus a walk around the neighborhood later in the day. We got a 20 ft training lead for him in the beginning so he could run run run and we could work on recall. Now that he comes when called, we can let him off leash but it took us 2 years of everyday training to get there. 

Good luck 

Btw hes 8 now and still needs his long run every day or else hes up our butts following us around.


----------



## Batman (Sep 11, 2013)

What I did with my pitbull is when I noticed he would yank me I would stop pull him back and circle in the opposite direction and walked that way or I would stop pull him to me and put him in a sit position then when he acted right then I would co ntinue walking I also jerked the leash to get his attention not hard just enough to correct him so he'd focus on walking and not other things. Also a good harness works well too hope this helps you

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

While I don't endorse it at all (I'm technically awful with dogs, "promoting bad behavior"), my grandmother made us take one of our dogs to training classes where we were told to keep the dog on a short leash (3ft) inside the house. We were supposed to make them sit around us at all times. Obviously, it helps the dog get a sense for you and walking about you. The end goal was our pups didnt need to be walked on a leash for the most part.


----------



## zombiesrkewl (Nov 28, 2013)

All this advice is really helpful guys, thanks. 

I think our biggest problem is consistency. It just started to get really cold (-14 to -20) here a few weeks ago. I'm always worried about taking him out in this kind of weather, although he never seems to mind. His fur is pretty thick because I've been letting it grow out for the winter. How cold is too cold to walk him? What are some other ways for him to get exercise when it's too cold for a walk?

PaigeRose: I totally get what you mean with that last line. If Max doesn't get out for at least 30min a day, he won't leave me alone for the rest of the night. XP


----------



## Batman (Sep 11, 2013)

I use to set up an agility course in our basement when it was extremely cold to walk walk burbon but have you tried like those booties for dogs when its cold some people think its silly but Ching ching (my grandpa short hair chuawa or however you spell it) wears the coats and boots BC it gets extremely cold plus he wears a coat not my idea but it keeps him warm I just don't think people should dress their small dogs but a coat and boots is OK for negative wheather

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Not sure about "too cold" cause it doesnt get that cold where I am but a good sweater/doggie booties might help with the ice/snow. Does he play with a ball or frisbee or have any toy drive? Fetch in the house in a hall way or big room is okay. I wrestle/play tug with my dog inside but you have to be careful with not encouraging nipping behavior with that. (My dog was nippy when playing when we first got him, but when he got mouthy with my arms/hands I would just make a fist and shove it as far as I could in his mouth and he stopped doing that pretty quick  ) 

If he likes balls, chuck its are cool toys. Or a dog park? My pup isnt crazy about dog parks but a lot of people use that to get their energy out and it helps socialize with people and dogs. I know a lot of people who go to the dog park to get that initial energy out and then walk them after.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

When my Ike was younger I had an agility course in the backyard too! That was a lot of fun. I never got into it competitively but some places have indoor set ups where you can go and use their equiptment. Thats great for bonding with them too.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## zombiesrkewl (Nov 28, 2013)

Next time I go to the pet store, I'll look for some booties that would fit his paws. I always feel bad when we half to stop halfway through the walk because he wants the chew on the snowballs between his toes. :/

I really like the idea of agility, but with 1 1/2" of snow in our yard, setting one up might be a bit hard (not to mention that the ground is frozen). I would like to get into it this summer. He definitely has the energy for it. XD

There's a dog park just a few blocks down from us, but it has a reputation for being the 'aggressive' dog park. There's a kiddie park just one block over from us, but it's on a hill and it's not fenced in. He's pretty good at coming when called, but his instinct for chasing is so strong that I know if the ball were to leave the park and roll down the hill, it would be really hard to get his attention. The road up there isn't super busy, but still..... It might not be a bad idea to take him up there and just walk him around in circles to get him used to walking properly, though. And it's nice and close for that -10 weather.


----------



## Batman (Sep 11, 2013)

Hmm it is hard to break their concentration my Australian shepherd chocolate lab mix if you didn't get his attention right away we spent hours chasing although our neighbor ran his energy down when he recruited him to heard his sheep lol

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Look for a long training lead, they make them up to 50 or 100ft! Theyre great and worth it. If you want it longer, just tie some rope to the end.


----------

