however hard i try....(heeling question)

[milos_mommy]

i can NOT train my dogs to heel, or even walk nicely on a leash. My American Eskimo knew dozens of tricks, but i couldn't figure out how to get him to walk nice on a leash. i thought maybe he was just a difficult dog, but now with Milo i'm having the same problems. i've tried to stop walking as soon as the pull, and then continue once they calm down, but as soon as i start walking again they race to end of the leash. i've tried holding the leash taught. i've tried holding a treat in my hand and walking. any other ideas? how about a head halter? i'm at a loss.

[Herschel]

Do you use a retractable leash?
Are the dogs trying to get to something?
Do you ever give in to the pulling and let them lead you?

A head halter or gentle leader might be a good idea. Have you taken any training classes?

[Love That Collie]

I would suggest a stop pulling halter like Halti or an Easy Walk by Gentle Leader company Premier. It is a very quick fix but maybe in time you can revert back to a regular leash and collar. Unless he is a "jumper" then you really don't need the head collar the Halti or Easy Walk will be better.

They have a new one out on the market named "Dream Walker", I don't have any experience with that but I do with the head collar and the anti pull halter.
The anti pull halter is easier for the dog to get used to in most cases, it was for mine. When I got the head collar the Easy Walk wasn't out. I don't particularly care for the Halti anti pull harness but I loved the Easy Walk.

If you do decide to go with a tool such as a head collar or anti pull harness make certain that you praise your dog when he's walking like you want him to walk even with the harness ON. This made it easier for me to transition mine to the regular leash and collar.
Good Luck.

[milos_mommy]

Do you use a retractable leash?
Are the dogs trying to get to something?
Do you ever give in to the pulling and let them lead you?

A head halter or gentle leader might be a good idea. Have you taken any training classes?

1. No
2. Sometimes, but the problem exists when it's just a normal walk, they seem to think running full speed will make the walk more exciting.
3. I've never let the dogs lead me, i always try and keep a tight leash or like i said, stop once they start pulling.

i haven't taken any training class. i'm hoping to start one soon, but more for the socialization benefits than the training. i think i will try a head halter, i know some people whose dogs are amazing on leash after that.

[MysticRealm]

One thing you can try is to walk off strongly in one direction then just suddenly turn and go the other direction, then turn and go in a different direction. This will slowly make the dog realize that he needs to focus on you b/c who knows what the crazy person holding the leash is gonna do next. Then he will stay by your side more so that he doesn't get pulled around so much.
Then once he is doing quite well to stay by your side you can start going in straighter lines for longer and only do the change of directions if he goes back to pulling.

[noludoru]

We tried the above method with my neighbors' mix, Midnight. It didn't work at all for us--he's so silly, he just kept running in the other direction while I was rapidly walkiing away. I finally had to start randomly jogging in different directions and weaving around things for it to make some difference, but then I was tired and out of breath. Not to mention the fact that my audience, who were all sitting comfortably on my deck with drinks found it highly amusing. *grumble*

Is there a trick to the "keep moving in different directions" method that may work for this crazy, hyper little pup? My training book swears by it, but it's seriously not working.

[MysticRealm]

Did you have him on a short leash? It won't work unless you have him on a short leash.

[noludoru]

It's a 6' leash, but I had several feet of it bunched up so that I was maybe giving him 3.5'

[otch1]

Hi Milos' mom... first, you need to put one dog away. It is near impossible to teach accurate heel work or even just walking on a loose lead when you're physically struggling with two dogs. Timing on praise and "correction" is very important and you lose that when there's the distraction of a second pup. Try working indoors first. Teach them where "heel" is. It's a position, not nessecarily meaning they're up and moving. Position dog on your left, seated, take one step foward ("Let's go") and bring him up to heel position. Big reward! He'll inevitably be slightly out of heel position. Pat left leg, bait and coak into heel position/straight sit, by giving command "close". Do the same taking one step foward and to your left. Bring dog up to heel position and then "close". Immediate reward. The leash is never tight. Your left hand slides down lead on a left turn and takes up slack so they don't have enough lead to cross in front of you. When taking a right, bait your dog up and repeat "close". Very unbeat, excited and with great bait that keeps his nose up off ground and watching you, your hand. Circle right and then "sit" command, reward with bait. You need to first teach him to be attentive, and stay "close" before you set off for a walk. Once he understands this, he'll be easier to work in the driveway, then on a walk. Take your time. Once your dog understands there's an actual position to this walking thing, time to teach the next dog. They'll be better behaved in general if they understand to give you their attention whenever you command it. (And you can certainly use a Halti while teaching this!) but more importantly... one dog at a time.

[silverpawz]

Is there a trick to the "keep moving in different directions" method that may work for this crazy, hyper little pup? My training book swears by it, but it's seriously not working.


I use this all the time on many dogs and it works wonders. I don't keep the leash short, the whole point is that you turn while the leash is slack before he starts pulling, so if he's not paying attention he'll hit the end of the leash and have to turn and follow you. You don't correct, the dog corrects himself.

That won't work if you keep the leash short because you'll have too little slack. I use a six foot lead and hold it with both hands at the end. Then just start walking, the moment the dog begins to get ahead of me but BEFORE he starts pulling, I turn fast and go in the other direction. I do this anytime the dog gets ahead, even if it's only by a foot.

Usually only takes five minutes or less for the dog to realize the only 'safe' spot is by my side and he better pay attention. Otherwise I'll turn and leave him. Lots of paise and rewards when he's by your side.

[milos_mommy]

Hi Milos' mom... first, you need to put one dog away. It is near impossible to teach accurate heel work or even just walking on a loose lead when you're physically struggling with two dogs. Timing on praise and "correction" is very important and you lose that when there's the distraction of a second pup. Try working indoors first. Teach them where "heel" is. It's a position, not nessecarily meaning they're up and moving. Position dog on your left, seated, take one step foward ("Let's go") and bring him up to heel position. Big reward! He'll inevitably be slightly out of heel position. Pat left leg, bait and coak into heel position/straight sit, by giving command "close". Do the same taking one step foward and to your left. Bring dog up to heel position and then "close". Immediate reward. The leash is never tight. Your left hand slides down lead on a left turn and takes up slack so they don't have enough lead to cross in front of you. When taking a right, bait your dog up and repeat "close". Very unbeat, excited and with great bait that keeps his nose up off ground and watching you, your hand. Circle right and then "sit" command, reward with bait. You need to first teach him to be attentive, and stay "close" before you set off for a walk. Once he understands this, he'll be easier to work in the driveway, then on a walk. Take your time. Once your dog understands there's an actual position to this walking thing, time to teach the next dog. They'll be better behaved in general if they understand to give you their attention whenever you command it. (And you can certainly use a Halti while teaching this!) but more importantly... one dog at a time.


i'm definately doing to try that, but i only have one dog now, just to clear that up.

[noludoru]

Thank you, Silverpawz! I don't think I got the point of the exercise. Now we'll keep trying it with him.. :)

[krisykris]

The best advice I can give you, since I'm still struggling with this myself.. is to be extremely patient and to be very repetitious. I started going into my basement where there's no distractions with Bentley and working with him on heel off leash, and on. Then after a practice session we hit the streets with a baggie full of treats and he usually does really well.

I have 3 puppies and I've had to resort to walking them all seperately because it's impossible to work with them all at once.. and the nice leisurely walk I pictured in my head never really happens and I come home frazzled, upset and frustrated.

Good luck.. it's my biggest challenge so I understand where you're coming from!