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My dog, a large-ish Spinone mix (75 lbs) pulls me when we walk. He drags me like a leaf in the wind. Off leash, at home and elsewhere, he is obedient, loving, gentle, wonderful! He comes, fetches, sits, stays, lies down, all on command. He's exuberant at times, but he's a young guy and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually, on leash in the house and yard, he's perfect.
He is everything I want in a dog, except that he drags me like a leaf in the wind on his leash when we walk. I'd love to take him for a walk around the neighborhood daily, but at this point it's not fun for either of us....in fact it's near impossible for me.
I have tried the gentle leader head halter, and although it works somewhat, my dog hates it. Absolutely hates it.
I've tried a prong collar, it also works somewhat (he still pulls), and I hate it. It's barbaric looking, and everything in me rebels against using it.
We've tried the stop until he stops pulling, we don't get very far down the street that way. We're always stopped. Tried the turn around and go in the other direction, same thing. We end up in front of the house for the duration of the "walk".
I saw this in another thread, a front leading harness, supposed to stop the dog from dragging you on his leash:
The sense-ation makes a dog unable to pull as hard as with a collar or a harness that attaches to the leash on the dog's back. This is because the dog is actually pushing rather than pulling, since the leash is attached to the front. If you want the dog to walk loose leash, you'll still have to train it regardless of what you use, but yes, the sense-ation makes a dog much more controllable.
Your post sounds like one I could have written (except that my dog is only 11 pounds---and even so, she can still be pretty strong on a leash! I can't imagine trying to control a 75 pound dog!)
Anyway, like you, I tried several types of leashes, including the pronged kind, which looked ridiculous on my tiny dog. I knew it didn't actually hurt her, and in fact had less potential for harming her trachea than a traditional around-the-neck collar. But when I hired a certified trainer to come to our house and help me work with Lily, she would not work with a dog using a prong collar. She will only train using the kind of harness you are asking about.
So, with this trainer, we've been doing all the things you describe---stop every time Lily pulls, turn around and go the other direction. Aaauuggghh...we would barely get a block down the street! BUT, using those techniques, and the new harness, Lily was finally starting to do MUCH better! I couldn't believe the improvement! We could walk our entire neighborhood with her right at my side and NO PULLING! It just took a LOT of practice.
(Unfortunately, right around the time Lily was getting the hang of walking nicely, the vet discovered she had a luxating patella in each of her back legs, so she had to have surgery, first on one leg, and when this one heals, surgery on the other. She is not allowed to walk for 6-8 weeks after each surgery, except for very short potty-walks. Hopefully she'll remember how to walk nicely when all this is over by June or July!)
You have to resign yourself to not going anywhere on your walks for a long time. I had a rescue dog who came to me at a year old with no manners at all. Stopping the bad habits and developing the new ones is very difficult. But using the turn around method and lots of treats in hand to keep him at my side eventually worked (walking into him when turning - so if the dog is on your left, when you turn you turn to your left). I'd say it took me about 5 months (all fall and winter) to get it right. But finally, finally as spring came around last year he was heeling properly and we could go on nice long walks and actually get somewhere.
Also, I remember the trainer telling me to work on getting the dog to pay attention to me outside the yard first. So we would drive to a park, sit on a bench with the leash on, and work on "look at me" away from the comfort of his yard (where he too behaved). Getting your dog used to paying attention to you in other environments ought to help in getting him to pay attention well enough to heel properly!
I don't find the prong cruel at all, when used correctly. Here's a good link on fitting it properly and how it is used properly. A regular flat collar or a choke chain are much more dangerous than a prong to a dog's trachea/larynx if they pull on it all the time. They just look barbaric, but they don't hurt. We use one on my boxer/staffordshire mix because she is a puller and was not very responsive to treats or even my voice outdoors, so we opted to try the prong. We are in the process of transitioning her to a regular harness because she doesn't need corrections on it any longer. But, if she has it on, even if it's not even connected to the leash, then she walks perfectly. She knows to walk on my left and keeps a nice loose leash, which is important when I have her out with the kids in a stroller.
Like campion said, we didn't go anywhere on our walks for a while. She learned to pay attention to me outside of the house, we started in the yard, then the driveway, then the next street over etc. I did the same as others I would walk 15 feet or so and turn around the other way. And, we always use positive reinforcement with her when she does what is expected of her. We did consider the no pull harness but it didn't work on getting her attention, she was way too distracted. At the beginning even prong corrections wouldn't get her attention without shaking a can with pennies in it. But, this is what worked for her. If you don't want to use the prong and want to try something else, give it a go, it may work to help you on your walks, but you're still going to have to train him like everyone has stated.
Last edited by cottercutie; 04-06-2013 at 12:43 PM..
Reason: Removed link to controversial source
I had no idea about the controversies surrounding the trainer, I just liked the video for the explanation of how to fit the collar etc. I don't condone any trainer whose videos I find on youtube. I removed that link, here is one from BADRAP, which I believe to be much less controversial
I have used many training collars and with any I highly recommend the user is trained by a professional on how to use them. When we had our Cleo, she was a puller, tried a "no pull" harness, all that happened is she pulled and burned her "arm pits" raw. Switched to a prong collar and that did the trick. While she wore it on walks, it was literally used only twice in her 16 years and that was due to others letting their dogs roam.
When we got Tony, I couldn't use the prong on him due to the condition he was found it, had some damage to his trachea. Tony is on a gentle Leader, yes he hates it, because he is no longer in control. But he certainly doesn't hate it much as he goes buts when it comes out knowing a walk is on the other end
I think one important consideration when "teaching" your dog to walk correctly when leashed is the dog's natural gait.
Some dogs just naturally walk fast, while others have a much slower gait.
What needs to change is the gait of the person walking the dog.
It is practically impossible to alter the gait of a dog who naturally walks fast.
You can tough on the leash, spout out commands, but the dog is still going to revert to the gait it feels most comfortable with.
Gentle leader and all the other contraptions may alter the gait for a short while, but remove it for a plain ole color, and see how your dog reacts.
Mu bet is, it will go back to it's natural gait when walking, and this could be a bit faster than you want.
I would say the person walking the dog is the one who needs to alter their walking gait, not the dog.
The dog will only respond to an active command, but will not feel "natural" obeying that command,and will soon go back to it's natural walk.
Bob.
I think one important consideration when "teaching" your dog to walk correctly when leashed is the dog's natural gait.
Some dogs just naturally walk fast, while others have a much slower gait.
What needs to change is the gait of the person walking the dog.
It is practically impossible to alter the gait of a dog who naturally walks fast.
You can tough on the leash, spout out commands, but the dog is still going to revert to the gait it feels most comfortable with.
Gentle leader and all the other contraptions may alter the gait for a short while, but remove it for a plain ole color, and see how your dog reacts.
Mu bet is, it will go back to it's natural gait when walking, and this could be a bit faster than you want.
I would say the person walking the dog is the one who needs to alter their walking gait, not the dog.
The dog will only respond to an active command, but will not feel "natural" obeying that command,and will soon go back to it's natural walk.
Bob.
Genius post. I can't tell you how many times I have done this little demonstration with clients who tell me their dog will not "heel" no matter what... I either run, rollerblade, or bike the dog to prove that indeed their dog is perfectly willing to heel right by his handler's side... if the dang handler would just "keep up"!
I think one important consideration when "teaching" your dog to walk correctly when leashed is the dog's natural gait.
Some dogs just naturally walk fast, while others have a much slower gait.
What needs to change is the gait of the person walking the dog.
It is practically impossible to alter the gait of a dog who naturally walks fast.
You can tough on the leash, spout out commands, but the dog is still going to revert to the gait it feels most comfortable with.
Gentle leader and all the other contraptions may alter the gait for a short while, but remove it for a plain ole color, and see how your dog reacts.
Mu bet is, it will go back to it's natural gait when walking, and this could be a bit faster than you want.
I would say the person walking the dog is the one who needs to alter their walking gait, not the dog.
The dog will only respond to an active command, but will not feel "natural" obeying that command,and will soon go back to it's natural walk.
Bob.
Yes! This makes sense. I am really not able to walk as fast as Vito does, and it is a trial. Not sure how the best way to address this may be!
It just is so problematic to me because he is exceptionally obedient and intuitive to what I want in most other things.
And I do realize that training must be done in addition to whatever "quick fix" I may try to use.
He's a work in progress!
Or I should say "we're" a work in progress.....
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I had a rescue dog who came to me at a year old with no manners at all. Stopping the bad habits and developing the new ones is very difficult. But using the turn around method and lots of treats in hand to keep him at my side eventually worked (walking into him when turning - so if the dog is on your left, when you turn you turn to your left). I'd say it took me about 5 months (all fall and winter) to get it right. But finally, finally as spring came around last year he was heeling properly and we could go on nice long walks and actually get somewhere. 
