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I have a 10 month, 80lb, fixed female rott. She is the sweetest dog I have ever had. She stays by my side all the time and sits on my lap (half way) at night on the couch. We sleep together and she is great with all my grand kids and my other dogs.
Here's the problem. I CAN NOT WALK HER. She pulls me so bad and I am beginning to get scared she is going to pull me down. If I fall and get hurt, I cant work. I am 57. I try to walk her everyday, but today, I had to stop. She saw a squirrel and she went off and I almost lost my balance. I love this dog and I know she needs exercise, but she is getting worst. We have a large fenced yard, but she wont play outside unless I am outside with her. Yes, I know she is spoiled, but she deserves spoiling the rest of the time.
What do I need to do to make this better?
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Answers
Practice loose leash walking somewhere boring (for your dog) like inside your house. If you have a yard, work on leash manners out there too.
You might also want to look into the Gentle Leader EZ Walk Harness, it will help give you a lot better control over Kane while you are practicing leash manners.
Here is Dogster Asher's method for loose leash walking, she uses a clicker but if you don't you can modify it to use a verbal marker (like "Yes!") and reward...
Use a choke chain. Give a quick, firm pull when the dog needs to be corrected (looks at a squirrel near by). Do this before she actually pulls. The dog should not feel any tension on the choke chain unless she is being corrected. Otherwise the choke chain will not be effective. The dog should have slack while walking. Pay close attention to your dog while walking to ensure the correction is done at the right time. This is going to take lots of practice but over time she will understand that she will feel the tension of the choke chain when she wants to pull. Be sure you buy a choke chain that is the proper fit. I have a large breed dog & when I was training him I never could have walked him without a choke chain. He would have been walking me. She is beautiful!!! Good Luck!!
Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash combined with a stern "Bad dog!". One gentle technique I like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a lesson. Pulling the dog backwards is a good technique too.
Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one without hands on instruction.
I have to say raising and training Deogie I have NEVER called him a 'Bad Dog."
Choke collars and prong collars can be useful but ONLY when used properly and must people use them incorrectly which can possibly cause harm to your dog. I am 5'2 and 95 pds and Deogie (always wore a regular collar) could easily control the walk even as a puppy if I allowed him to but everyday I practiced with patience and being consistant we acheived a loose leash walk without choke or prong collars.
I would look into hiring a trainer to show you the best techniques to walk your dog. It seems she is able to over power you quite easily and the last thing any of us want is for you or her to get hurt. Having someone assist you while training would help you a great deal.
You could try the gentle leader but I can't offer any input about this product because I have never used it.
Space is limited but pawmail me if you would like to know the method I used for Deogie.
Have a good one.
I have a 2 1/2-year-old, 85-pound fixed female German Shepherd, and I feel your pain! Literally - my shoulder socket was starting to send shooting pains across my back because of Katie's pulling.
Our trainer taught us the technique mentioned above: every time Katie pulled, I stopped. I never jerked, choked, or pulled her, and I never moved from my standing position as long as there was tension on the leash. Finally, she would stop pulling like a mad beast and look at me to see why we were rooted to the spot. I would smile, nod, and go forward the second she made eye contact, or I felt a slackening of the leash. Of course, this was immediately followed by more pulling, so my tennis shoes would literally squeak on the sidewalk as I stopped again. It took a long time, but Katie finally learned that the only way to go forward was on a loose leash.
I also recommend the Halti. And trips to the dog park or dog beach to socialize and get the wiggles out before practicing walking. Good luck!
Training classes will help in two ways;
1. Teach you to be alert for distractions before she is and get her to focus on you during the walk rather than looking for critters. By practicing the ""watch-me" command and backing it up with treats.
2. Ask for help with selecting the right no-pull tool for you and the dog. Never use the Flexi type lead - those retractable things TEACH dogs to pull.
Pepper is the puller in the family. No one tool works for very long, I have a few and we change up now and then. I have a Martingale with a chain loop and nylon collar, a Halti (which I had to alter as she has a long slender muzzle), the Premier Gentle Leader head collar and Easy-Walker harness.
Head collars should have a regular collar as well for back-up if the dog paws off the head collar
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