Dog behaving badly on lead

doyle97

I have a 6 year old male old English sheepdog bearded collie mix. When walking him he pulls quite a lot which is very unpleasant. Also when we pass other dogs on leads I become very anxious as he tries to get across to the other side of the road to get to the dog. I don't believe its is aggressive however as there is no barking/growling. Although when we pass houses with dogs free he does not react like this he may pull a little but generally walks on. How can I stop this pulling and behaviour when approaching other dogs?

seamus

Do you have him on a retractable lead?

doyle97

seamus wrote: »

Do you have him on a retractable lead?

No just a normal lead connected to his collar, one of the rope ones so it doesn't hurt as much when he pulls, I got it recently and its slightly longer than his previous one

VonVix

I'd recommend you getting an easy walk harness, it clips in the front, so when the dog pulls he ends up turning to face you. The key to making it work properly is having it fitted correctly, so it doesn't shift around too much.

Besides that, it sounds like your dog has a lot of energy to burn and in a way you are only holding him back (even though you are trying to keep him safe). Have you had your dog in an environment where he is loose/free to play with other dogs?

doyle97

VonVix wrote: »

I'd recommend you getting an easy walk harness, it clips in the front, so when the dog pulls he ends up turning to face you. The key to making it work properly is having it fitted correctly, so it doesn't shift around too much.

Besides that, it sounds like your dog has a lot of energy to burn and in a way you are only holding him back (even though you are trying to keep him safe). Have you had your dog in an environment where he is loose/free to play with other dogs?

Thanks I'll try it! No I haven't because there's no space like that in my area unfortunately. I try walk him with a friends with a dog however although he's quite small but they do behave well together

cocker5

doyle97 wrote: »

I have a 6 year old male old English sheepdog bearded collie mix. When walking him he pulls quite a lot which is very unpleasant. Also when we pass other dogs on leads I become very anxious as he tries to get across to the other side of the road to get to the dog. I don't believe its is aggressive however as there is no barking/growling. Although when we pass houses with dogs free he does not react like this he may pull a little but generally walks on. How can I stop this pulling and behaviour when approaching other dogs?

My cocker was a dreadful puller... another poster recommended a dogmatic head collar:

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

its a life saver.

I tried those body harness things they just gave him more leverage to pull :P

VonVix

doyle97 wrote: »

Thanks I'll try it! No I haven't because there's no space like that in my area unfortunately. I try walk him with a friends with a dog however although he's quite small but they do behave well together

Here's an example image so you'd know what you're looking at: http://www.1800petmeds.com/images/products/420/10812_420.jpg

You should try and find a way for him to burn energy, every dog needs a way to stretch its legs every once in a while. Maybe if you have enough space in your garden you could get something like a flirt pole ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flirt_pole ) - a tired dog is a happy dog after all.

knarkypants

Highly recommend the Canny Collar. Instantly worked with our dog and stopped him pulling. Now it's a pleasure to walk to him.

http://www.cannydogcollar.co.uk/

VonVix

The OP needs to keep in mind if he/she does go down the route of using a head harness, chances are you'll have to train your dog to be comfortable with wearing it first, otherwise they'll be trying to pull it off the whole walk, it's generally not something you can pop on your dog and go.

knarkypants

It didn't take long for my dog to get used to it. I was going to training with my dog when the trainer recommended it as he was so bad at pulling, He's a big dog too. The trainer put the collar on and my dog went nuts for about 5-6 minutes trying to get it off. Never looked back after that and my dog has no issues since.

doyle97

We used to walk him with a halti head collar I think it was but I just found that it made him react terribly to other dogs he would start barking uncontrollably, jumping up and down and try to get it off. To burnore energy I play with him in the garden throwing a ball or kicking a football which he loves!

mel.b

Sorry to tag onto your post OP. is there any difference between a halti and the dogmatic head collar and the canny collar?

I am using a halti with Cooper at the moment, but he has worked out how to pull with it while it's still better than walking him without it, i'd say the 'effect' we had in the first month / six weeks has worn off, so i'm wondering if it worth trying something else?

cocker5

mel.b wrote: »

Sorry to tag onto your post OP. is there any difference between a halti and the dogmatic head collar and the canny collar?

I am using a halti with Cooper at the moment, but he has worked out how to pull with it while it's still better than walking him without it, i'd say the 'effect' we had in the first month / six weeks has worn off, so i'm wondering if it worth trying something else?

I used the halti before also... the difference is they can still pull with their heads, its only the nose that is restricted.

I found the dog matic faaar better as he whole head is in the collar and therefore he has no power!

HTH

knarkypants

mel.b wrote: »

Sorry to tag onto your post OP. is there any difference between a halti and the dogmatic head collar and the canny collar?

I am using a halti with Cooper at the moment, but he has worked out how to pull with it while it's still better than walking him without it, i'd say the 'effect' we had in the first month / six weeks has worn off, so i'm wondering if it worth trying something else?

With the canny collar, it's a bit like a bridle! It has a strip that goes over the dogs nose and when the dog tries to pull they just pull their nose down so they can't pull. It also removes the strain on their neck. I don't know about the others as I haven't used them.

tony1980

It will be a slow painful process but I would definitely only walk if he is beside me or behind me, anytime he goes to walk ahead of you, stop completely, he is basically taking control by walking you, he will start getting the message soon enough. You could also give a tiny little tug of the leash, enough to just get his attention when he intends to walk ahead of you but then relax the lead again (He will feel the tension if you don't) so he knows this only occurs when he is going ahead of you. I done this with my own dog when he was a puppy and it worked no bother, I would say it would be far more difficult with a dog that is 6 though but worth a try.

Tramps Like Us

If the harness doesn't work, try a choke chain. If you use it properly it can be very good

doyle97

tony1980 wrote: »

It will be a slow painful process but I would definitely only walk if he is beside me or behind me, anytime he goes to walk ahead of you, stop completely, he is basically taking control by walking you, he will start getting the message soon enough. You could also give a tiny little tug of the leash, enough to just get his attention when he intends to walk ahead of you but then relax the lead again (He will feel the tension if you don't) so he knows this only occurs when he is going ahead of you. I done this with my own dog when he was a puppy and it worked no bother, I would say it would be far more difficult with a dog that is 6 though but worth a try.

Thanks very much I will definitely try this! I know it was down to my ignorance as a 10 y/o when I got him and didn't know how to train him but now I am aware and am determined! Although my lack of knowledge when I was younger he is a great dog, very intelligent and friendly and someway obedient

cocker5

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

If the harness doesn't work, try a choke chain. If you use it properly it can be very good

Terrible advice, they are outdated, cruel and harmful. :mad:

either properly train your dog OR get a head collar not a choke chain :rolleyes:

OP please do not go down this road.

VonVix

tony1980 wrote: »

It will be a slow painful process but I would definitely only walk if he is beside me or behind me, anytime he goes to walk ahead of you, stop completely, he is basically taking control by walking you, he will start getting the message soon enough. You could also give a tiny little tug of the leash, enough to just get his attention when he intends to walk ahead of you but then relax the lead again (He will feel the tension if you don't) so he knows this only occurs when he is going ahead of you. I done this with my own dog when he was a puppy and it worked no bother, I would say it would be far more difficult with a dog that is 6 though but worth a try.

Well, I wouldn't say he's taking control, it's simply that his human doesn't walk fast enough for the amount of energy he has. And I agree it will be far more difficult teaching this to an adult dog than a puppy, worth a shot though.

doyle97

I wouldn't go near a choke chain sorry

Outkast_IRE

I have a collie, I use a harness but as another poster mentioned previously it must be one of the ones that you clip to the front under their neck. The standard harness with the clip on their back is useless if you want to stop the dog pulling.

This is the one I have, its a halti harness, and you can see where it clips to their standard collar and the lead clips on at the front.
http://www.petexpertise.com/images/detailed_images/halti-front-attachment-no-pull-harness-2.jpg

doyle97

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I have a collie, I use a harness but as another poster mentioned previously it must be one of the ones that you clip to the front under their neck. The standard harness with the clip on their back is useless if you want to stop the dog pulling.

This is the one I have, its a halti harness, and you can see where it clips to their standard collar and the lead clips on at the front.
http://www.petexpertise.com/images/detailed_images/halti-front-attachment-no-pull-harness-2.jpg

Where could I buy one of these and how much roughly?

knarkypants

tony1980 wrote: »

I would say it would be far more difficult with a dog that is 6 though but worth a try.

+1

My dog was 7 when I brought him for training. The trainer agreed it would be a long process to try get him to walk properly on a lead so that's when he suggested the canny collar for us.

It's never too late to train them but it does take more time and effort.

Outkast_IRE

doyle97 wrote: »

Where could I buy one of these and how much roughly?

Just make sure you get the size right, there are different sizes depending on the size of your dog, the medium suits my collie, when you get it there is some adjustment on it to get it to fit nice.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HALTI-HARNESS-BLACK-RED-Medium/dp/B004W78GGC/ref=sr_1_1/277-7779870-5728255?ie=UTF8&qid=1392051857&sr=8-1&keywords=halti+harness

Tramps Like Us

cocker5 wrote: »

Terrible advice, they are outdated, cruel and harmful. :mad:

either properly train your dog OR get a head collar not a choke chain :rolleyes:

OP please do not go down this road.

In your opinion... I disagree, if used properly they can be very good

DBB

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

In your opinion... I disagree, if used properly they can be very good

That's right, they can.
But even when used properly, there is a very real danger of behavioural fall-out down the line.
In addition, they are rarely, rarely used properly. It is far too easy to abuse and misuse them. Any gear that's being used by the average punter should provide some degree of cushioning from the effects of misuse due to the owner not really understanding how they work.
In any case, in this day and age, there is no excuse for using any gear which has to cause some degree of discomfort in order to work, in light of there being more effective gear available now which does not cause discomfort.

borderlinemeath

I would also recommend the easy walk harness, there's one particular dog I walk that is such a strong puller that he broke my walking belt! However on the easy walk harness he is far more manageable and after a few minutes on the harness he realizes that he can't get forward motion by pulling so just trots along quite happily.

compo1

Karlie Gentledog. Bought one this morning for my muscular Corgie cross. Miracle cure!!! Available in Maxi Zoo approx €20, depending on size.

DBB

compo1 wrote: »

Karlie Gentledog. Bought one this morning for my muscular Corgie cross. Miracle cure!!! Available in Maxi Zoo approx €20, depending on size.

I never found these much good myself, probably more effective on a low-slung dog like the Corgi though! Just mind under your dog's "armpits" as they tend to rub them here.

VonVix

I've used one before while walking a relatively small akita. She still pulled you along, but it wasn't to the point you were forced to jog like if you were to walk her using just her collar.

Had much more luck with walking a dog on a easy walk harness, had a red setter wearing one and he walked along side of me, didn't attempt to pull at all. Just my experiences though.