# Leash Walking Ideas



## Lacie's Mom (Oct 24, 2012)

Even though Lacie is in that teenager phase, she's doing pretty well lately. Off leash, she does great...most of the time  But on leash, she is a pulling machine. You'd think she was a sled dog if you didn't see she was a golden. I've tried the stopping and standing like a statue, and I've tried the turning around and walking the opposite way. Neither one helps. She'll turn around with me and keep on going in the new direction. She pulls so hard my arm is sore and gets numb from shoulder to mid upper arm, and she makes herself throw up and gag. I've even tried harnesses...she can still make herself choke on those :doh: I always have treats in my pocket and she does not care - acts like there's nothing there...and she's very food motivated! Any ideas that might help?


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Is she food motivated? I would only walk her hungry with a baggie full of her dinner and be a pez dispenser. She only gets a bite for walking nicely beside you. It will take a long time but if you are consistent it should really help. No walk without pez.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

It really takes time, but it will come! 

I forgot how much they start pulling at the teenage stage (6+ months). There are a goodly handful of tricks you can work on with them.... but it all starts with doing daily walks. 

You can't really do this when they are younger, but with Bertie I reached that point where I think it's OK to get him some jogging muscles. So I do a shuffle jog with him and his brother. Just fast enough to have him doing a very relaxed trot. You do this a few times on a walk, and it does get them relaxed enough halfway through a walk so you can praise and huggle your dog when he's walking at your side. <- And that's really the point. You need to "mark" when they are walking nice and make sure they know that's a GOOD thing. 

I don't carry food on walks, but definitely use play and praise as rewards. 

If you make like a tree - add a verbal correction to it and reminder like: "Hey, slow down" or "walk nice". Over time when you just say "slow down" your dog will adjust to your pace without the inevitable pop from you stopping. 

Once in a while stop and skritch your dog on the shoulders and back or even stop once in a while. 

Every time your dog slows down and looks up at you - make sure you are praising and stopping what you are doing to pat him on the head.

If you are walking with somebody, you can play games like handing the leash off to the other person when the dog isn't looking and ducking behind a bush to see how long it takes the dog to realize you disappeared. 

You can also play games with sticks on the ground. My guys are obsessed with sticks - especially if I pick one up. I will try to pick up a stick without either noticing.... and then sneak taps on their butts with the stick before hiding the stick again behind me back... and see how long it takes them to figure out I have a stick.

Over time - they definitely do learn to relax on walks. 

I walk both my guys together and about the only complaint I have is they like switching sides way too much. <- tangles the leashes.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 24, 2012)

We walk every day - I live in an apartment so we walk on leash several times a day with 1 long walk in the woods that is off leash in the evenings. On every walk, I work on the leash walking but she just pulls and pulls. I always have treats and food with me; I can put it right in front of her nose and she doesn't show any interest! When she does walk nice, she's fabulous. She's right by my side, looking at me. But that's not the majority of the walk. And right now, I'd just like for her to quit choking herself! She is obsessed with sticks - I'll have to try that. Thank you!


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Halti
Best thing ever made


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

*Just sent you a PM...*

...with information sent to me by another GRF member a long time ago that worked very well. 

There are many ways to leash-train. Never fear--your dog will get the hang if it if you're consistent. Good luck!


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## MayFam (May 23, 2013)

OutWest said:


> ...with information sent to me by another GRF member a long time ago that worked very well.
> 
> There are many ways to leash-train. Never fear--your dog will get the hang if it if you're consistent. Good luck!


Would you mind sharing this information with me, as well? We just adopted our golden from a rescue. She's 1-12 months old, and pulls and pulls when we walk. Once she tires out a bit, she's more manageable. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. 

Thanks, to the OP for this thread - I'm learning so much on here.


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## dgmama (Nov 29, 2012)

I know exactly how you feel. Diego used to be a sled dog, once we opened the door he dragged me the entire walk. I first successfully trained him in our backyard. I would run around, and when he followed me, click and treat. Or I would walk backwards. I became really fun! So I trained out on walks too. Right when he's about to pull, I tell him to come in the other direction and we walk the other way. As we would turn back around, I clicked and treated for him walking on a loose leash again.

But after leaving them with my grandmother on a week vacation, I came back to a very, very bad puller. Long story, but anyways, I was devastated. All that work, gone. Start from the beginning. So I took him to a professional trainer for him being reactivate towards other dogs. She had me teach him a nice heel. And oh. my. goodness. is he an obedient dog. I look forward to walks, we can go anywhere and I have him right by me. Now, you don't need to teach your pup to heel, you probably just want a loose leash.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

MayFam said:


> Would you mind sharing this information with me, as well? We just adopted our golden from a rescue. She's 1-12 months old, and pulls and pulls when we walk. Once she tires out a bit, she's more manageable. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks, to the OP for this thread - I'm learning so much on here.


Sure. Watch for message.


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## MayFam (May 23, 2013)

OutWest said:


> Sure. Watch for message.


I just got it. I'm not able to pm yet (too few posts, as I just joined).

Thank you! Great advice. I'm going to try this on our next walk!

-Christine


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## Kylie (Feb 16, 2013)

OutWest said:


> ...with information sent to me by another GRF member a long time ago that worked very well.
> 
> There are many ways to leash-train. Never fear--your dog will get the hang if it if you're consistent. Good luck!


Now I'm curious, could you send it to me too?


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## Gwen_Dandridge (Jul 14, 2012)

About the turning around and changing directions---this only works (or at least my understanding of it) if you change directions the second the dog reaches the end of the leash and there is tension on it. AND, you continue to change direction every time he reaches the end of the leash. You continue this until the dog starts paying attention and doesn't pull your arm out.

It might work better if you ran the pup for a bit before walking to take the initial edge off an energetic dog.

It took about ten minutes for Maddie to figure it out the boundaries and she's quick with learning rules. 

My understanding of the process is that you say nothing, just change direction the second you feel the dog hit the end. You don't give them time to pull at all.

You may have already done this correctly and it just didn't work. So, feel free to ignore me then.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

The only thing that really works with Ben, when we're someplace new and highly distracting, is his prong collar. Normally he doesn't pull much, especially in a familiar environment, but it's different when hiking or in the park or a campground. Then he wants to explore it all at once. The collar reminds him to behave. 

We adopted Ben when he was three, and he had had no prior training. He was very wild. Turning would simply get him frustrated, so he'd start jumping and biting. Making like a tree didn't work well, because he'd just pull harder. My husband can't run, and doesn't walk very fast, so running off the energy didn't work. Since Ben weighs 75 lbs., he exerts a lot of force and is quite capable of pulling my 185 lb. husband over and can drag me several yards. We were about ready to stop hiking, because it was too dangerous and not at all fun. Then a trainer suggest the prong collar, and it made a huge difference. It took very little time for Ben to realize that if he pulls really hard, it hurts. If he races to the end of the leash, it will hurt. He still doesn't walk by our side when we're someplace new, but it isn't a struggle any more.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Kylie said:


> Now I'm curious, could you send it to me too?


Just sent it.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 24, 2012)

Thank you for the ideas! Lacie is so fast and strong, by the time she gets to the end of the leash, my arm is already out of the socket and sometimes, she's even turned me in a circle :doh: And it's always when there's a lot of people out...  A friend let me borrow her prong collar (she has a golden) and it worked pretty well but we can only use it during the winter months when it's dark outside and people won't see it on her...not allowed to use them in Germany unless you have a German Shepherd and are part of their schutzhund club. I did bring some cheese on our walk tonight in hopes that it would help keep her attention on me (yep, at this point, I'm not above using major bribes!). It worked pretty well until she saw her friend and then I was the last thing on her mind. Ugh! I keep repeating to myself "be patient...be patient...be patient..."


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