# teaching Ivy how to heel on walks?



## Shellbug (Nov 14, 2013)

I use the gentle leader harness. It's awesome!!!


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## Ivy's Mom (Jan 15, 2014)

*Gentle leader*



Shellbug said:


> I use the gentle leader harness. It's awesome!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


 Is there a certain age that I should start training her with it? Or is it usable on all ages of dogs and puppies?


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## CRS250 (Dec 31, 2012)

We purchased the easy walk / head halter and Murphy hated it. Petco was really cool about it and took it back. I suggest trying it out from them rather than buying it online. 

We switched him to the easy walk front harness when we started puppy obedience on the advice of our trainer and it was an instant success. We took this class, worked on him on our own and then took him to be evaluated for his next formal obedience level to be told, there is nothing we teach in obedience 1 - 3 that your dog has not learned. Do you want to start flat collar training to take the CGC? The only thing to be careful of with the harness was if your pup jumps, it can take their feet out from under them as they get pulled to the side. Not a terrible bad thing as it will deter this a bit, but you want to be sure it happens on grass so they are not hurt. 

The harness you pick will help with pulling, but actually learning to heel still takes training. I like the approach of Victoria Stillwell demonstrates in this video:






I used this style of heel training for Murphy when he was shorter than the pup in this video, by freezing some dog food/treat to a wooden spoon and holding it down/out as the incentive, tip I picked up here on the forums and it worked for Murphy.


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## ARBaumann (Dec 22, 2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBN2_YuTclU


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## Rileysmomma (Feb 6, 2014)

My other goldens got used to the gentle leader, but Riley hates it with a passion! He now rubs his head on every grass surface he sees. Just today, he got about 10 mins into his walk, and he came to a dead stop...there was no moving him. He had had it..would not keep moving. So, back home we went. I keep trying it and he keeps hating it!!! So, it's back to the easy walk harness....I'll just have to keep working on the pulling.


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## rosebudcorner (Apr 15, 2014)

Rileysmomma said:


> My other goldens got used to the gentle leader, but Riley hates it with a passion! He now rubs his head on every grass surface he sees. Just today, he got about 10 mins into his walk, and he came to a dead stop...there was no moving him. He had had it..would not keep moving. So, back home we went. I keep trying it and he keeps hating it!!! So, it's back to the easy walk harness....I'll just have to keep working on the pulling.


This is exactly what Chipper does...but when he is moving, he does walk really nice on the gentle leader. I have found it helps to have treats with me, and when he comes to a stop I hold it so he can smell and he will get moving again. When it is just he and I walking, he does well on just collar and leash, but when we walk with my husband and boys he pulls and pulls. Frustrating! I even have them all walk behind us and it doesn't make a difference. I haven't tried a harness with him yet.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

We use the 'Secret Powers' training collar. The lady that makes them can be found on her website Lola Limited | Lola's Unique Dog Collars & Leashes LLC It is a prong type collar and anyone using this type of training collar, should attend an obedience class who has a teacher that uses this type of collar. Like any training method, you must be trained to use them properly.

For my Golden's these have been the best methods, and I have tired many methods...some people do not agree with using these, but from what I have found out some methods work better than others, and most all of the tools used can harm the dog both physically and behaviorally if not properly used!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

You'll need to teach loose leash walking first. "Heel" is actually a specific position for the dog in relation to your body. When you have taught "heel" and say the word, the dog will go to that position and that one only.

Here's link to teaching the loose leash walking. The first page contains videos showing you what to do and why. It works well...Mr. Darcy is reasonable good on a leash,, although we still need treats to reinforce it. For undisciplined walks, we use the EZ walk harness.
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...py-up-1-year/238561-teaching-loose-leash.html


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