# Pulling on Leash



## murphy's parents (Feb 21, 2009)

Help us please! Murphy, 27 months, is the love of our life, a GREAT dog in many many ways, very smart, and very very strong muscular dog at about 90 lbs. Here is our problem......we travel in the summer in our RV & he loves riding, being in the RV, etc., however, most of the time he has to be leashed when we walk him (unless we're in a town where we find a dog park or at family/friends who have fenced yards). Here is the problem......he walks great on a leash UNTIL he sees someone or someone with another dog & then he pulls LIKE CRAZY to get over to them to be petted. Everyone is supposed to pet him you know! We have been at this particular RV park for a couple of weeks now & the owners have taken not to saying his name when they see him, because he just pulls to get to them. We have tried all kinds of collars, including the prong, and a gentle leader to no avail. The prong has been our best bet but it still doesn't stop him & it's practically impossible to give him a 'quick' pop when the leash is tight & he's pulling like crazy. My husband is stronger than I am but he can't stop him either once he makes his mind up to go. I've tried 'the tree' method but it's hard to stop him. What are we doing wrong? Thank you!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

It may be appropriate to find a professional to help you.

Note that if he is pulling and you are going forward, he is reinforced for pulling. And he's learned that if he pulls -harder- you will go.

These videos (3 parts, here is the first one) might be of help to you.
http://www.youtube.com/user/helix137#p/a/u/2/CSmOOcELgxU

If you are unable to restrain him, you and your husband may want to walk him with two leads....so you both can hold on. 

Ultimately you need to teach him the concept of polite walking without any distractions and then add in distractions in a controlled manner.


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## murphy's parents (Feb 21, 2009)

I forgot to mention that we have had 2 dog trainers. One was one-on-one when he was a pup at about 6 months & he did great. Then last summer we took a class where there were about 5 other 'smaller' dogs & he did this pulling thing to get to them but we were 'inside' a building & he was easier to control. I've been thinking that another class might be helpful but thought I'd ask this forum first. I just can't explain how laid back & perfectly mannered he is when it's just us, but when there is 'new people' he goes crazy. It's embarrassing to say the least, especially if they are non-dog people.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

My Hank pulled like a freight train until I bought a Sporn Mesh Non-Pull Harness. The change was instant. Very comfortable for the dog since it only tightens if/when the pull. I bought it at PetsMart

http://www.sporn.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=SPUS3


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Can you give details on how this harness works? I can't quite tell from the description or the videos. Am curious.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

jackie_hubert said:


> Can you give details on how this harness works? I can't quite tell from the description or the videos. Am curious.


The harness goes across the chest, under the front legs and attaches to the leash on the dog's back. When the dog pulls the harness tightens under the front legs. It doesn't hurt the dog but uncomfortable I'm sure and gives them a reminder to stop pulling. When there is no pulling, the harness is loose.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

What you want to teach is "Good things COME to those who wait".

Does he know sit/stay? I would start working at that point. We camp a lot too, so I understand that people are going by all the time. Plus a great part of camping IS walking the dog and spending time with them.

I would put Murphy on a cable attach to something strong, like wrapped around a tree. I would also put a leash on him and take him for a walk around the tree, sort of pretending to be on leash only. Then when you see someone coming, tell him sit/stay. It would be even better to put him on a down/stay, rocked over on one hip. Give him high value treats, like hot dogs. Keep reinforcing the stay by saying "good stay, good stay". Maintain eye contact with him, you want his attention focused on YOU. Have the person walk right on by. Do not have them come to Murphy and feed him treats.

When the person is by, release the stay with your release word. We use OK and walk him around the tree until someone else comes by. The cable provides limited ability to run to his object. You should use it with a harness in case he really takes off. Hitting the end of the rope at full speed with just a collar on can seriously injure any dog. And definitely not a pronged collar for this exercise.

Once he's gotten more obedient and patient, you can have the people come and give him pats. His reward for staying is that people come TO him.

I would make this exercise part of his daily obedience work. Get a friend to help by walking by and being the distraction.


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## kvar (Jun 4, 2009)

I may be a little late on responding, but we have always had an issue with Layla pulling on her leash. We just bought the Premier Easy Walk Dog Harness from Petsmart and it completely fixed the problem immediately. It is one of the harnesses that the loop to hook the leash is on the bottom, by her chest. We put it on her, hooked the leash on and she has not pulled once since then, it's like she is a completely different dog. You could try something like that...


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## murphy's parents (Feb 21, 2009)

Thank you all for the suggestions you have posted. We just looked at the no pull harness today but didn't buy it because we're about to leave this area & I want to wait until we're somewhere long enough to try one of these suggested harnesses & if it doesn't work, we can return it. Everyone tells us to bring things back if we're not satisfied but then we move on & I seem to have quite a collection of different collars & leashes. We are also going to try more 'high value' treats for awhile as someone suggested & just keep working with him. I want to figure out how to post a picture of our beautiful Murphy so you can all see him. He's quite the ham and would be a GREAT greeter at WalMart as he loves to meet new people, thus the pulling to get to them.


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## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

We considered a harness for Roxy. We may still get one at some point. However, what has worked really really well for us is...as soon as Roxy pulls (which was always) we'd stop and not move (suggested here on the forum). She'd continue to pull and than she'd relax and sit, at that point there was a loose leash and we'd again start walking until she pulled again. This has been a lifesaver. She caught on pretty quickly. She knows that if she pulls, we go no where. If she relaxes and walks slow where the leash is nice and loose we will continue to walk. Their smart. I noticed a big difference after about 2 weeks or so. Its an ongoing process I know. Better to teach my girl now at the low puppy weight!


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## murphy's parents (Feb 21, 2009)

Update.....we purchased a no pull harness for Murphy about 2 weeks ago & it has made a HUGE difference for his pulling while on a walk. It's not perfect but we're getting there & I thought I'd report in & thank you all again for the suggestion. In fact, this morning a lady walked right by us at the campground, commented on what a pretty dog he was & Murphy just kept on walking.....yeah!!!! No pulling to get over to her to be petted.

Now we have one issue left to conquer (and I didn't bring this up before) but when someone knocks at the door (whether at the RV or at home) he runs to the door & wants to greet everyone by acting crazy & it's sometimes hard to keep him from going out the door of the RV. We ask people to wait & my husband holds Murphy while I answer the door. I'm thinking maybe if we put the harness on him & get him to sit & patiently wait, we could answer the door, let people in, and keep him harnessed until he settles down. Any suggestions?

Thank you for any suggestions.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

You're off to a great start with your door solution. 

One part that will help you, will be to practice. When you're able to have cooperative visitors, have them enter, once he's calm, they can leave, and re-enter. When he's calm... leave...re-enter. Another thing to try may be to have him greet people outside and then come inside together. Additionally...food toys/great chews are a good way to keep young dogs occupied while visitors are present.


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## Gator (Nov 2, 2009)

Great to hear that the harness worked for you! My Holly has been on the Easy Walk, Gentle Leader and the Martingale-style by Premiere and an old-fashioned chain collar - nothing works when she pulls to visit other dogs or people.

We walk her daily in an area where encounters with other dog-walkers are frequent so this is a big problem for us. She has gone through $$$$ worth of obedience training (a six-week class taught by a well-respected "treat based" training instructor, a four-week "boarding/training" program taught by someone with 22+ years in the dog training business, and "doggie daycare" with interaction with a well adjusted "pack") - with no noticeable improvement. No matter how many treats we temp her with - no matter if she is in a solid "sit" - she will lunge at passing dogs and most other people.

When I mention this to other dog people I usually get either "she still a puppy (10 months) she will grow out of it" or "well, the trainer I used (or my son-in-law, in one case) could have her corrected in no time" as a response - of course that trainer or family member is located thousands of miles away so there is no chance I could ever test their claim!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Gator said:


> When I mention this to other dog people I usually get either "she still a puppy (10 months) she will grow out of it" or "well, the trainer I used (or my son-in-law, in one case) could have her corrected in no time" as a response - of course that trainer or family member is located thousands of miles away so there is no chance I could ever test their claim!


I wish I was closer...I love challenges!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

You've got some good specific programs here in the previous comments. I just wanted to add that a great philosophy for eliminating undesired behaviors is to take these three steps:

*Prevent the undesired behavior from being rewarded.* (A pulling dog should not be allowed to go in the direction he wants nor greet the people he's pulling towards).

*Consistently reward a desired alterate behavior.* (Start in a boring, low-distraction setting and teach your dog that walking politely results in lots of treats and praise. Learn to hold the leash in the hand opposite to the dog so you can hand a treat down to your dog's mouth when he's in the right position at your side. If you get good at it, you can reward almost continuously without breaking stride. Reward when the dog is in a good position, and withhold when he's not.)

You can use the same principles for polite greetings. Train your visitors not to give attention while the dog is over excited and behaving in an undesired fashion. When the dog offers a desired behavior (like a sit), reward him with quiet attention and treats. We have all visitors ignore the dogs for the first five minutes they're in our home and only offer their attention to each dog when he's behaving in a polite fashion.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I should add that I believe in a third principle that applies to this kind of situation:

*Negative stimuli are not as powerful or durable as positive stimuli in behavior modification.* While corrections _may_ sometimes be necessary to prevent a dog from being rewarded for an undesired behavior, and they may sometimes stop the problem behavior long enough for you to reward a good behavior, they're not the element that most powerfully creates a good lifelong habit.

Saying "no pull!" in a negative voice or popping the leash won't teach good leash behavior as well as rewarding a positive command (we say "leash" and reward the dog for offering slack, since we want to save "heel" for precision heeling).

Saying "no jumping!" and hitting/pushing/intimidating the dog won't work as well as standing still or turning to face the wall and waiting out the dog until he offers a sit or another desired behavior you can reward with your attention and food.

I'm always happiest with a training technique when I never have to use pain, discomfort, or intimidation during the process, and I believe the results are as strong or stronger than techniques that incorporate those elements.


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## GoldenSkies (Feb 27, 2014)

Just read over all your suggestions and will try tonight. Chester is totally fine when he goes for a walk and no one is around but as soon as he sees people or dogs he starts to pull so hard, and it is so annoying. I always reward him for walking nicely and we pop his leash twice anytime he is too far ahead and it does work.. just until he sees someone. Some days it's totally fine and he can walk past anything no problem, other days he can't even keep still when he sees other people or dogs. I love him and I want him to come every where with us and we go to a lot of car shows and events where there are a lot of people around so I'm working really hard on training him to not pull on the leash. Hopefully the standing still method will work, I will try to do that from now on... maybe also just changing direction when he's pulling a certain way so he doesn't get what he wants. I will also be looking into buying one of those harnesses, maybe not for everyday but for times when we are planning to go out somewhere where there are a lot of people.


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