# Leash pulling!! HELP!



## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

I have an almost six month old golden. I started leash training with him pretty early on since he was abouth 9 weeks old. He walks very well on the leash most of the time, not pulling and staying close to me on my right. Over last month and a half we have slowly but steadily worked on taking him to the dog oark. He has good recall, is social with all the dogs in the park and enjoys his time there. Recently because of the rain, the park has become a muddy mess and we are unable to take him to the park. 
So now from about 100m away, where he can sniff the park, he goes berserk on the leash, pulling and yanking me towards the prak. This lasts only until we have crossed the gate of the park, after which he will again walk very well on the leash.

Will he grow out of this once we resume going to the park and what can I do to make it better during these monsoon months?


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

This is a tough situation for you, it is going to be very, very difficult for you to compete for his attention against the excitement he has about the park. Can you change the routine of his walks and avoid the park area entirely? Are you taking him to different places for exercise during the rainy season where he can burn off energy without getting so muddy? Is that a possibility? I would try to work on training indoors a LOT to help - kikopup is a trainer on youtube who has excellent videos to help with this - working on games and learning new tricks and commands to help tire him out mentally and work on listening to you rather than his impulses will help a lot. 

You can also try turning around and heading in the opposite direction the very second he starts pulling on the leash toward the park. Help him get the idea that pulling does not get him what he wants. No reward for pulling. Have a toy or treat to reward heading away from park. I am afraid that he is going to continue growing and may soon be too strong for you to control depending on your size and strength. It may be necessary for your own safety to fit him with a prong/pinch collar to keep him from pulling you down and hurting you. It's important for him not to learn bad habits because it can be difficult to break them. Do the best you can to be very consistent about allowing pulling to work for him.


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## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

nolefan said:


> This is a tough situation for you, it is going to be very, very difficult for you to compete for his attention against the excitement he has about the park. Can you change the routine of his walks and avoid the park area entirely? Are you taking him to different places for exercise during the rainy season where he can burn off energy without getting so muddy? Is that a possibility? I would try to work on training indoors a LOT to help - kikopup is a trainer on youtube who has excellent videos to help with this - working on games and learning new tricks and commands to help tire him out mentally and work on listening to you rather than his impulses will help a lot.
> 
> You can also try turning around and heading in the opposite direction the very second he starts pulling on the leash toward the park. Help him get the idea that pulling does not get him what he wants. No reward for pulling. Have a toy or treat to reward heading away from park. I am afraid that he is going to continue growing and may soon be too strong for you to control depending on your size and strength. It may be necessary for your own safety to fit him with a prong/pinch collar to keep him from pulling you down and hurting you. It's important for him not to learn bad habits because it can be difficult to break them. Do the best you can to be very consistent about allowing pulling to work for him.


Exactly what I am afraid of. He has done it only twice and I do not want to make it a habit since he is a big dog p, even by golden standards. Unfortunately that is the only park where he can run free in our neighbourhood. We do take him out to other parks on the weekends. But they are far and isnt possible for us to that during the week. I have tried the walking away technique, but he just lies flat on the ground and refuses to move. Worst thing is he is such a good boy otherwise. It breaks my heart to see him want to go so badly


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Lots of training and alternative ideas for mental work and aerobic exercise (do you own a bicycle?)
If he's enormous and you're a smaller female I strongly recommend Herm Sprenger 2.25 collar There are videos to show you the proper placement and fit on the neck. If fitted and used properly, this is the kindest thing you could do for this puppy NOW while he is still smaller and hasn't started developing a teenager attitude. Getting control of this situation now is key. Work hard for the next year or so and it will pay off with an amazing dog for life. Don't get frustrated.


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## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

I do own a bicycle. In my country prong collars are severely frowned upon. To the extent that if a dog is seen wearing one, people assume they are aggressive or the owner is incapable of controll them. I would like to use a prong as an absolute last option. Are there other things that I could possibly try?

Also I do happen to be a tiny female with an enormous doggo


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Kuttu said:


> I do own a bicycle. In my country prong collars are severely frowned upon. To the extent that if a dog is seen wearing one, people assume they are aggressive or the owner is incapable of controll them. I would like to use a prong as an absolute last option. Are there other things that I could possibly try?
> 
> Also I do happen to be a tiny female with an enormous doggo


I used to think the same thing- but the welfare of your dog is more important than what “people think.” I suggest getting a trainer to assist you in using a prong collar effectively but they are FAR more humane than the constant pull of a harnness, the potential damage caused by a headcollar, or the suffocation /tracheal damage of a standard flat collar or choke chain. Our pup took literally ONE session with an experienced field trial trainer and the Herm Sprenger 2.25 collar and he was walking on a loose leash. Do NOT buy a cheap “look alike” and DO learn how to fit and to use it correctly. Tightness and placement are very important- they do not fit the same as a flat collar. BTW- the first thing our trainer did was to put the collar on my arm and snap it as hard as possible to demonstrate how, even if it were ever to be used that harshly [which it isn’t] it would feel). Uncomfortable, yes, but NOT painful at all and that was bare skin.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

The trainer that worked with my girl and I used a Herm Sprenger, it's placed loosely on the dog's neck and does not put any pressure on the dog's trachea. 

When your dog has it on, the only correction needed is a light snap/pop of the leash.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

It would be so much easier with a prong collar. If you can’t find a trainer, you could look at some YouTube videos of how to use one correctly. Robert Cabral has some on the subject. Tyler Muto. Upstate Canine Academy. If prongs aren’t illegal, I wouldn’t be too concerned with what people think. They are difficult to see on a Golden anyway due to all the fur. If it bothers you, you could order a cover for it.

If you decide to use one, get a back up lead as sometimes the prongs come apart. Leerburg sells one and they also have videos on sizing and proper use.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Teach your dog “sit” with both voice and whistle commands


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## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

SRW said:


> Teach your dog “sit” with both voice and whistle commands


He knows to sit with just voice but doesnt pay attention when we are in front of the park


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Kuttu said:


> He knows to sit with just voice but doesnt pay attention when we are in front of the park


If your dog doesn’t listen to you under conditions that trigger a reactive response- then there is still work to do (and reinforcement is life-long). Today it may be the park- or it could be a rabbit, a car, a child.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Kuttu said:


> He knows to sit with just voice but doesnt pay attention when we are in front of the park


Work on obedience in distracting situations. Small distractions first, working up to bigger and multiple distractions such as the park.
Surprising a dog with a sit command while playing is a great way to teach it.

Dogs will be naughty and disobedient occasionally. I suspect your pup just doesn't fully understand that "sit" is a command, sit means sit no matter what. This is typical for a young dog and I suspect he is far ahead of most pups his age. Many dogs never really learn sit because they are never taught properly.


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## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

SRW said:


> Work on obedience in distracting situations. Small distractions first, working up to bigger and multiple distractions such as the park.
> Surprising a dog with a sit command while playing is a great way to teach it.
> 
> Dogs will be naughty and disobedient occasionally. I suspect your pup just doesn't fully understand that "sit" is a command, sit means sit no matter what. This is typical for a young dog and I suspect he is far ahead of most pups his age. Many dogs never really learn sit because they are never taught properly.


True, he is super smart and knows when he can get away with stuff. Ill work on that for sure! Thank you so much for your advice!!


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Kuttu said:


> Thank you so much for your advice!!


Thank you!
Now I’m right back at 50-50 and for helpful versus rude posts.😎


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## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

Hey just thought I would give you guys an update. So, unfortunately I could not find any trainers near me that work with prong and e collars (maybe someday). But I did take him to one of the highly rated trainers in my area. We have introduced a whistle. It basically means come and sit in front of me and look at my face. Still a wip but he has improved heaps!


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Kuttu said:


> Hey just thought I would give you guys an update. So, unfortunately I could not find any trainers near me that work with prong and e collars (maybe someday). But I did take him to one of the highly rated trainers in my area. We have introduced a whistle. It basically means come and sit in front of me and look at my face. Still a wip but he has improved heaps!


Not sure how this is going to help control impulse in a situation where you have a triggering event without conditioning that the whistle actually means something. Food is great when it is an unexpected reward BUT the likelihood that you are going to have a pocket full of treats in a crisis … well, Murphy’s Law. Also- there is going to be a time when the treat is not as important as what is causing the impulse. 
There are some really good videos on the correct use of a prong or e-collar though certainly not preferable to working one on one woith a trainer. R+ training only works with some dogs, in some situations and rarely as an “only” method pnce a dog has already become 
Regardless, hope things work out for you.


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## Kuttu (8 mo ago)

sevans said:


> Not sure how this is going to help control impulse in a situation where you have a triggering event without conditioning that the whistle actually means something. Food is great when it is an unexpected reward BUT the likelihood that you are going to have a pocket full of treats in a crisis … well, Murphy’s Law. Also- there is going to be a time when the treat is not as important as what is causing the impulse.
> There are some really good videos on the correct use of a prong or e-collar though certainly not preferable to working one on one woith a trainer. R+ training only works with some dogs, in some situations and rarely as an “only” method pnce a dog has already become
> Regardless, hope things work out for you.


Fingers crossed they work out. But I rarely use food as the reward here. Continuing on our walk is the reward.
Anyway, I intend to get him prong and e collar trained. Might take a couple months to get everything figured out


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Yes, hope things work out for you.


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## Atlasdog (Sep 30, 2020)

I’ve tried everything for walking including the ecollar which my boy loves. He goes off leash with great recall and sit stays etc but walking was terrible. I tried slip knot etc. only thing that worked was a gentle leader. He walks great on that.


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