Please can anyone give me some advice......Max is 10mths old...he pulls like a train...ive tried every head collar halti...harness...genco head collar...nothing seems to help in each case he has either got up on his back legs.....pulled so hard he has made himself sick...ive done the stop circle training....i also have luci and had no problems with lead training with her,i got her from a rescue and she had never been on a lead and she was 5mths old.... would really like some advice on this.

Regards
karen x

I bought a remote training collar from ebay a couple of years ago.. this is NOT a collar that shocks or sprays it kinda rumbles and this worked a treat for my little puller. It is a last resort and would only work if your dog knows what HEAL means. My little puller knew exactly what it means but chose to pull anyway.

This collar also has a beeping sound. I used this when he ran to far away I press the beep button, the collar bleeps and he comes back.

I don't have it anymore it broke after he dived into the biggest smelliest muddiest puddle known to man kind.

Like I said it was a last resort. After spending out on osteopaths as my arm was being pulled out of its socket I thought I'd give it a go and it worked for me /him. He doesn't pull to much now only when he's really excited about going to the park.

We use a rope slip lead and pull sideways instead of backwards...works for us

Ollie used to pull like a train even if he was choking himself. I have always admitted i was never consistant with his lead training so the problem got worse.
I changed to a harness to at least take pressure of his neck. I then stopped with the training until he had had his run off lead. I would then pop it back on and he didnt want to pull then so i could say the commands and use treats and praise.. This stops me getting tense and Ollie is actually listening and not just set on pulling to get to his destination. (i usually drive to the forst or woods so i dont walk him there)
He is still not brilliant and does still walk a bit in front but with a loose lead and he stops when it goes taut.
Its probably not great advise but it is working for me.

Thank-you ALL for the advice.....i will try the treats again maybe its going to take max longer than luci has done....we was out today and he wasnt too bad...i try to lead walk quite a bit to keep the training up for max..he is only on the lead for around 15mins a day...but have been doing half hour to try to get him used to it alot more.....

thanks agin for the tips.

karen xx

Karen what collar are you using now and how long is your lead?

Steve

Hi Steve......

I've got max on a halti at the moment....only way to keep my arm socket intacked and stop him from choking himself....i keep him on a short lead so he is level with my leg ( well i try too).If i relax the lead his off pulling like a train so i have to keep it tight all the time....ive tried so many different ways so he can see if he doesnt pull its easier for him...doesnt seem to be getting the idea...are maybe its me doing something wrong.

karen

Did this for a bit but now its the other way round. We do that change direction if he pulls thing that a few people on here have suggested. Its quite simple, if he pulls we turn round towards home, he stops pulling and we walk towards the park again. So if he doesn't walk properly he doesn't get to the park. the neighbours muist think I'm bonkers I can often be een up and down the same stretch of pavement, turning and twisting.

But, its working, his heel work has improved a lot.

I did it the way fraggle suggests, and it worked, but one has to be very consistent. The dog must never experience success with pulling and get to wherever he wants to get to. There was even a time I had to stop Rhian overtaking me with bodily blocking her path. It was easier for her to understand she must not overtake me than she must not pull on the lead. Once she got the basic idea I used the clicker, because that way it was easier to reward exactly at the moments she was walking as I wanted her.

Now she can use any legth of lead I give her without pulling, but from time to time I have to turn back just once to remind her that the rules are still valid...

It might be worth doing shorter seshions when you're in a position to be consistent and not let him get away with anything.

I think there is a difference between heel work "obedience style" and walking the streets "nicely" for exercise or taking the dogs with you when you need to go from A to B. With the latter, I'm not to fussed if the dogs have a sniff etc as long as they're not pulling.

My two pull a bit when they're excited. They also walk better off the lead - stating the obvious, I don't do this on the streets.

If you are going to use a contraption, try a Cannie coller, the lead is then in the natural position at the back of the neck and you can still train heel with it.

Oh and train after a good blast.

Just an afterthought. Do you have a "back" command? Not the gundog training "back" which to me means "go forward"

Using "back" so they don't rush through doors before you is a sizeable piece of the training jigsaw IMHO. I use Back instead of Heel alot of the time - I think me saying Heel is now a meaningless noise

Alfie pulls really bad and i really isn't fun so I now do walking in two ways. I use a standard collar for short bursts of walking to train the Heel Command.

Then for longer, on street walking, i use a Canny Collar, which he doesn't pull so much with. He then gets a decent walk without my shoulder coming out of his socket

Getting these spaniels to understand that it is you taking them for a walk and not the other way about is a right pain in the bum

I am also not too fussed about the "no nose passed my knee rule" either but I am fussy about walking with a slack lead....I ain't getting pulled anywhere by our three.

Now I don't happen to own the most difficult springers in the world here but they did pull, the sligh-*test*-('") scent would have their noses down and away they would go...if I let them. The trick is to not reward any pulling by letting the errant springer pull forward, they seem to think as long as they can make headway to whatever is in front of their nose that that is reward enough.

So we did as "Spaceman" has sugested and introduced "back" .....I stop, springers stop, "back!" (sometimes with a gentle tug from me) will get them back to my side (You can reward a good "back" it will help to reinforce it). You may have to repeat this process umpteen times but they do eventually get it.....ours have.

Now I asked about the length of lead because after gleening the advice on ST (Robert )and on other forums I found that a lead of about 2.5 - 3 metres was very useful when doing the stop and turn around/change direction routine. The object is to get your springer to look at you and think "where on earth are we going??" You may occassionally see the routine performed on "dog borstal".
It is done by finding a nice flat distraction free walking area.....such like Tinks' tennis court , a car park or yard etc. (it helps if there is a bit of privacy as it does tend to have onlookers smiling) Gather your long lead with your right hand holding all the slack and your left holding the lead so that your springer is about near your left leg, no commands are necessary just in case these only add to confusion, then proceed to walk forward, if your springer starts to pull drop the slack of the lead and whilst holding tight of the end of the lead walk in the opposite direction (I try to avoid sudden sharp jerks by allowing my arm to swing). You should find that your springer will whizz by and try to be in front again, repeat the procedure changing direction. Eventually you should get that questioning look from your springer gather in the lead and then progress on lead in any direction will be dictated by you.

Now it is always a work in progress and our three often need reminding especially if we go somewhere new (they seem to believe the rule only applies on known walks ).

I have all three walking on slack leads on my left, Heather and Brandy are very good they are going on 4 years, Jazz is very good but she often lets her nose get the better of her and she is going on 2.

We're in for the long haul and things do get much better, it'll be much patience and perseverance for a springer at 10 months though .

Steve

Brilliant Steve