my dog is terrible on her lead, she pulls and shes getting bigger and stronger, i had got her a retractable lead and she literally pulled me right over and it really hurt so shes back on her shorter one, her harness i got is too big so i need to get another one. her current lead in about one meter long should i get a shorter one? to force her to walk beside me, ive tried the stopping and she does come back but as soon as i walk again she starts pulling i try the turniing and walking away but again as soon as she catches up she starts pulling again. she is quite strong and im terrified that she will go onto the road when theres a car one day and i wont pull her back on time, i always try my hardest to keep the lead short when near a road.
so my question is, what else should i try, im currently looking for training classes the two i found in my town are on a night i go to college unfortunatly.

also should i use a harness or colar? i HATE pulling her back when its her collar i know i wouldnt like it. its getting so frustrating, to the point i dread our daily on lead walks. she is superb off lead though and i love getting to somewhere she can be off lead, she does walk a little in front but her recall is good and when off lead she never strays more than 2-3 meters ahead of me.

hope that all makes sence im awful tired tonight

What breed?
Would ditch the retractable lead anyway!

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In order to operate a retractable lead, the dog must pull, so yes, ditch it!

I'd enrol you and your dog into a good training school. There you can learn all types of useful training tips, some are life-saving, some make lives easier for all of us, so, my advice, enrol in a good training school.

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Remember, winners never quit and quitters never win!

shes a lab.

You can either go two ways: retrain or manage.

Retrain
6ft (or there abouts lead) Everytime she tightens on the lead. Stop, lure her back to heel position - with food or a toy, then continue walking.

OR

Everytime she tightens the lead - turn and walk in the other direction.

If you clicker train with her then click when she is by your side and treat that behaviour - when she isn't by your side - "Too bad" and either stop or turn away..

Both may take you a while to get anywhere significant - but both are good practices. If you have tried these before and haven't had any change in behaviour - you're either doing it wrong or haven't kept your faith in it and gave up after a few walks. If your dog is head strong - you just have to be patient.

Management

This just means tools.

A non pull harness - good but the dog can still pull to a degree (IME) Always make sure you know how to use these before using on your dog.

A halti/headcollar/ dogmatic/ black dog head halter/ canny collar and all the other variations - Brill - but make sure you know how to use these before placing them on your dog.. bad use of them can cause injured necks and rubbing of the dogs eyes. Also make sure you get the right size - the wrong size won't help you.

My Top Tip - RELAX! It does a world of good to you and your dog. If you feel yourself getting frustrated stop, count to 10 slowly, breathe and carry on. This includes how you hold the lead - if you hold it tight - she will sense it, if you loosen and do the above then she will relax and will in turn calm down. Short = pressure and if you are worried about road walking, don't do it for a while - drive to the park and just practice heel work. And if you can't drive then practice in the garden, practice up and down the path. Practice makes perfect.

IMO the retractable leads are for the 'smaller' breeds where folk want to give them an amount offreedom yet still remain in control!

personally with a lab I would use a slip lead! and as someone above suggested may be worth enrolling into a training class - although labs are quick to learn!

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SLB your probably right, i do get a little uptight after abot 30 minutes! which im sure she senses its so frustrating sometimes though especially near roads, i always get a bit panicky. ill definatly try to relax more

8tansox as soon as i find one at a good time i will definatly be enrolling

dt yeah your definatly right about them being for a smaller breed, i previously walked a lhasa apso on the retractable and it was a dream, perfect walking experiance with him on it, i guess it was silly of me to asume the same for a lab, i had no control with it was an expensive one too : ( lesson learned lol

Reinforcement strengthens behaviours & tends to make the behaviour repeat. When one behaviour occures and another event follows (consequence) almost concurrent with the first behaviour (pulling), the first behaviour is reinforced by the following consequence (treat) so pull = a treat reinforcer (reward). There are 2 reinforcers, negative (witheld) & positive (added), getting a treat for tightening the lead is positive reinforcemnt of tightening the lead behaviour (pulling).

'Click treat, click treat', would have the same effect as 'pull treat, pull treat'.

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Operant symbols

+P = Positive Punishment
-P = Negative Punishment
+R Positive Reinforcer
-R Negative Reinforcer

If you have some good off lead area nearby then dump the retracable one..
You should never allow a dog to go on a long lead along a busy street, a quick dash left or right and 2 or 3 mtrs is enough to out them under a car..

I have two of my dogs on retracable leads but , they are older, never on long leads in the street and I only use them because dogs are forbidden off lead anywhere nearby and retracable is the only way to let them have some sniffing freedom when we do get to the park..

No - I said lure her back into heel position then treat her for being there instead of being in front of you. Therefore there is no treat for tightening the lead, but there is one for being at your side..

I prefer not to use negative reinforcement either and luring is better than pulling back - as it doesn't hurt the dogs neck.
Of course it is better if you clicker train as you can get the dog to a suitable place before they get the treat - they have to work out what gets them that treat.

I wouldn't have used it as a method if I wasn't currently using it for my own dog (lab x) and if it didn't already work for my other 2 or the dogs I walked in my parents neighbourhood..