Bella is almost 3 years and has always pulled on lead. As a pup she was petrified of traffic and this is when the pulling began. She would pull to get away from traffic and she would shut down completely so I was never able to teach her to walk nicely as I think she associated the lead with nasty scary traffic.
Now she is older she is still very wary of traffic but the habit of pulling on lead is still there.
I am pretty sure I have tried everything with no sucess. She walks ok on a Gen Con head collar until she is spooked or gets very excited about where we are heading she then pulls like a steam train almost choking herself/breaking her neck in the process!
Please help! I now have a 9 month old pup who is following in Bella's footsteps and I can't cope walking two pulling dogs.
I am open to any advice as I really need to sort this.
Thanks.

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You've probably tried this already, but whenever Baldric pulls on the lead I just stop walking and wait for him to put slack back in the lead. Eventually they learn that pulling only results in going nowhere, whereas a slack lead means you get to walk.

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Thanks peds, that's definately one technique I'm going to try again.
I tried it when she was a pup but she was so scared of the traffic I got nowhere, I even tried in a place where there was no traffic and it didn't work, by then I think she associated the lead wiht traffic. Even now she hides when I get the lead out!

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http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/lo..._diagramed.doc
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/le...lktogether.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/strolling_on_lead.doc
Learning About Dogs - Walk Together, Learn Together DVD
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/wa...headhalter.pdf

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Have you tried taking her to training classes, it will be good for her to mix with the other dogs plus do some training at the same time, i recently started at training with my new rescue and we have a good time also i find its good to talk with the other owners.

I have found the best way to stop the pulling is to constantly cross the road. I used to click and cross, click and cross and treat when we got to the ther side, just continue doing it until the dog stops pulling. I love using a clicker and have found ALL of my dogs very responsive to it. Just today I took Marty out (Marty lives with me but is my eldest daughters dog and pulls like mad with her) anyway I took him out, never said a word to him when putting his harness and lead on - the harness is only used to attach his collar by a Halti clip as the Mals have very thick fur around their necks and a collar could come off - walked out of the door and before he started pulling I crossed the road, back and forth and the pulling didn't even start! As the walk progressed I didn't need to cross the road again but had he pulled at any point I would do the same, it seems to confuse them and make them forget about pulling.

I also don't take them out if they are excited and all leads, harnesses etc. are just left lying around the house, floor, sofa, table anywhere that they can be seen and handled regularly without the dogs getting excited about going out. I used to sometimes put their walking gear on and leave it on all day then take them out when they were settled or sleeping, wake them and nip them straight out - no excitement! I would put it all on, leave it on for fifteen mins or so and take it off, without taking them out at all.

All this helped desensitise them to getting excited about their walking gear being put on as they never knew if they were actually going out or if it was a false alarm. I think this helped strengthen the road crossing technique as they would not be so wound up at the start of their walks. I have three Mal, known for their pulling, who walk right by my side and I'm very proud of them for doing so.

Good luck and don't ever give up hope as I had a hell of a job with my Flynn yet only last week someone stooped their car to compliment me on my "well trained dog" how proud was I eh?

Big head moment!

ETA - Don't say a word to your dog, either when putting the walking gear on or when out, just use the clicker before you give a treat - the clicker is your voice!

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Thanks for your input.
I did a bit of training on our walk today. I know it isn't ideal to train two dogs at one time but hey, I saw an opportunity and grabbed it!
After they had thier run I walked them home both on lead. Each time one of them pulled I stopped and took two steps backwards so they followed me. When they had realxed I continued walking. I only had to stop 6 times, after that they both walked on a slack lead.
Maybe this was a fluke or maybe they can learn. I was feeling very calm, I often get frustated and I think they pick up on this.
Feeling very positive at the moment

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