Hello everybody,
Well, after our afternoon walk, me and Millie (border collie x springer spaniel), I can relax here with a cup of coffee and write about some of the things that are still fresh in my mind from the walk...
Millie is 6-month old puppy, already strong and big, I got her from a pound a month ago, and since day 1 our biggest issue is the walk on a lead. I have been trying:
- a regular lead, putting the collar high behind the ears and in front of her Adam's apple (Cesar Millan's recommendation)
- a gentle leader (going around the nose and again high behind ears) - she hated it, kept rubbing her head and nose
- a long line - so she could get the feeling of walking on a slack lead, at least for a few seconds
- and today I tried putting a lead without using the collar, in a loop, again up high behind the ears
The results? Not very good. She hates any lead and very often bites and chews it while walking.
Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks!

Hi

I have a border collie he is now 2 years old, I used to have a harness but he just seemed to pull more and i could not get his control. So i got a halti its one that goes over the nose and fastens at the back of his ears, although at first he hated it and kept trying to pull it off, he now doesnt mind it he will still try and pull it off after having it on for a while. When I first used the halti i just gave him treats and when we were out on a walk i used his ball as a distraction and he soon forgot about the halti. I have found the halti to be the best it just takes persistence and something of high value to distract them and they will soon get used to it.

Hope this helps

Have you tried a harness? She may have had bad experiences with collars around her neck, so maybe try a body harness and keep treating and praising her when she has it on to create good experiences with it.

__________________
I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

I would get a normla collar and a normal lad. but use the lead differently.
Ok, your dog has had a lot of potenetially negative experinces with lead work it seems. Personally Im not keep on Cesars methods of leashwork...it can cause discomfort at best damage and pain at worst to the dog in my experince.

So. Get a normal lead with a handle at one end, but put the clip end through the handle to create a very large noose type arrangement. Then, with the nose (which we do not plan to ever tighten, only to train with.....) as large as it will go (so maybe a foot an half diameter) try this...

Hold the noose in one hand the titbit in the other and arrange it such that to get the food, the dog has to put her own head through the large hole. Once she has had the titbit allow her to back out or remove the noose yourself. For the next few days, HAND FEED all your dogs food through the noose BUT NEVER TIGHTEN IT. Once the dog is totally comfortable with this set up and is actively trying hard to get to the food through the noose.... then try tighteneing the noose so that it just touches her neck (not tightly, just floppy but touching). When you have achieved this, if your dog is still happy then move to the next stage. Stand holding the noose so effectively where you want your dogs head to be in heel... hold the food in front and position yourself so that the dog walks herself into the heel position and puts on her own lead to gain access to the food. Assuming she is happy with this then tighten the lead suffuciently so that she wont fall over it dangling and then place the surpluss lead across her back, but with a hand full of food keep walking feeding her at your sie. I hope this is making some sense ! Kind of hard to explain.

So now we should have a dog that has put her own head into the oose lead and the lead placed loosely over her back and walking at your side. Next stage is to do the same thing with the lead in your hand not on her back, still around her neck and still LOOSE fitting.

Now spend time teachign her to walk at your side with the loose lead held in your hand following food. Progress this to the garden and street. You may find a proper rope slip lead can be used at this stage so that you have a proper loop to hold yourself. But it is importatn with your ndogs history to ensure that you can walk her on a loose lead.... else she may well regress to being fearful of leads and collars.

Hope you can make some sense of that. I wish you well with your dog. Let us know how you get on. Denise
Once you have achieved this then she may be a lot happierI would buy a proper rope slip lead and go through the same process. .

I would teach her to walk to heel without the lead to start with. Lure her to the side of your leg with a treat and then start with one step - treat, two steps - treat, and so on. When you can string a few steps together slip a rope lead over her head keeping it very loose. If she starts pulling just stand still wait for her to get back next to your leg and start again with one step, then two steps, then three steps at a time.
Don't expect miracles, it takes a lot of patience to teach a puppy to walk to heel. I would practise all of this in the house and the garden and keep the sessions very short. A young puppy like yours will not be able to concentrate for more than a few minutes.
Finish by playing a game and then let her rest and then have another session later in the day. The worst thing you can do is to let her get into a habit of pulling all the way to the park or a field where you then let her off the lead. Have you looked into some puppy classes in your area?
Best of luck with your pup.

NatCar1, how long have you been using the halti now? Do you find your dog responds to you better when off the lead? My dog looked really miserable and kept lying on the ground rubbing her nose when I put the Gentle leader on (a kind of halti), I only tried it a few times, she gets so mesmerized by everything outdoors that she just forges here and there!

Sevenpets, wouldn't a harness provoke her to pull forward (not that she doesn't pull strongly enough without one)?
Do you really have 7 pets?

Thank you, Denise, I will try... maybe when she is particularly hungry she wouldn't mind the sight of the lead in front of her, otherwise she instantly jumps at it and starts tugging... I am not into forceful and potentially harmful methods either, and neither is the dog it seems, I think she is the kind that goes well with subtle, smart ways (I am still getting to know her).
All the best to you!

Yes, most of our walks would fit into your description of that bad habit, Spaniel 04, we have a walk on the lead to the place where I let her go free, and the walk is rarely with me ahead and her following, no matter how (and what) I try... some days it's better than others, and I don't lose hope - we've been together for less than 2 months now - yet I don't want to teach her bad habits myself and then get angry at her for not doing what I expect!!
What is most characteristic of your dog?
Cheers

It could encourage her to pull. Funnily enough, my cocker pulls more on a collar than on a harness, so its worth a try, especially as she seems to not like collars at all.

I used to have seven pets, when I joined here. Unfortunately, 3 of them have since passed away (3 rats), but I still have 4 pets.

__________________
I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011