We have recently given a home to a rescue dog , she is approx 18 months old and has been kept in kennels , and walked only once every other day, from what we can gather she was walked a short distance and then let of the lead to run. She is a lovely dog excellent and gentle with children and is used to a home environment she does not mess and loves to play fetch withy her ball , she is good at recalling some commands and sits when asked to do so , however the big problem we are having with her is getting her to walk on a lead , she pulls and is very unfocussed leading off in different directions , and she is very easily distracted , she gets very excitable when she comes across other dogs and is hard to control , we would welcome any tips to help with her lead walking and socialising.

What is she fed on?
How long have you had her?
What breed is she?
What do you walk her on? Collar and lead? Harness? Headcollar?

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We have had her for 3 days , and have tried walking her on a collar and a harness, at that moment a harness seems to be the best , but we have read that a harness is not the best way to train a dog.She is a mixed breed , but we think she may have some greyound in her and maybe laborador.Since coming to us she has been fed on tinned food , as she was fed on dried food at the kennels but she does not seem to like this , she does however seem to have a big appertite . Hope this helps .

i note that U have a harness -
does it have a ring on the chest, where the straps meet?
if so clipping the leash to the Front ring (on her chest) will make life easier - when she pulls,
keep Ur hands \/ low \/ and swing them across Ur body, from the side she is on, TOWARD
the other side. (if she is to Ur left, swing Ur arms across Ur body to the >> right.)

this is not a jerk - it is firm steady traction, to shift her over.
keep Ur wrists straight and elbows as straight as possible, will help too.
this is body-mechanics, using her own momentum to give U leverage.

what happens?
she will be stopped with little force to her body, and very little effort on Ur part;
if U keep moving sideways (to the Right if she is on Ur left; to the Left if she is on
Ur right), she will eventually face U - and wonder what went wrong, LOL...

to U-turn:
-----------------
to bring her entirely about, step BACK with the *off* foot (the one furthest from her),
as U swing Ur arms across U; then take a 2nd step back with the near-foot (on her side).
so again, if she is to Ur left, U have both hands holding the leash, bring them low across
Ur body from left to right >>>, step back with the Right Foot, continuing the swing, then
step back with the Left Foot. she should be at least shoulder-on to U, with her Rt-shoulder
facing U and her body at an angle. turning her the rest of the way, as U pivot to Ur right,
should be easy! use Ur left hand to guide her with the leash as U turn Ur back.

it is just like putting an anchor on a small boat, tied to the bow -
when the current shifts, the boat swings about and faces into the current.
we convert her own forward momentum into sideways force, and she is swung around
her own rear, as if on a pivot. no danger of hurting her neck, no needless confrontations,
no yelling, no stress - just a dog, thinking,
*Gee that did not turn out the way i expected -
How did that happen? * :--)

turning clear around and heading in another direction at a BRISK pace, to keep the dog
moving + focused, can teach her quickly that walks are for >> moving >>...
every now and then, stop at a good sniff-spot, and give her a cue that she is now allowed to explore - wait with a relaxed leash, and do not let her drag U along behind her - U are a post, not a sled. when she pulls, a short firm tug (on her harness or a buckle collar, NOT a prong or choke!), and a cheerful, * Whoops! *, will remind her not to try to go 12 feet on a 6-ft leash, LOL.
when U are ready, move on... Briskly! :--)
have a visual destination, move toward it, choose another further on, move toward that goal, etc.

most humans 'walk the dog' by strolling along at about a mile a week, letting the DOG decide where they are going, at what pace, and when they stop - i would change that to a brisk point-to-point transit, with a series of short stops to sniff on MY terms, and at my choices - altho of course i will be choosing places that i think will have a bounty of sniff treasures for my dog! ;--)

cheers,
--- terry

terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, IPDTA, TDF

My golden retriever was from a rescue centre too and I had loads of problems walking him as he'd never been exercised. I initially had a harness for him but found it quite difficult to control him as he's so strong and was pulling a lo
t. A dog behaviourist told me that it depends where the dog's strength is ie do they pull from their chest or their head. I tried the halti harness ( the type that goes across their nose and fastens behind their ears) I have found it has completely changed walking him, he now walks alongside me and if he is distracted (usually by a cat) he's really easy to control. It's worth trying one, hope this helps

hey, erin! :--)

the difference between a harness (front-clipped, not leash clipped to the rear-ring) and a headcollar of any brand, is that the harness can go on the dog immediately and be used; the headcollar OTOH requires some habituation. dogs who have never worn one need to grow accustomed to the funny feeling of a strap across their nose.

i use the Gentle Leader by Premier-Pets, it adjusts on both nose-loop and neck-loop for a good fit. FIT is crucial - too loose on the neck, the nose-loop will be too far down the face, and it will have to be uncomfortably tightened to stay on their face!
that is *wrong*. the more-snug + higher the neck-loop,
the more-open the nose-loop can be. that is the correct fit.

i will post specifically about fitting + habituating the GL elsewhere -
look for the thread, if U would like the details. cheers,
--- terry

terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, IPDTA, TDF