5LittleMonkeys Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Okay, remember those cute black and white balls of fuzz we got a while back? Great Pyr mixes. At about 8-9 months the male now weighs close to 70 lbs. He is a great dog, potty trained pretty quickly, smart, has learned sit, stay, come, lie down, go (to a designated area in the living room), and a myriad of "tricks". He is protective, patient, and gentle with the little ones. BUT me and my dd13 are having a horrible time trying to get him to walk properly on the leash. We have, from the very beginning, tried to teach him that when walking on the leash, if he pulls he stops - no forward motion until he allows slack in the leash. The problem we are running into is that he is so full of energy that in order to get him tuckered out enough to focus on training we have to let him run, and in the coarse of exercising him he pulls almost constantly, which of coarse reinforces the bad behavior. Unfortunately we've gotten into this vicious circle and are not making any progress. The female is far more compliant and submissive so she is doing fine on the leash, having gone through the same " you pull you stop" training. So, having obviously screwed up on this particular part of his training we need to go back to square one. So please, how should I proceed from here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 We had a similar issue with one of our dogs and we ended up buying a Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness. It worked from the very first time we put it on him. I still think it is somewhat magical. ;) Here is where we got it: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+4+15019+14142&pcatid=14142 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Get the Easy Walk harness mentioned above, It provides different information to the dog. Dog's have an opposition reflex, so pressure on the neck backwards triggers them to lean into it. The Easy Walk Harness changes that so that instead of putting pressure on the front of the neck it turns the dog towards you. I've seen dogs that INSTANTLY were like 'OH, THAT's what you meant! Why didn't you say so before?" Truly a wonderful product. (and I like it MUCH better than the gentle leader by the same company.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Eric Letendre has a wealth of information. His book ans methods are the only reason we are able to keep our standard poodle. She was a hard to handle puppy. Thanks to his methods she is now a good dog. hth http://goodk9manners.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 I will see about that harness. The testimonies on the website are pretty convincing. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I have a 7 month old Great Pyr-Golden Retriever (we think) mix, and the Gentle Leader Harness was an instant fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I have a 7 month old Great Pyr-Golden Retriever (we think) mix, and the Gentle Leader Harness was an instant fix. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Its a godsend! That OR the Gentle Leader head collar (you use it similar to a head collar on a horse....where the head goes the body follows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 OK, some of you will want to send me hate mail. Please dont..... Through the recommendation of our dog trainer, which has successfully been training for over 40 years. Calm-aggressive, big-little, show-pet... her recommendation, which we LOVE is a prong collar. Our 75 lb lab/poodle mix walks very well for us, doesn't choke herself like she was before, and isn't pulling me down the street. It's "Power Steering" for your dog, without hurting or injuring them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 OK, some of you will want to send me hate mail. Please dont..... Through the recommendation of our dog trainer, which has successfully been training for over 40 years. Calm-aggressive, big-little, show-pet... her recommendation, which we LOVE is a prong collar. Our 75 lb lab/poodle mix walks very well for us, doesn't choke herself like she was before, and isn't pulling me down the street. It's "Power Steering" for your dog, without hurting or injuring them! Years ago, I had a completely out of control Golden Retriever. I was also in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy, and I was physically limited in what I could do. I had to get control over that dog, or we were going to have to get rid of her. We used a prong collar and it really did work, but I disagree that it didn't hurt her. I felt awful for using it, but we did manage to teach her to walk on leash and she turned out to be a great dog. Since then, we've used Gentle Leaders with our other dogs, and I feel they are more effective and more humane. I wonder if your trainer has ever tried one. I can imagine the prong collar being used as a last resort, but not without trying the Gentle Leaders first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 The harnesses really do work! Our dog would pull on the leash until she made herself choke and vomit and STILL keep pulling. The second we put the harness on her, she was like a totally different dog. The transformation was immediate and miraculous. The harness we got is just a basic $5 harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) OK, some of you will want to send me hate mail. Please dont..... Through the recommendation of our dog trainer, which has successfully been training for over 40 years. Calm-aggressive, big-little, show-pet... her recommendation, which we LOVE is a prong collar. Our 75 lb lab/poodle mix walks very well for us, doesn't choke herself like she was before, and isn't pulling me down the street. It's "Power Steering" for your dog, without hurting or injuring them! I won't send hate mail, because I completely agree with you. The beauty of a prong collar is that it's difficult to impossible to use it in such a way that it will harm a dog. Trainers like to say that a prong collar is idiot proof. It won't be as effective as possible if it's not fitted right, but it won't do any lasting damage to the dog. I think the training "tool" I see most frequently used incorrectly and dangerously are head collars like the Gentle Leader and Halti. Too many people just don't understand the damage one of those can do if a dog's head gets jerked around. I cringe every time I see a dog wearing a head collar and walking out ahead of its person, because when the dog hits the end of the leash his head/neck are going to get jerked around. And it's not unusual for dogs to need significant acclimating before they'll wear a head collar calmly, and some will never accept one. Most dogs are already used to a neck collar, so a prong is no big deal. Although I believe had collars can be very effective if they're used correctly and the dog is properly acclimated to wearing one. Front-clip harness can work well, too, although they tend to be hard to fit correctly on some dogs. Edited September 11, 2012 by Pawz4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) Thanks everyone. I'm going to try out one of the harnesses first and if that isn't effective I will look into the collar. I'm not even going to attempt the head harness...he will not tolerate anything around his nose/face. Edited to add: okay, I WILL attempt the head harness if the others don't work...dd just came back from taking him to pee, and she said he saw a cat and just about pulled her off her feet. Edited September 11, 2012 by 5LittleMonkeys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Cesar Millan's Illusion Collar. And his basic training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 At the shelter where I work, we use the Easy Walk harness. I have seen miracles with some really strong, out of control dogs. You just have to be sure to put it on correctly - the rings go in front at the chest and the contrasting color strap goes under the arms. I have had dogs that pulled me over stop when they wore this harness. Last winter, I knew we needed to get something for Bear, our 65 lb STRONG labradoodle, because, although he usually walked well on leash, if there was a rabbit or a squirrel, all best were off. I knew that, in icy situations, I would have ended up in the hospital. We tried the Gentle Leader head collar and he HATED it. He never got used to it and would rub his head on the ground trying to get out of it. When we tried the Easy Walk Harness, he was much more under control and stopped pulling when he saw squirrels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 whatever harness/collar you wind up using, one thing our trainer had us do for leash training is not only to stop when the dog pulls but to do a quick about face/change direction. So, when our dog pulls, we stop, spin on our heel and begin walking the opposite way. Well, he also taught her a command "junto" which means "together" which I think is similar to "heel" (she comes around and stands just to our side) so he'd give that command while turning around. Before she learned the "junto/heel" command, he would say a quick "Ah!" (like a very short chopped off version of the first syllable of apple" while giving a tug on the leash and turning around. Also, he would do LOTS of direction changes (zig-zags, turning around, speed changes, etc.) while leash training -- keeps the dog interested and paying attention, and also learning that the dog needs to match his pace to yours, because you might change unexpectedly. Maybe some of those techniques will help as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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