On Tue, 02 May 2006 12:41:27 -0400, Handsome Jack Morrison
wrote:

On 2 May 2006 05:57:34 -0700, "arccos" wrote:

Dorothy wrote:
The best thing is to take him to a professional trainer in your area.
I was lucky with my lab and she learned really fast. We use an
e-collar when we walk around the neighborhood and a prong collar for
long walks. SHe was a HORRIBLE leash walker but now it is great and I
look forward to taking her out. The problem with regular collars is
that they can choke and even collapse the dogs throat, so be careful on
how much you let him pull. I hope this helps.

Prong collar seconded. They work great, and they don't choke, they just
make strong pulling uncomfortable. Now the only time he pulls hard is
when a rabbit runs close by. :-)

Unfortunately, the both of you appear to only be using the collar
(e-collar, prong) to CONTROL the dog rather than to TRAIN it.

Unless you both are physically unable to TRAIN your dogs, you both
should learn how to TRAIN them (yes, using those same collars), so
that eventually you won't have to use them (or any collar at all, for
that matter) when you take your dogs for a walk.

Of course, the law usually requires dogs to be on a leash when being
walked, but once your dog is TRAINED to walk on a loose leash, the
only collar you'll need to take your dog for a walk is a buckled
collar (the one you normally keep your dog's ID, rabies, etc. tags
on).

If neither of you knows how to TRAIN your dog, either an OBEDIENCE
class or a professional TRAINER can show you how.

And your vet can usually point you to a good one.

Good luck!

A little help here, Handsome Jack. We have the same pulling problem
with our Lab/Golden mix - particularly with squirrels or people she
knows along the walk.

We use a buckle collar (or gentle leader) with fair results. Nugget
is 2 years old and we have had her in 4 - 8 week group classes and 5
individual dog behaviorist visits since she was 3 months old. We walk
her daily and, admittedly, the more often, the less of a problem we
have. She has pulled the trainer to their knees.

What techniques do you use that work for you?

The greatest part of this board is others willing to share what works
- not just "get thee to a trainer".

Thanks!

Don S