cshenk wrote:

Best I have seen so far is:
Every time your dog pulls on leash and you continue the walk, you are
rewarding her for pulling and lunging. Every time your dog gets out of
control it is essential that you instantly stop the walk, stand still and
wait for her to calm down before continuing. It is a tremendous effort in
patience at first but it will pay off if you persevere. You may only get to
the end of the block or even your driveway on your first outing, but if you
give in to your dog's demands, then she will continue to pull. You can speed
up the process by asking her to sit- stay for about 5 to 10 seconds every
time she begins to pull. Of course this will only work if your dog already
has a reliable sit-stay.


A few suggestions. One of these may work.


First is a modification of the technique above. The idea is the same--
to teach the dog that pulling doesn't get him anywhere. Instead of
stopping and standing still which means it may take a moment for the dog
to realize that he isn't going anywhere, you change directions in an
upbeat happy fast way. With this method, the dog IS getting somewhere--
as long as the leash is loose. The instant the leash is tight, the
dog doesn't get to whatever he sees in the distance and had him
distracted. At that moment, he has to switch. Walks don't go far, but
the dog does get exercise.


Second is clicker training a heel. In the house, you clicker train your
dog to place his nose by your knee (or thigh or wherever it would fall
if he were walking perfectly by your side). Then you move the operation
outside. Then you ease up on the behavior that gets him a click/treat.
It goes from having to be in perfect heel position to having to be on
a loose leash.


Third is clicker training walking on a loose leash. I think this is
harder because it's less exact, but others will disagree. When the
leash is loose, you click/treat.


Are you sure you won't consider a choke chain or prong collar? The
choke chain was a disaster for Cubbe, but it worked nicely for Sheppe.
A few training sessions with it, and she didn't pull anymore. I'm no
advocate for choke chains, but I believe they can be appropriate for
some dogs. You'd want to have someone show you how to use it properly.


--Lia