Hello,
My five year old dog tends to pull a lot on the leash. Recently she
has been doing it more and more, to the point where she is giving
everyone an arm ache.
Can anyone recommend a way to deal with this?
Thanks,
Michal

(Michal) wrote in news:9353e06b.0502080608.3938fec9
@posting.google.com:

Hello,
My five year old dog tends to pull a lot on the leash. Recently she
has been doing it more and more, to the point where she is giving
everyone an arm ache.
Can anyone recommend a way to deal with this?
Thanks,
Michal


Taking an obedience class would be a good idea.

Zoe learned to walk on a loose leash using a Gentle Leader, and Queenie is
learning that way too. She's a big ox of a dog but the GL makes handling
her very easy.

--Catherine
& Zoe & Queenie

On 8 Feb 2005 06:08:50 -0800 Michal whittled these words:
Hello,
My five year old dog tends to pull a lot on the leash. Recently she
has been doing it more and more, to the point where she is giving
everyone an arm ache.
Can anyone recommend a way to deal with this?

A good obedience class is an excellent way for you to learn how to
communicate with your dog. It is particularly valuable in helping you
overcome bad habits you are probably unaware of. If you don't notice, for
example, when you are being inconsistent, you won't improve. A good
instructor WILL notice and will help make you more aware of it. You just
can't beat an observant outside eye for helping solve dog problems.

--
Diane Blackman
http://dog-play.com/
http://dogplay.com/Shop/

Handsome Jack Morrison wrote in
:

On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 14:41:15 +0000 (UTC), ceb
wrote:

[]
Zoe learned to walk on a loose leash using a Gentle Leader
[]

Catherine, how does Zoe do on, say, a plain buckled collar?


She does great now. The GL was just a learning tool and it really helped
her get the concept of loose-leash walking. I can't remember how long we
used it for, but I phased it out -- for a while there I was carrying it
with me on our walks and would put it on if she started pulling. She
didn't need that to happen too often, which was good.

I now (shamefully) use one of the flexi leashes for Zoe, which of course
rewards the dog for pulling a bit... she does well on it though, not
pulling when she's at the end of it, and if I reel her in and shorten it,
she'll trot along beside me without pulling.

I suspect I will have to use the GL for a longer time on Queenie, just
because she is so hard to manage because of her size. But we are in an
obedience class, and I am teaching her, so hopefully she'll learn to walk
well and no longer need the GL.

--Catherine
& Zoe & Queenie, my little black dog brigade

We watch the "Dog Whisperer" every day at 10:30 EST channel 101 digital
cable, the National Geographic channel. He is a wonder but the message is
always the same with dogs that pull on the leash. They are demonstrating
dominance which should be YOUR job. He uses a short, light nylon lead with
only a loop in it but puts it HIGH on the neck right behind the ears. Not
lower where we all would naturally put the loop. This keeps the head up and
the dog feels it more. Apparently this is the position handlers use in dog
shows to give that heads up appearance. A side pull for correction
whenever the dog goes ahead and he has these dogs walking beside him in a
matter of minutes! Now it's only TV and I can't vouch for the truth of the
show but it is on every day, 2 dogs a day, and the message is always the
same - "take control, be the Alpha dog for your dog" The dog actually wants
this and will readily adapt to firm control from you. If you can watch the
show I would highly recommend it - I don't think you would need anyone
else's help if you do.
"Michal" wrote in message
om...
Hello,
My five year old dog tends to pull a lot on the leash. Recently she
has been doing it more and more, to the point where she is giving
everyone an arm ache.
Can anyone recommend a way to deal with this?
Thanks,
Michal

"John Bennett" wrote in
:

We watch the "Dog Whisperer" every day at 10:30 EST channel 101
digital cable, the National Geographic channel. He is a wonder but
the message is always the same with dogs that pull on the leash. They
are demonstrating dominance which should be YOUR job.

That may be the message, but it's nonsense. IMO, of course. I'm not even
sure that most dogs associate pulling with the attendant humans at all.
Why would they?

Of course, it's entirely possible that Noah was expressing his dominance
over the fencepost when he'd pull. I used to leash him first, loop the
leash handle over a post and let him wear himself out while I got the
others hooked up. The fencepost wasn't impressed. Nor did the fencepost
take Noah's pulling personally. (I learned a lot from that fencepost.)

He uses a
short, light nylon lead with only a loop in it but puts it HIGH on
the neck right behind the ears. Not lower where we all would naturally
put the loop. This keeps the head up and the dog feels it more.

It only keeps the dog's head up if there's tension on the lead. What's the
use of that? For that matter, why would anyone want their dog "on-
command" for an entire walk? I suppose those who only walk their dogs a
few blocks could do that, but when I've got four dogs and I'm going 5-6
miles and taking 90 minutes or so to do it, I don't think it's reasonable
to expect my dogs to maintain an unbroken focus for that.

The best advice I can give about watching a trainer, whether it's a TV show
or an in-person demonstration, is "watch, don't listen". So many times I
see trainers do one thing and say something completely different, or
attribute the success of their techniques to some particular philosophy
when it's the timing that's key. Of course, the books, tapes, seminars,
and specialized trade-marked equipment can be purchased. Timing cannot.

--
Mary H. and the Ames National Zoo:
Raise A Fund, ANZ Babylon Ranger, ANZ MarmaDUKE, and Rotund Rhia

Michal: You've read the well-meaning but useless responses to my advice.
Try to see the show and draw your own conclusion. I have used a form of
this training with a Husky and 2 German Shepherds over the past 30 years all
of whom quickly learned to walk with a slack leash. Their curiosity may
have to be satisfied some other way. The important thing here is for YOU to
enjoy the walk. If you're happy your dog'll be happy. I would not describe
a dog pulling on a leash as a happy dog. More like anxious and doesn't
really know what he is doing or supposed to do. The fence post analogy is
really off the wall! Of course the dog wants to get away from the post; who
wouldn't? Are you a fence post? Or are you the loving master of a dog who
only wants to do what you want but has to learn what that is.

"John Bennett" wrote in message
...
We watch the "Dog Whisperer" every day at 10:30 EST channel 101 digital
cable, the National Geographic channel. He is a wonder but the message is
always the same with dogs that pull on the leash. They are demonstrating
dominance which should be YOUR job. He uses a short, light nylon lead
with only a loop in it but puts it HIGH on the neck right behind the ears.
Not lower where we all would naturally put the loop. This keeps the head
up and the dog feels it more. Apparently this is the position handlers
use in dog shows to give that heads up appearance. A side pull for
correction whenever the dog goes ahead and he has these dogs walking
beside him in a matter of minutes! Now it's only TV and I can't vouch
for the truth of the show but it is on every day, 2 dogs a day, and the
message is always the same - "take control, be the Alpha dog for your dog"
The dog actually wants this and will readily adapt to firm control from
you. If you can watch the show I would highly recommend it - I don't
think you would need anyone else's help if you do.
"Michal" wrote in message
om...
Hello,
My five year old dog tends to pull a lot on the leash. Recently she
has been doing it more and more, to the point where she is giving
everyone an arm ache.
Can anyone recommend a way to deal with this?
Thanks,
Michal

On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 21:31:03 GMT, "John Bennett"
wrote:

We watch the "Dog Whisperer" every day at 10:30 EST channel 101 digital
cable, the National Geographic channel. He is a wonder but the message is
always the same with dogs that pull on the leash.

Hmph. I'll admit I've not seen this, but from a discussion about it
on an e-mail list, he sounds less than wonderful.

They are demonstrating
dominance which should be YOUR job.

Oh, balderdash. Dogs don't pull on the leash as a canine display of
dick-waving. They pull on the leash because they learn it's a way of
getting where they want to go. Most pulling dogs have owners
stumbling along behind them. It's not an act of dominance, it's how
you get to the other dog. Or the person. Or the field. No sinister
ulterior motives involved.

He uses a short, light nylon lead with
only a loop in it but puts it HIGH on the neck right behind the ears. Not
lower where we all would naturally put the loop. This keeps the head up and
the dog feels it more. Apparently this is the position handlers use in dog
shows to give that heads up appearance. A side pull for correction
whenever the dog goes ahead and he has these dogs walking beside him in a
matter of minutes!

Collar corrections are one way of teaching a dog to walk with you.
Done correctly, it works well. Not the method I use, and I'd prefer
not to see JQP out trying it after watching it on TV for two minutes,
without a qualified instructor assisting them.

But it still has nothing to do with establishing dominance.

Yes, the human needs to assume the position of pack leader. But
that's not about using physical force. The one who owns the resources
is the leader. As such: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

--
Leah Roberts, Family Dog Trainer
It's A Dog's World
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://re-vita.net/dfrntdrums

On 8 Feb 2005 22:43:46 GMT, Mary Healey wrote:

I'm not even
sure that most dogs associate pulling with the attendant humans at all.
Why would they?

i can guarantee you that elliott doesn't. he hasn't got a
human-dominant fiber in his body (haw!). when he pulls, it's because
he's either filled with joie de chien (really, there's nothing quite
like a slap-happy elliott) or he's suffering from demonic prey drive
possession. alas, he's a bear of very little brane and we must work
with what we have.

harriet, OTOH, is happy to run rough-shod over anyone who'll let her.
funnily enough, she's never pulled on-lead.

--
shelly
http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette || http://cat-sidh.blogspot.com

The world is divided into two categories: failures and unknowns.
-- Francis Picabia

"John Bennett" wrote in
:

Michal: You've read the well-meaning but useless responses to my
advice. Try to see the show and draw your own conclusion.

Absolutely. But turn the sound off and *watch* what happens.

I have used
a form of this training with a Husky and 2 German Shepherds over the
past 30 years all of whom quickly learned to walk with a slack leash.

3 dogs in 30 years? Wow. How far do you walk your dogs each time?

FWIW, I currently walk a Lab, an ACD, and a Terrier mix. Three dogs at
once. I used to walk as many as five at once. No, I'm not a
professional dog-walker, these were all my dogs or my roommate's dogs.

Dominance and pulling are not related.

Their curiosity may have to be satisfied some other way. The
important thing here is for YOU to enjoy the walk.

If that's the important thing, walk by yourself.

If you're happy
your dog'll be happy. I would not describe a dog pulling on a leash as
a happy dog. More like anxious and doesn't really know what he is
doing or supposed to do. The fence post analogy is really off the
wall!

Not an analogy, silly. True-life tale. Yeah, I could have put him in a
down-stay, but Noah really was a dog of very little brane and self-
control was difficult for him.

Are you a fence post?

Oddly enough, "make like a tree" is one method of teaching a dog to walk
on a loose leash.

You still haven't addressed the idea of putting tension on a leash to
stop pulling.

--
Mary H. and the Ames National Zoo:
Raise A Fund, ANZ Babylon Ranger, ANZ MarmaDUKE, and Rotund Rhia