[DanCole42]

My wife and I have a five month old border collie/shepherd (????) mix. She tends to be timid around other dogs, but mostly her problem is that when she's outside she gets distracted by just about everything.

This doesn't result in her bolting to the interesting sites/sounds, it's more like she doesn't want to move or pay attention when she sees/hears one.

Twice she's slipped out of her standard collar by pulling backwards (and yes, it's tight enough).

How does DogForums feel about different leash/collar/harness options?

Our main goal is to keep her walking, even when she's distracted.

 

[Amaryllis]

You need a martingale collar. They're designed for dogs who slip backwards out of collars.

 

[Borzoifan]

you could try a headcollar? halti do great headcollars in all shapes and sizes. it's worth a try good luck with your decision! x

 

[Gally]

I will second the vote for a martingale collar and also suggest carrying some really yummy treats to help keep her attention on you when something overly distracting comes up.

 

[Abbylynn]

I third the Martingale Collar, I got mine at www.2Houndsdesign.com Excellent service and excellent quality collars ... many many to choose from.

Here is the one I purchased for for Abbylynn ...

 

[winniec777]

I'll vote for another option that helped with our timid dog. She acted much like your pup, backing out of collars and harnesses when she got scared. We tried an Easy-Walk Harness on the recommendation of a trainer and it worked really well. Not only did it help us train her in loose leash walking, she could no longer back out of it. Just make sure it fits well.

Hard to tell from your description whether it's distraction or fear. If it's fear, I would not recommend trying a halti. I'm not crazy about them for general use and I'm really not crazy about using them with scared animals. The last thing I would want to do with a scared animal is to make it feel forced or physically restrained in any way that it might find aversive and I think that's what the head collars do. Scared dogs need to feel like they have an out. The halter is still a restraint system, but if you do your job and watch her body language and get her away from things that are scaring her, it won't feel aversive to her. And she'll start to trust you to protect her when she gets scared, which will make her much more willing to follow you on the lead.

And regardless of whether it's distraction or fear, I would never force a puppy to go for a walk. I would try to figure out what was bothering her and see what I could do to desensitize her to it and/or figure out a way to lure her into the walking in a positive way. Force marching a dog through a walk is no fun for anyone.

Have you tried being really exciting, using a favorite toy, or having someone she really wants to see stand a little off in the distance and call out to her? The point is to try to find something she finds rewarding and to get her to move towards it, increasing the length she's moving each time. Rinse, repeat until she begins to look forward to walks.