[skookie]

I have a forty lb, 6 m/o pit bull. She takes me for walks. We tried the gently leader and 1. she can get it off, no matter how tight or how secure it is 2. she still pulls so hard she gets raw under her eyes, and under her chin 3. I want a permanent solution, and this is obviously not working

I've tried when she starts pulling to just turn around and walk the other way, not jerking the leash of course, just simply turning and going the other way. It doesn't work, she thinks its a fun game, run in circles around me.

I've tried rewarding her when she is doing well, no success there either.

And she cannot be punished really, she thinks its a game.

She needs exercise. But every time she sees another dog, or person, she pulls so hard i get leash burn on my hands, jerks me, drags me, it is REALLY embarrassing. (I'm 5ft tall 100 lbs) .

I don't know what to do, harnesses do not work either. She pulls no matter what I try. It's been 4 months of working on this, and still absolutely no progress whatsoever.

Any suggestions?

 

[dakotajo]

I am soo with you on this one! I was just raving about the Halti until TODAY...... a dog came from across the street to meet mine and everything happened at once and she managed to flip it right off completely!! The other dog was friendly but mine is totally out of control in a happy way of course. Mine does the same thing with pulling and dragging me hurting my hands and it must look pitiful to the others who are watching when we have no control. Mine starts obedience on the 24th, does your dog have any obedience training? Oh ya, and I also had treats in my pocket, it was just a joke

 

[hulkamaniac]

I say put it to work for you. I got tired of my dogs pulling so I strapped on a pair of roller blades and said, "Pull away." I end up with a little bit of exercise and two worn out dogs and they end up with a job to do so everyone ends up happy.

 

[Pepper]

When she starts pulling, stop in your place until she notices something is up.

Get some really, really yummy treats, and find where you want her to walk, 3ft behind you, 3 ft in front of you, 3 ft beside you etc...

Only treat her when she is in that area, and she will soon learn that is a good spot to be. If she moves out of the spot, no treats, and maybe say something like...Uh oh..and stop in your place. Then start moving again and you can hold you hand at your hip and treat from their and just let her nibble on it so she knows thats where she gets rewarded,

Also, teach her to sit before greeting people. Practice it with friends outside, etc..

 

[GusDad]

First step - wear out your dog, but not on the leash. Off leash running, play group, even a treadmill, anything to tire them out. If your dog is wired then it's hard to achieve success at reducing the pulling.

Second step - put the leash on your tired dog. Walk around your house, yard, whatever... with a distinct praise and "yes" followed by a treat when they are on the leash but not pulling. Tension on the leash, no reward. Slack leash, praise and treat.

Step three - once you've established some compliance, add stimuli - a toy, a treat, whatever - when your dog is tired. Reward the lack of pulling.

I wouldn't rollerblade behind your dog unless you want a dog that pulls you around on blades but can't walk on the leash.

 

[skookie]

Thanks so much for a your advice. My dog would kill me on roller blades, I cannot roller blade anyways. That sounds extremely dangerous.

We went to the pet store today and tried on a prong collar, and a harness with a thick 'y' front. We purchased the harness, its alot better than the previous ones we have tried. I also shortened her leash to more like a tab. She is just SOOOO friendly. Its almost obnoxious. I figure instead of trying to get her to stop pulling, I will get her to ignore other dogs and people unless THEY want to say hello.

She has not had any obedience training at all, we haven't needed it, and we also cannot afford it.

The only issue we have with her left to work on is her excitement. She pulls, and jumps on people. We have tried EVERYTHING. Well maybe not everything cause nothing has worked yet, theres gotta be something out there that works on this little monster!

 

[dakotajo]

I have been thinking alot about the prong collar myself. I looked on ebay and contacted the seller who is also a trainer I guess and this is his reply:


Hello

Nice to meet you and thank you for the opportunity to answer your question. And thank you for the interest in our product.

Let me first start by telling you that we have trained dogs for many years and that is still our main source of income. We have worked with many, especially, the working breads. I don't know if you have had a chance to see us on the web or on facebook but we have a lot of videos on each.

Any piece of equipment that you decide to use is just there to aid in the modification process. Without the proper foundation laid and the correct maintenance conducted (consistency) the dog will never LEARN how to walk properly. I say that to say this:

The collar is a great tool and if used properly can really aid in the behavior modification process. It will result in a quick patch but don't relay totally on the collar to do all the work.

Your trainer will help you with that. The collar will give you the ease of immediate correction but I always look for the "want" of the dog to walk properly. Meaning, I never want to force the dog to walk properly but for the dog to learn how and then for the dog to WANT to do it. So, the collar would be a great tool and will assist you in your training but I would be wrong to say that it is the fix all for you. Just like the leader is tool, so is the collar. People are often misled to believe that these devices are fix-alls. They make them out to be magic powder that will immediately fix your problems but you will always need the proper foundation and then consistency if you ever want it to be relatively permanent or learned behavior. I will let you make your own decision on whether this collar is right for you or not. But if I had to guess, Your trainer would recommend that you use one.

So...I'm thinking to contact my trainer first. Is there a trainer around that you could even phone for more help and tips? I'm thinking I might have to use this collar just to get into the class without her going crazy, and standing like a tree.....well let's just say the tree falls over

 

[Kathyy]

One plus of obedience classes is the socialization. You and your dog learn to work around other dogs. You see the same dogs every week and don't get to play with them. And you learn to sit/down/stay/heel/come. Maybe you can find some other people with obnoxiously lovey dogs and train together? Meet at a large field, work far away at first and after meeting the day's goal having a meeting up play time?

I wouldn't be safe on roller blades either. I was fine on a bike until the two squirrels on one block incident. Stopped biking for a couple years after that one. Wasn't me so much as the dog nearly going into the wheel. Scared me silly, she was just fine. I do think it would be really good for her if you could figure out a way for her to get to use all that great energy and strength. I would love a dog scooter if I had a dog that needed to pull. A brake, low center of gravity and don't want to go too fast for the dog.

Andrea Arden has one book that really got to me. Training Your Dog the Lazy Way. I had a dog that screamed when he thought a walk was coming up. In one session he figured out that no longer worked. He screamed, the door shut. He shut up, the door opened. See if you can read this, there might be one of those special tidbits in there that work for you. None of this works fast and we have to be more persistant than the dog. Dogs are really persistant.

 

[skookie]

We go for walks as well as socialize where ever we can that allows dogs. As well as arrange play dates with friends with pits, (they always seem to get along better when its pits playing with pits) and take her to dog parks etc. But shes just too friendly.

The reason I feel obedience class in not really for us is because she already does sit/stay/heel/come/lie down/crawl/roll over/smiles/begs/dances/runs circles/weaves in and out of my legs/balances treats on her nose etc. And does it around other dogs, but as soon as she has completed the demand, she is right back to being jumpy, pulling, etc.

I'm going to try taking her to a bunch of peoples houses, with or without dogs, and having people come over to our place, and every time she reacts to excitedly...she will be walked to another room or the door will be closed in her face.

And for walks, maybe every time she sees a dog or person, and reacts by pulling/jumping etc, we will turn around and walk the other way until she can remain calm.

What do you think?

 

[drea]

You can also teach her to sit or down whenever you/she sees another dog/person/whatever. I'm doing that with Tucker. It's slow going, but I'm hopeful.

ETA: Make sure that the distraction is far enough away at first, so you'll have her attention.