Pulling is not stopping no matter what!

[Myra]

I am a fairly new, first time dog owner. I have a 10 month old German Shepherd/Husky I adopted from the SPCA 7 weeks ago. I had a personal trainer come to my house - picked a bad one! I am on a waiting list to begin obedience training in one week. With so many different tools to stop a dog from pulling, I found the tools - choke chain, harness & halti, not working without having to correct every 5 seconds. Note: I try to walk my dog on my left side in heel position. I excercise her (play fetch) before walks and even that does not help, especially when she sees another dog or cat. She expects to play meet every animal and human.

[Karen]

Okay, welcome to Pet Talk, and welcome to the joys of dog ownership!

Your dog is still a puppy, and so it's going to be a challenge to train her right now, but it CAN be done, and the sooner, of course, the better! With her breed mix, she's likely very smart, and strong, and so this is not going to be particularly easy, but once you get her leash-trained, both your lives will be much easier, and you'll have a GREAT dog for years to come! Shepherds can be a bit controlling, and huskies LOVE to pull - but your dog most will want to please you - that's the one thing in your favor. You are doing several things right, by keeping her in consistent position, and giving her plenty of exercise, by the way.

The key is consistency, and being willing to look ridiculous. Pick one thing, and stick with it, and be prepared to reinforce the training every walk! Does she know "sit"? Start on your walk, and the minute she starts to pull away from you, stop in your tracks. Bring her back to you, tell her "sit," maybe give her a bit of treat, and when she is calm, start your walk again. Repeat the process. Focus on the long-term goal, because you're gonna feel silly, as it'll feel more like taking a "stop" than a walk, but just repeat it, over and over. As soon as she starts to pull away, stop again. She will pick up on it, I promise.

Thank you for rescuing her, and I promise that once you get in obedience class, things will get even better, but by starting the leash training now, you're gonna have the star pupil. And your arm muscles will thank you!

[Freedom]

The obedience class will help. Where are you taking that?

The good ones are folks who are either AKC or APDT certified. (APDT = American Pet Dog Trainers) They have dogs and they work with their dogs, so they have experience. Some places like PetCO and PetSmart may ahve trainers who never owned a dog, just took a class and passed a written test.

You learn from the other folks in class, as well.


The halti is the best way to stop this behaviour, keep using that, take that to class. A certified trainer like above will not permit you to use a choke collar.

Keep in mind that some dogs do not want to be in the heel position. I have one, a rescue bichon, who need to be about 5 feet away from me and slightly behind me. So that is where she feels most comfortable and that is where she walks. She panics if someone is behind her, so she keeps me in front. A trainer will help you sort all this out.

Welcome to Pet Talk!

[Asiel]

If you're weak, meaning no strength in your arms you could put a small ribbon coated prong on the pup. BUT, under no circumstances should you ever pull or correct. Just walk at the ordinary speed and the dog will follow after realizing it's the best way to go. But have an EXPERIENCED trainer show you how to use the collar and how to put it on properly. I don't like choke collars for pups or any dog for that matter because of the harm they can do to the trachea. If the pup doesn't fight the halti it too can be the best tool. some pups fight hard against it and get hurt though so you have to watch for that.
Lots of praise and lots of treats, that dog will automaticalluy want to follow you.

[Myra]

Myra has already injured herself using the Halti. I understand she is a puppy as well as being a breed that likes to pull. She is a really wonderful dog. She loves to swim and plays very well with other dogs as long as she is on leash. And yes, I must certainly look competely ridiculous walking this pooch!

I forgot to mention I also tried the 'gentle leader' - not good, she hurt her nose real bad!

Yes, I did choose Petsmart. I hope I made the right choice. We completed our first session today with only 3 dogs...all being female...lol! I am a little sceptical with what to expect.

Thank you so much for all your advice. Any advice anyone has is definately helping me understand how I can give the best care to my sweet Myra.

[DriftyAlison0]

I would recommend using a Gentle leader. That is what I am using for my dog and it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XMb2XRVVs

[carrie]

Hello, welcome and good for you for asking for advice!

I think you have been very very underserved by the organisation you got your dog from. If I was you I would make a very big fuss and I would do it really loudly on a Saturday when there is a lot of people around! I might even alert the local press that I was going to have a bit of a justified rant and tell local radio too! Tell the kennel well in advance, tell them that you are unhppy with the pup as it does not come even close to the criteria you

A German Shep is not a first time dog in Europe - you will get away with it USA (different bloodlines) - German Shep crossed with anything that is going to have a stronger prey/running/pulling/killing drive is an absolute no go for a first time owner!

[Husky_mom]

having huskies myself I totally get the pulling thing.. although mine weren´t as pully and needed just a little amount of training..

the ahlti, gentle leaders are what I´ve read best for this case.. but if it hasn´t worked for you.. you might try what Karen said.. the stop sit way.. or another way.. is when pulling turn 180° on your tracks.. and keep going.. a treat while in the heel position is good so your pup gets that being close gets her a treat...

btw welcome.. and can´t wait to see your cutie