STRONG dog pulls- until we can get the money for a training class, what can I do?

[Freedom]

I smiled reading Asiel's reply, as the first thing I was going to say was, glad you are not using a prong collar! The place I use for training, they don't permit prong collars or chokers at all.

Anyway, I have a few ideas:
A harness is a good thing. Dogs who pull can end up with collapsed trachea, and that is a life time of hardship for both of you. Best to keep with a harness and skip the collar. (Bichons, which I have, are prone to collapsed trachea so we only use harnesses here.)

Can she still get out of it? If not, fine. If so, try a Rope N Go. My Tasha is a puppy mill rescue, and I went through 6 harnesses in the first 3 months I had her, until I found this. She has never been able to get out of it. Here is the link:
http://www.ubraidit.com/supplies-thumbs.php?cat=81

Next, for training. Having a clicker is a great idea! Good job! I suppose you know or will find online instructions. The main thing with a clicker is: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS click and treat. Click the INSTANT the behavior you want happens, in later stages. In early stages, any movement in the direction you want gets a click and treat. So depending on what you are training, you may work up to it in several smaller steps. The clicker allows you to capture the behavior much more quickly than you can with voice or offering a treat. When you work in steps, that is called shaping behavior.

Just in the house, when she is free and roaming around, you want to teach the command FOCUS. You hold the treat up at your forehead. The instant you get her looking, click and treat. She doesn't have to come to you, it is the attention you want, not physical movement, with this command.

For walking, use the Drunken Sailor routine. You won't make much progress for a few days, but this works! You start out with 4 steps forward. By this time, she is at the end of the lead and pulling. Turn left (or right, doesn't matter really as you will see) and take 6 steps. By now she has got in front again. Pivot right around to change direction and run 3 steps. She will run out in front of you. Turn right (or left) and take 9 baby steps. Just keep mixing it up with speed and direction. The idea is to get her to pay attention to you, not to take the front in walks. She has to follow where YOU lead, not the other way round. You can do this with treats, and with the clicker and treats as well. Each time she stops pulling and changes direction, that would be a click and treat. If you are getting dizzy, if the neighbors are looking out their windows and tsk-tsk=tsking, you are doing it correctly! If you and boyfriend do this consistently, in 3 weeks should won't be pulling.

Heeling: one definition of heel is: walking at an unaturally slow pace and having no fun at all as a doggie. While it is taught in the classes I take, it is explained to us this is to be used only in short spurts. For example to get around trash bins, or a short area of construction, or if for some strange reason there are suddenly cars in both directions (my dogs and I tend to take over the street, lol) So don't worry about teaching her to heel, IMO.

I understand about training classes being on hold for a bit. Do save up for them, she will benefit from it SO much! Until then, you will find this book very helpful: The Other End of the Leash, by Patricia McConnell. I found it at my library. Liked it so much I bought a copy off Amazon.com, but that is up to you.

[Freedom]

LOL Malibu's Mom and I posted at the same time! Sorry I've duplicated parts of what she said, I didn't see her post until after I hit submit.

[Malibu's Mom]

That's alright Freedom! Our posts compliment each other well. I actually think you did a better job of explaining your concepts.

[Freedom]

That's alright Freedom! Our posts compliment each other well. I actually think you did a better job of explaining your concepts.

Ha ha, thanks. Yes the 2 posts do work well together!

[ToBeEvergreen]

I keep going over all of this in my mind, re-reading it. Both of you, Malibu and Freedom, did an EXCELLENT job explaining it. The clicker will be my best friend . And that harness, I've never seen anything like it. Must be pretty strong.

Asiel, I must respectfully disagree with the use of a prong collar or a choker, thank you.

And thank you IRescue. I am looking for training overall.

I'll post back if questions arise, and with my progress with her every now and then.

Actually, I think I finally found out her motive to pulling-possibly eagerness, too soon to tell. I can't be completely sure, but we brought her to Petco for the second time in her life today (the first didn't go too well, too many dogs at once). There weren't a lot of people or dogs, but as soon as the double doors opened, there was a medium sized, female dog, standing there with her owner. The dog was calm enough for me to approach slowly with Cass, and to my surprise, she was very friendly and gentle with the other dog! A little excited at first, but she was so good. I'm still being extra cautious when she pulls towards dogs, but this is a good sign to start with. As always, when she's out of our house, she is very friendly with people (the people in the pet store got a kick out of her!). Otherwise, we have a little bouncer.

Also, I tried a little of the turn-when-she-pulls method, and she was a bit hesitant, but I think she's starting to get the picture. I stopped when she pulled in the store, which caused her to lay down on the floor in the pet store... here's a pic of her in the car on the way back. She was happy to be out- I promised her a tennis ball if she was good in there, and she chewed it up in 10 minutes :P.

[luvofallhorses]

I am sorry if this has been repeated, but if she has a harness that has a loop in the front, clip her leash to it and walk her that way. It will catch her off-balance at first.. but you have more control of her that way. My friend that is a dog trainer uses that method and I walked her deaf pup like that she was fostering for a hike and it worked for her like a charm!

Prong collars are not cruel btw, they can be a great training tool and need to be fitted properly and used right.. do NOT get one

ne if you do not know how to use it though or put it on or seek a certified trainer's advice how to use it and put it on. There are also martingles who are humane choke collars and don't really choke the dog when you pull up.

[Asiel]

The weak point of the clicker trainer's argument is in the assumption that using compulsion (giving a dog a correction) is the same as punishment and/or force. In reality, a well timed motivational correction is merely a method of telling the dog that he did something wrong. ( I guess you think that the mother dog uses "violence" on the puppies, too?) Imagine trying to learn how to drive a car with an instructor who only told you when you were doing something right. And refused to tell you when you were doing something wrong. Sure, you might eventually learn how to drive (if you didn't kill yourself first), but the fastest and easiest method of learning ANYTHING is to know when you are doing something right as well as when you are doing something wrong.

The prong collar is like power steering. It is a phenomenal tool for teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash, as well as allowing you to give your dog a motivational correction in a manner that gets your point across. (No pun intended). Used by anyone who knows how to use it, this training collar is safe and humane.
Our club tried clicker training and decided we weren't getting the desired results in the long run so we don't use it anymore, just think if you were ever caught without a clicker.

To each his own I guess. I would never use anything but a prong as it allows me to work any strong dog that comes along without losing an arm or hurting the dog. JMO

[ToBeEvergreen]

No harm no foul eh? Not looking to start an argument, as we are both stuck in our ways on this one it seems! Just different training methods.

I am sorry if this has been repeated, but if she has a harness that has a loop in the front, clip her leash to it and walk her that way. It will catch her off-balance at first.. but you have more control of her that way. My friend that is a dog trainer uses that method and I walked her deaf pup like that she was fostering for a hike and it worked for her like a charm!

I walk her that way already, one step ahead of ya . It does deter pulling a LOT. And then she looks back at me and usually slows down.