Not surprisingly I suppose my Greek rescue dog Hannah who we collected from Heathrow a week ago,  is terrible on the lead.  Having lived on the beach and then in quarantine kennels I don't suppose she has been on the lead much apart from trips to the vet etc.  The Rescue told me she was pretty bad and hated the lead.

As soon as the lead is clipped on she either plants her feet sniffing the ground or pulls and tugs to the left.  Although she is not a large dog she is quite powerfully built   and strong.  Every day we are doing lead training with her and things have improved a bit but it is a bit of a battle.   She also hates the car which I have to put her in to get to the moor and dribbles on the short journey!  The trouble is because she is still nervous and timid we can't let her off for a good run which is what she needs, she is only about 15 or 16 months old, as she may disappear in panic!

I know it's very early days and Hannah is learning a whole new way of life.  On the plus side she is as clean as a whistle and only ever had one accident indoors on her first day.  She is not much of a barker and is very good in the kitchen all night.  She follows me around all the time which I know is a sign of insecurity but she will settle down I am sure.  But the lead walking is a bit of a nightmare!

Help!

Snowflake

If she pulls when you walk then quickly turn and go the other way and at the same time say heal- its alot of turning but does pay off in the end...

If she is not moving at all try use a treat and calling her, or just calling her as your moving very excitedly to get her to walk with you...

You could try a very long lead and allow her room to roam around and work on your recall with calling her excitedly/praise/treat/toy always something different-

Best of luck and I am sure she will come around :-)

She is settling in and learning new things so give her time ! Most rescues dogs take a few months to really get to grips with their new lives.

Be patient and lots of TLC and you will soon see she starts to respond and enjoy. As for the car try and get her used to it but getting her in the car without the intention of going any where. Play a game with her and give her lots of treats as if she learns the car is a fun place where you get food she will associate that rather than a place where she gets taken to a vets !

If she is food orientated then you can use a technique used by obedience people.

It's a bit difficult to describe in words, however here goes:

Start in your own garden, have a pocketful of treats in your left pocket & with your dog off lead,  hold a treat at arms length to your side just above her nose level so she as to look up slightly to reach the treat & walk a few paces & as long as she is trying to reach the food treat her, repeat again & do some large circles rewarding repeatedly after a few paces. Don't go overboard & do long training sessions, 5-10 mins maximum 3-4 times a day.

Once she has got the idea, then gradually bring your arm towards your side & eventually you will have her walking quite closely to you off lead, because she wants to. You can gradually lessen the number of treats & increase the number of paces. When you reach this stage, attach a lightish lead, which you should hold in your right hand, so you can still lure her to you & get her attention on you & not the lead. At this stage go back to having her at arms length to start & then lure her to your side, if she starts to get ahead of you, go into a left handed circle.

Once you have got her to walking nicely on lead at home then you can go out armed with your treats & apply the training to road walking

Both my cockers were pullers, the method that worked for me was stopping dead and waiting til the lead went loose, praise, treat, and walk on.  It would take me ages to get to the end of the road, but well worth it as they soon got the hang of it.

Good Luck x

Good luck ! One of ours wouldnt walk on the lead until he was 5 months old , persistance and training every day paid off . but it takes time and thats just with a puppy , a dog thats adapting to everything new will take longer

>She also hates the car which I have to put her in to get to the moor and dribbles on the short journey!

Have you tried using a DAP (dog appeasing pheremone) for her in the car. My girl hated the car but did improve greatly when I used the DAP spray.

HTH

Good for you taking on a rescue dog - lucky Hannah having you!  I wish you and Hannah all the best for the futureXXX

I would probably use the lead only for security at the moment, rather than for "leading/guiding" her (IYSWIM).

Once she is used to it and understands what it means, she can then be guided.

So when you are out on the moor get her to come with you by calling, luring etc whilst she is on a long lead and harness - she will also learn not to dislike the lead if you do this and take it slowly IMO :)

Thanks All.

As you say,  we are just using the long training lead to guide her and try not to pull her too much.  Our walks take forever as there is an enormous amount of sniffing and we don't like to pull too hard as we want her to feel that her walks are pleasurable.

I will do a separate thread about her general progress which is amazing.

Snowflake