Hi! We have a 7 month old Springer Spaniel. We have had him for 2 months. He is a very hyper dog. We take him for long walks every day,but he is still choking himself. The choking does NOT stop, EVER! We had tried the " turn around and walk the other way", Pull harness's, we have tried stopping dead in our tracks, we have tried treats. We have tried it all and he still pulls the entire time we are walking. Yesterday he had himeself so "choked" that he could not bark at another dog when he tried! Does anybody have any suggestions for us........how about a choke collar? We appreciate any advice!

Hi TieDie

A lot of us have (had) dogs who pull on the lead. Different people will recommend different approaches to curing the problem and sometimes it's a case of finding out what works for you.
I have had a certain amount of success using a halti.
It sounds as if you need to get this sorted soonish - the constant choking can't be doing your dog (or you :) ) much good.

Good luck

You should stop in your tracks and not go forward. If he still continues to pull then you should stop your walk immediately and return to the house. What is he like inside the house. Does he pull when he has the lead on before you leave.? Again if he starts pulling even before you leave the house then stop and take of the lead. You may not get very far for a few days/weeks with this method but so long as you are consistent and not go forward then he should learn.
Im sure more experienced dog handlers will also provide you with information. I think that a choke collar will not stop him from pulling as it should only be used as a check chain and he will only choke himself as with a collar. Good luck with your puller.

Hi :)

Welcome to Champdogs :D
Im not experienced enough to offer behavioural advice, someone will hopefully be along to advise you better.
In the meantime take a look at [link http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?tid=19646&hilite=choking%20when%20walking#139660]this[/link] earlier thread that lel started as she had the same problem. Might give you some ideas.

Good Luck

Ali :)

Hi
Yes we too had this problem with our pup - he was really bad to the extent i was worried about damaging his throat / neck . He is a little better now . He is 5 months old now
We tried stopping when he started but it got to the point that he was so used to us doing this that when we stopped he automatically sat down . It was a night mare at times .
He does still pull but not as bad although i must admit somedays are better than others . We actually took him out the other night and he trotted along side me for a short while without me having to tell him . I was gobsmacked !!! :)
If he is really excited he will pull more and I do find he walks better if there are only one of us on his walk rather than the family walk where it is sometimes difficult to stop the children running ahead as obviously he wants to then keep up with them ( where the fun is :D )
It is just perserverance I think . Dont get frustrated with him and dont give up .
He is still young and everything is probably exciting to him ( but that doesnt mean its ok to pull by the way )
We tried the treats and because he's a little greedy guts it does seem to work . We can show him the treat and hold it above his head so to speak and he will then keep his gaze on the treat and walk at a decent pace next to you with out him looking at all the distractions as well . After a very short while we will then give him the treat and praise him for "walking nicely" and we find he will walk a short way after that .
I know it can be embarresing when people start to look at you because they are making that awful choking noise and you feel as though they think YOU are choking the dog or have got his collar on too tight etc .
Keep with it is all I can say :)
Lel

Hi TieDie,
I discovered that one of mine seemed to have learned that "Heel" meant "pull"! He's a bit of a der-brain, but I realised he only ever heard the word "Heel" when he was pulling. As you teach a dog by saying "sit" when it is sitting, "down" when it is lying down, etc etc, and praising them for it, he thought he was doing what I wanted. (I'm sure this is as clear as mud, but I know what I mean!)

I had to start from scratch - before we moved off I told him to "walk". That was a new command to him, so it had no associations with pulling. When he went too far ahead I said "NO", pulled him back, repeated "walk" and off we'd go again. He knows that "no" means "you're doing the wrong thing, stupid!" so stops.

He's much, much better now. But if I forget and say "heel" he goes ahead again. He hasn't forgotten!

Perhaps you need to teach your dog a different word to make it clearer for him.

Have you got "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey? It is an excellent book to show how to prevent problems by training them right in the first place. I've learnt a lot from it.

Hope this helps. :)

So many people fall into that trap Jan, Say heel when the dog is pulling and it soon gets to mean "Pull". The other one is when the dog is giving them the run around whilst off lead in the park, their dog is ignoring them and they are shouting "Good Boy, Come"! The dog is NOT being a good boy and needs telling so in words of one syllable.

Regards, John

Lots of great advice. You can also try using a Gentle Leader or a Dogmatic.

Wendy

First off, put a prong collar on this dog. He is hurting himself and causing damage that might never heal. A prong collar will not hurt the dog, it just looks bad. It gives a pinch, not a choke. The pinch is not painful, just surprising. When walking, teach your dog the "slow" command. When the dog starts to pull, say slow and give a firm correction. Instantly, praise your dog, I'm not talking "oh what a good doggie," I'm talking ""WOW!!! What a good boy!!! That's so good, Good slow!!! "" repeat this until dog no longer pulls. This may take several days, depending on the dog.

Without sounding foolish can you explain what a prong collar is ?
Lel

It's a spiked collar .
Lara x

It's not really a spiked collar, as a spike would imply tips were pointed. The tips of a prong are flat and sanded. It looks harsh, but it is not, just don't leave it on the dog as it could cause rubbing.

Do you not think this is too harsh a way to teach a dog to walk to heel .
Surely perseverance and praise is a better way ?
Sorry to say but it looks most unpleasant to me :(
Lel

Looks flipping lethal to me too - and cruel :( Makes me mad that someone could have a dog and use such things on them. Training should be fun and rewarding for all concerned not torture.

Letting a dog choke himself is not cruel? This can also cause severe damage to his windpipe. Better to use a prong and get a little pinch instead of getting choked. All the while working on obediance. A prong is probably the most misunderstood training tool there is in dog work. So many people take one look at it and say "Oh !!! I could NEVER use that on MY DOG!!!" But after using it and finding that it is not harsh at all (just looks wicked) they quickly change their minds. I've put my hand under it and pulled hard, it didn't hurt at all, just a pinching kind of pressure. Don't knock something you know nothing about.

SNAP my dog is excatly the same no end of heel treats ect he wont give in its a nightmare people looking as if to say have you no control its horrible because he is a very loving and well cared for dog my husband actually says hes better looked after than he is (cheek) i do spend a lot of time in pet stores and on him maybe hes upset that the dog is my best freind you see he cant moan at me (ha ha) :)

Me again i forgot to add that we found a thing called a tweeter you put it on the lead and when they start to pull it gives a high pitch whistle only the dog can hear and stops the pulling didnt work at first seems to do the trick now though but i wont use it all the time try to get him to realise it was from training lines online

Ok,Firstly, We'd like to thank everybody for all the great advice! We went and got a halti and Sam would not walk at all, all he did was lay on the ground trying (fighting) to get it off! We went back to the pet store and got a prong collar.........when I first seen it I did'nt like the idea. The clerk at the store said alot of trainers use these around here and they were'nt cruel. She showed us how they worked, and after learning that they only look cruel, I purchased one. Ohhhh my! A whole new Sam! Tiyrra, you were so right! He does not even try to pull now....( I dont even think he thinks about pulling now!) he walks sooooo nicely that my 7 year old can walk him now. I will use it for 2 weeks and then go back to his original collar and see if he is still walking nicely. If he pulls I will put the prong collar back on! BTW, you can also get the little rubber tips to put on the prongs if you are leary! Thank you very much, TieDie and her very happy family

The prong collar is something i have considered, not for my own dogs, but for my friends dog Louis.

He is an EXTREMELY strong dog, and can pull me and his owner flat on our faces, he isnt bad at all, has a lovely nature but really is not interested in treats or toys, he is JUST interested in pulling. We have tried headcollars, harnesses, stopping, turning around, chokes, half chokes, slip leads, you name it, we have both tried it with him, nothing.

I would like to try a prong collar on him, simply because i figure if it sorts him out in a couple of lessons, gets him walking nicely enough to introduce other methods, it would help more in the long run.

However, i must say, i was horrified the other day, to see an American child, in a wheelchair with a disabled assistant dog wearing a prong collar. This was not a training session, this was his every day collar!!!!! That is not in my opinion what it is for at all!

Em