I have an 18 month old border collie, who has a good grasp of basic obedience after going to training classes since 5 months old, she has problems with nerves but apart from that she usually recalls quite well and waits for the lead e.t.c. We have recently got a retriever puppy who is now 4 months old. To start with i walked them separately so that i could focus on training the pup and becuase the pup doesn't need such long walks (risks of OCD and all that.) I would like to eventually take them out together, but having tried twice, this is looking impossible. My older dog used to pull terribly but at the time we got the pup this was improving but now she has gone back to pulling like crazy, whether we are with the puppy or not. (We have had failed attempts with halti's, lupi harnesses and gundog leads) When i take them both out i let my older dog off the lead, and have my puppy on an extending lead but when my dog is out in front, the pup runs to the end of the lead and almost garottes herself and then pulls like mad to reach her. If pup is off the lead she runs like crazy to keep up with megan (my older dog). This concerns me as she is over exercising herself. The trouble is Ellie (pup) worships the ground Megan walks on and i don't get a look in. I am going to continue walking the dogs separately so that i can work on ellie's recall, but with the ultimate goal of walking them together, as i am at university and when term starts in october i won't have as much time for walking as i have had. I know many of you have more than one dog and some have pups together so that they are both being trained at the same time, how do you walk them together? If Megan didn't understand basic commands i don't think it would be possible to take them out together at all. Will the novelty of going out on walks together subside?
Also (sorry to be asking so much) does anyone have any tips on improving my older dogs heel walking? She will not accept a halti (she used to hide when the mere suggestion of a walk would mentioned after trying it for several months.), a lupi harness rubbed as she still pulled so i am just using a normal collar and she is alot happier about walks now but still pulls like mad. I have been stopping and waiting until the lead is slack before walking again but she does this perfectly before dashing out in front seconds later. We have been doing this for months. I have also tried getting her to focus on a ball (total disaster), and liver treats so that she cannot pull but this only works for a few strides if at all. Any tried and tested suggestions?

I've only used a Halti once, and found it worked well. However, I got the dog used to it by only putting it on her for meals for about 2 weeks. She learned that it meant food!!!!! (one of her great joys in life). But as it has negative associations for your dog that probably wouldn't work.

When my two boys were pups together they had to be taken out separately, if I was the only one. If my husband was walking as well, we could have one each, so they had a bit of one-to-one. But they still relied on each other rather than us, and even had to greet each other ecstatically if they were walked one either side of a car - they couldn't bear to be parted. They could only be let off the lead together in a very secure place, because they would just run and run for the joy of it, with no thought for where they were going or where we were - it was a nightmare.

To be honest, when they were being walked together they learned very little if anything - it was only the individual walks that did any good training-wise.

Sorry.

Yeah thats what i though Jean Genie. Pup is brilliant on her own, so i think i will just have to keep going for a while. Now that they are adults do they listen to you rather than focus completely on the other dog?

Yes, they are sooo much better! I can now take all 4 out together, and the boys will, 95% of the time, stop a run-out and return. (The girls have always been easy!) It's taken a long time, though - they'll be 4 years old on Monday!

Well that is sort of good to know, at least they will grow out of it, but it sounds like it could take some patience!!! Thankyou! :-)

Hi,
the only thing I would say, is I would watch their relationship with each other. It's ok for them to love each other, but they should love you more, otherwise what hope have you got of controlling them? Try and play with them individually as much as you have time for, and limit their play together so you become the main source of fun and games.

For the heel walking, you say that the liver treat works for a few steps, so that's a great basis to start from. Go out on specific 'training' walks when it doesn't matter if you get to the park or not, and work on the walking to heel. Give the reward after a few steps in the right position, treating quite often, and then gradually extend the period between rewards. It will help if you can keep the treats where they can't be seen, if you already clicker train then you can keep them in your pocket and still click at the right time. It takes a long time with a dog that's already used to pulling, so don't be disheartened if it doesn't work straight away.
You could get a normal harness (one that doens't rub) for walks when you're not training that the dog is allowed to pull on. If you let her pull sometimes then she's always going to think 'maybe I'll get away with it now' and keep trying. The harness will be a clear signal that she can pull then, but when she's on collar and lead she's never going to get away with it.

Jo