How the hell to you teach 2 stubborn dogs to walk properley on the lead?

We have tried harnesses, training leads, short leads, long leads and nothing seems to be working. When they pull we pull back the lead and say no, and also dont move until they look back at us(as advised) but they just carry on. We take them out seperatly as we thought that one was perhaps exciting the other etc but no joy. We have tried walking different routes so they are following us rather than them going where they want to, but still the same, also offering them treats so their attention is on us but other surroundings are more interesting to them.

One of my dogs will get really excited and start jumping around as soon as we get out of the door, and then start charging up the street like a nutcase, she will also make these howling noises for the first 5 mins, after that she quitens downs and then just pulls like a train. They are 6 months old and they are very strong now so i need to calm them down quick before they pull me flat on my face!

Ive been told not to buy the halti lead as it doesnt fit the Bull Terriers face very well?

Anybody have any suggestions?

It would be very much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Err how old are they , if they are puppys then be consistant , if they're older well.. i don't think anyone else will have good advice to solve your problem but a prong could help. dont flame :)

They are nearly 6 months old.

For a start I'd teach them to walk properly on a loose lead one at a time.

Secondly, start at home, in the garden, making it good for your dog to walk beside you by rewarding him with small food rewards each time he's alongside you.  Then you can add the lead......  Then take what you've learnt over these sessions outside. 

You mention you've tried many techniques - consistancy and trust is the key to teaching a dog anything, not inflincting pain with a prong collar!

Thanks for the advice, i never said the prong collar, i would never harm my dogs.

Take them one at a time and get them interested in you, by having some nice tasty treats e.g chicken, sausages.  Show them the treats and hold a piece in your hand. Start walking praising in an happy  voice saying how good they are and using the word heel.  At the begginning for every few step done well give a treat and repeat.  Sometimes ask for sit first and then give the treat.  The aim is to make you more interesting and to teach them its nice to be beside you than half a mile in front choking.

Bev

http://www.learningaboutdogs.com/acatalog/Specialised_Clicker_Training.html

Bear in mind, whenever you have more than one dog on a lead, you introduce an element of competition.

Hi i dont know to much about dogs myself but i was told once that if you pull back on the lead they think of it as a tug of war type game just a thought we hold a tasty tidbit in one hand by our side and she walks perfectly after a little way we treat and praise then another tidbit and same again worht a try mine is a sbt

Teaching dogs to do consistent loose lead walking is I believe the most difficult exercise any owner will undertake - it's not natural, and it requires lots of hard work and persistence :P

You definitely do have to teach one dog at a time. Often pullling them back means to the dog, he walks forward, gets pulled back and that's when he can walkforward again. Dogs don't always think like we do ;)

Lindsay
x

I had similar problem with my standard poodle. Every time we went out it was a fight with him pulling one way and me pulling another. I found in the end that all that worked was stopping him completely from going anywhere. It only worked when I stopped him for so long that he ended up walking back to me. It took some time with him but eventually he started to understand. I didn't say anything to him at all, just waited it out until he got fed up pulling and walked back to me. Whenever he did I gave him a treat.
Another tip which I got from dog training and it seemed to work well....walk him to heel in the house on lead but very close to a wall and keep treating him as you give him the command to 'heel' or whatever you use.  Being close to the wall gives him less room to pull around. I did that making him sit frequently as well and pay attention to me. Because it was indoors with no distractions and no park just down the road that he was anxious to get to, he was much more focused than he would be outside. After months of very sore arms these were the only things that worked for me. Good luck!

Hi
Your puppies are only 6 months old and you seem to have tried a lot of different training methods.  I would decide on one and stick to it.  The one that we have used for years now are the training harnesses.  Dont expect success overnight and at 6 months they really are little more than babies, even if their size says otherwise.  Everything is just so exciting!  Do what others here suggest, take them out individually in the garden at home on their lead. Use one very special treat [and never use it for anything else] bits of liver or chicken are a good tasty treat but you know your dogs best.
Walk a few steps and once they start to pull, stop immediately and ask the dog to sit and treat. Few steps more and if they pull, sit and then down if you have taught the latter.  The key is consistency.  When outside, do the same.  Another good one is as they are racing ahead,gentle tug of the leash and say "Lottie [whatever the dog's name is] turn" and turn immediately back the way you came, walk about 20 steps at a brisk walk and then say "Lottie turn" and go back again the way you were going.  Okay it makes your walking a lot longer but it makes your dog "think" that you are not just so predictable that you will go out walking the same way being trailed behind them.  If you walk your dog on the left side, the right turn will be much easier.  The left turn is not so easy as you can trip over the dog, so I would practise with the right turn first of all.
If your puppies are the same age then for a while I would walk them separately. 
Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Neeva