I have 2 rescue dogs; a 18 month old springer/collie X (Jasper), and a 7 month old pure springer (Paddy).
We got Jasper abot a year ago, and he was doing really well in his training - walking on a loose lead MOST of the time, and recalling well.
However, sinve Paddy arrived 2 months ago, we've had a real NIGHTMARE!

Jasper has forgotten everything he has learnt, and has aquired selective deafness when it comes to recall!

Paddy is so strong that I can't even walk him anymore, my fiance has to do it, which isn't ideal at all.

The main problem is the pulling. Head collars have no effect (including Halti and Gentle leader) as they both go beserk, and after months of perseverence we had to give up as we thought we were going to do them real damage.

Next came the body harnesses, again to no avail. Jasper was a little better, but they were making him sore over his shoulders and under his legs. With Paddy, they had no effect at all, and he has such delicate skin and fine hair, that he actually bled where they were toucing him - we felt awful.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated, as it's so distressing. Paddy especially had a very poor start in life, and we would love to be able to give him the long country walks he so desrves!

Thanks in anticipation,

Katy.

Hi Katy
I remember you posting this a while back. Did none of the advice given work?
If nothing seems to be working I would seriously consider booking up for some kind of obedience/ training classes.
There are loads of knowledgable people who can probably give you more advice but if I had tried everything I would go back to basics :)
Good Luck.

I had loads of advice given to me before, and we have systematically tried them all out. It's taken this long to finish doing that!!!
We have succeeded in one thing though, and that's amusing our neighbours! I must have tried doing about turns in front of Paddy for nearly an hour with no real success. The problem there is that Paddy doesn't care WHERE he goes, just as long as he's moving, so we were going forward 2 steps - he charged ahead, we turned about and walked 2 steps - he charged ahead ... and so on!
I think we may speak to a dog behaviourist who runs a kennel near to us. He has a great reputation and we've met him before so I think he's a decent chap. It's just a shame that we couldn't sort them out on our own, as they both are otherwise wonderful dogs. I almost feel like I'm giving up!

Still if they get to have longer walks, it has to be in their best interests!

oohhh Don't give up on your boys. Slightly off subject but I used to take on problem horses for people and I had one once which for the life of me I just could not gel with or get any kind of response from. As i was a very experienced rider and instructor I felt I had failed and almost picked up the phone to tell the owner I couldn't do it!!!! Pride prevailed and I booked a few lessons with a independant trainer and within two lessons I had it sorted out.
Sometimes you need another pair of eyes and someone elses advice and so many things can be overcome.
I would definatley speak to this behaviourist and get some advice.
Best of Luck and keep going :)

Katy I would definitly take them out seperatley for a while I'm having to do that with my two youngsters so that Minnie wont give Harriet bad habits

If it helps, there is a very good and comfy body harness called the StopPull made by Kumfi - you can view it on www.thingsfor-pets.co.uk

The harness has a soft furry bit for under the armpits.

I feel it is much better than the Lupi etc, which may rub badly.

Just a few tips - if you are to succeed in your training, it is importatn to NEVER let your guys pull you even ONE step!!! LOL - easier said than done, which is why I recommend "getting from A to B" -when there is no time for training -with a harness, and "training sessions" which is where you only do a training walk.

You have 2 very energetic dogs :) Have you tried clicker training? This often works very well, but does require patience and dedication to achieve the best results. It's not a quick fix.

There are books on clicker training, or some instructors will be able to teach you.

BEst wishes
Lindsay

I was interested to hear about the StopPull harness, Lindsay. I have been using the Lupi but I'm not very impressed with the results. My small dog still manages to pull with it on despite the guarantee stated on the box.
Joyce

Joyce good morning Please tell me more about this stop pull harness and how do I gt one please
pat

Hi Pat - I have just looked up the web site suggested by Lindsay - www.thingsfor-pets.co.uk and found details about the StopPull harness under the Kumfi products.
There's a lot of other things available as well when you've got time to browse.

Joyce

HI JOyce and Pat

I used the StopPull on my BSD whilst i was teaching her to walk on a loose lead, and used it for when I didn't have time to train, so she couldn't pull me, if you see what i mean?

If you do let them pull on it, and Keep pulling, they will still manage to pull a bit, but it is much more comfortable for the handler.

Hope you see what i mean!!! :)

Lindsay

Hi Lindsey

I had a look at the harness looks really good, I am going to order it on monday have you
got the full body harness? .Can I put this on Freddie ? 4 months and week ,Having a bit of trouble
with Freddie he really dislikes men!! when we take him out Last saturday a boy came up and startled him and he really barked but I stopped him but he would not have the boy coming up to him. yesterday I made the same boy stroke him and he seemed fine i can just not put my finger on the problem but seem to thing I do have one. {Sorry i will stop rattling on ]



Patxxx

HI Pat

Yes i used the full harness if i have got you right; as far as i know it is totally fine to put it on a young dog, there should be no problem there.

If he is scared of people, (?) make sure you are relaxed and don't force him. Interesting that he let the boy stroke him next time, this could have been because he knew, from the first meeting, that the boy would not hurt him and would go away.

Do reward him profusley when he accepts strokes, and another idea is to get people he does not know very well to drop a treat near him, avoiding all eye contace/voice contact, so after a while he looks forward to the approach of strangers.

Then try progressing onto the stranger giving a treat when stroking so he enjoys the attention.....but don't force it at all.

After a while Freddie may relax, and you can gradually dispense with the treats.

Just an idea anyway. Hope the harness works OK.

LIndsay

Did the StopPull harness leave any marks at all on your dog? It sounds very tempting, but I'm so worried about poor Paddy's skin. It's so delicate, and he has such fine hair that even the harnesses that don't upset other dogs leave him with open wounds (that's not at all exagerated - unfortunately). Still, it might be worth a try.

I wonder - Do any other peoples dogs suffer with skin this delicate? Is there anything I can do to prevent damaging it?
Paddy doesn't actually seem to notice at all - you can even touch the wounds and he doesn't flinch or bark. It's alot more distressing for us to see them I think!

HI

NO, no marks at all on my girl, but then she did only pull a bit to start. Not like a train!!! <g>.

Imho it is the kindest harness as the furry padding under the armpits prevents all the sores, also teh harness is loose at the top a lot of the time so no pressure there. It is certainly worth a try anyway, imho; it was designed by a guy who is an ex police dog handler, and started up Kumfi products.

He has a website, probably www.kumfi.co.uk i expect.

Lindsay