Our 9 month old GR will now walk quite nicely on his lead - having mainly stopped his pulling by using the stop/start method- except when we take him to the beach. He seems to live to swim and will go in any water anywhere whatever the temperature.

We live really close to the beach but I mainly walk him in the woods due to his behaviour when we go to the beach. As soon as we get in sight of the water he starts to pull like a train and becomes really excited. I still do the stop/start routine but we are literally doing one step and then stopping, then another and stop again etc. It can take as long as twenty minutes to walk a hundred yards or so (this method works brilliantly elsewhere where we only need a couple of stops for him to get the message). Once in the sea he will swim for ages and loves to chase pebbles thrown into the water. He is totally focussed on the pebble throwing and responds instantly to sit and down commands even when he is still in the water. Once he is put back on his lead to go home he tries to pull back towards the water but after a few stop/starts will then walk nicely at heel.

What I need to know is do I just keep persevering with the stop/start at the beach or should I turn round and leave without letting him in the water at all so he is not getting the reward he wants i.e going for a swim. Each time we stop he will sit instantly but as soon as I take the first step, having said his name and given the heel command, he will leap forward again.

Any views on how you would deal with this problem yourselves would be very welcome.

I really think you are doing excellent for a 9m old pup if he behaves on normal lead walking plus you feel he understands I would let him run off into the sea and have some fun .I would imagine he will calm down when he get a little older.

I have two girls who lead walk wonderfully its as if they are not on a lead it is so loose but when we arrive at the park it all goes out of the window I let them off for a good run then we have a nice walk around the park
I taught my two to lead walk with treats in my left hand near to my hip I also use the "look at me" method when they used to pull .

Oh Harley LOL
I have the same 'problem' with Maddie when I take her swimming. As soon as she realises (which is about the last 10 minutes of the car journey) where she is going she gets oh so excited! She whines and fidgets with excitement and the whole car shakes! Now, although I can still make her 'sit, wait' while I open the boot, there is just no stopping her once the leads on. From the carpark to the pool I am dragged running all the way - the stablehands think its hilarious - she just lives for the swimming i think :rolleyes: I actually enjoy the enthusiam she has for this, if it wasn't for the fact that a horse could be in the pool I'd let her off in the carpark LOL

Thank you. We have put lots of effort into his lead walking as he is quite big and strong and I am quite small. I would love to take him swimming every day but just didn't want to seem to be rewarding "bad" behaviour. Although our part of the beach is not a crowded one there are a lot of people around at this time of year and I worry that he will pull and charge off and knock someone over in his enthusiasm to get into the water.
His recall is pretty reliable now but originally we had a problem - again only at the beach - but my OH solved this by marching into the water fully clothed to get him after all our attempts at calling him out had failed. The look of surprise on the pups face when his lead was put on mid-swim was a picture, as were the faces of onlookers!
His enthusiasm is great but I just need to control it.
I

:D
Yes Maddie is a big girl (leonberger, 63 kilos) which is partly why I can't help but try and keep up with her without falling flat on my face because trust me, LOL, she might look round to see what happened but would probably continue all out - with me flat out ouch
Lead walking she pulls a bit, sometimes use a head collar, but nothing like when she knows she is going for a swim :D
Lucky you living by a beach, Maddie wants to come stay with you for a while, is that ok?

Hi Harley,
Totally agree with STARRY... using "watch me" really helped me out with my 'I want to pull to see whats around every corner' young Siberian :D
Here's a link (I didnt use a clicker tho'....not having as many free hands as an octopus!!)
<a class='url' href='http://www.ddfl.org/behavpdf/commands/watch%20me.pdf#search='teaching%20a%20dog%20watch%20me''>Watch Me!</a>

another thing I found really useful (having a little steam train attatched to the end of my lead) was to use a walking belt :D that way my hands were free to do the treating( and use a clicker if you are a clicker user), and to help keep steady in the early days when he would dig in and pull for england.

We too go to the beach, and having a sibe he's on a long line (if let loose he'd carry on til he hit ShaynLola's house in Ireland!!) so I can sympathise and have no qualms in saying...It can and it does get better :D

he sounds a cracker your boy, and doing well as he's still a wee youngster! to a certain extent I like to see a child be a child and not robotic...let him evolve, he will :)

urrrgh!! :rolleyes:
why do your nice tidy Links go hay wire after you edit :(
I have lost my finesse!!

Did you ever have any in the first place? (finesse)

Hi - I too think you're doing really well.

For situations like this, where there is something the dog really wants to get to, why not use that thing and the dog's desire for that thing, as a reward for good lead walking?

By that I mean - if the dog pulls, go back to a certain place.  (A particular rock, a stick, a rubbish bin - any landmark.)  Start walking.  As soon as the dog pulls, go back to the same place.  The dog will learn that he's not going to get any closer to the thing he wants by pulling and the only way to achieve it is to walk nicely.  But be warned that it can take a long time for dogs to realise this.  Still - at least they're learning to walk nicely in the process.  You can also do this with a bowl of water on the ground on a hot day - dog must lead walk nicely up to the water to get it.  If dog pulls - back to a certain point and start again....

:d :d  I always say to people that I'm glad that I've got SWD's instead of GR's or Lab's because with SWD's you can walk past water with them off lead as they will only go in it to retrieve an item that you've thrown in :d

Sorry I can't give you good advice but I hope all goes well for you!

"Hi - I too think you're doing really well"

I thought we were not doing so well due to the beach problem but now i think I am perhaps being unrealistic. I really like reading the posts on this site but I think I was panicked ,having read about so many problems that others have had, into thinking the basics have to be done by a certain age or you will end up with a monster dog :).

Will have to go and chill out - perhaps have a swim with Harley!

atta girl Harley!!!!!! :D

Yep, chilling out is a good idea :D I'm having exactly the same problem with Remy when we go to a particular field - once I've parked the car, he pulls like a train to cross the road and go down the little bank to get into the field.  Then he keeps on pulling until we stop - then, it's a minute or two's wait for him to respond to 'sit' before I let him off!

I'm doing the stop-start method with Rem too - and it works everywhere but this field.  I do find that retracing my steps can help if he's being particularly determined - but it's not an option with a busy road to cross.  We're investing in a gentle leader for that bit soon I think!

Stick to it Harley, if you've almost got his lead walking sorted at nine months - especially with a history of pulling - then for goodness' sake congratulate yourself!  Remy turned 3 in April and he just decided to start understanding what I want last week :D we've been working on it since he was 12 weeks old!!

Well done. I too have this problem before we get to the park. So, as I have a green oppostite my house I take my pup there first for a bit of play and then put the lead back on and walk to the park. He walks beautifully then and he is only 8 months and a BC. So, maybe that would work. A bit of play and training first and then back on the lead. That is of course if you have an area that you can go to first. Good Luck he sounds lovely and full of fun like all goldies.:-)

Hi Huskygal
I,m thinking of trying a walking belt can you tell me where I can get one please?
cheers Sharon

Hello Sharon,
We have them made to measure. Would you like one? email me if you do.:-)

they  have them on the www.traininglines.co.uk  (the outdoor section)

I pretty much agree with 123's advice. I'd also suggest never using a flexi as they encourage pulling! (not saying you do use one but if you do, ditch it :D).

If possible, start with one step (loose lead on normal collar), if he is "good" then say "YES!" and let him off immediately as his reward. No sitting, just mark it as good (with the YES!) and let him off straight away.

It may be that for safety you need to be nearer to the water when you do this, if so, then use a harness to get him to a safe starting point.

Over time you can ask for 2, 3, 4 steps and do the same thing.

If he pulls yes, take him back and if the car is close enough put him back in it for a moment.

This does work - timing is important, he must understand the loose lead is what gets him the result of being free in his most exciting environment of water ;)

Lindsay
x

Unfortunately we made the mistake of using a flexi lead when he was a tiny pup not realising that this actually encouraged pulling by the very action of how it is designed to work. Its not really possible to let him off after the first good step as he hurtles down to the beach and if anyone was walking past it would be like a skittles alley with people flying in all directions. Yesterday was marginally better and we managed to progress three steps at a time . He has such enthusiasm - which I personally think is great - but it just needs to be channelled in the right direction with appropriate timing. I would not want him to be a "clockwork" dog just enthusiastically polite.

I don't know many retrievers who can resist the temptation of water, be it a muddy puddle or the sea!!! My retriever is exactly the same only strangely he doesn't swim in the water he just lays down and swishes around, then rushes up the bank and shakes muddy water over us, he gets me every time. Sorry i don't have any advice as the route we use is quiet and he is able to run straight in.