My mini schnauzer is an absolute nightmare to walk and in fact as she has the run of the house/garden for most of the day we tend to manage with just one late afternoon walk on most days. She pulls so hard on a normal collar that she sometimes stops breathing and has almost keeled over before - I've been so worried I have to literally pick her up and carry her for a while to get her breath back:(

She has also learned to pull on the Gentle Leaders she sets her neck and lunges forward at full pelt to the point where it is pressing so hard on her nose she is snorting. Every few minitues we stop and make her sit for a rest and as soon as we put a foot forward she is off two back legs together like a rabbit!!Sometimes after the first 15/20 minutes things calm down a bit, but not always!

Any suggestions to help us would be much appreciated......
Thanks

hi karen, i'm not familiar with gentle leaders, but am using halti collars on my four labs, one of whom is very naughty amber, who eats them by chewing them like a horses bit if she can get away with it.she is 7 months old and a teribble puller but i am determined the halti will work, as it has done with my other 3 labs.don'y give up with her, it will be worth it in the end :)

I'm no expert, but this is what I have read that may remedy the situation.
When the dog starts pulling on the lead, stop walking and stand still. When the dog returns to the correct position,give him/her a treat/praise and continue walking. Do this every time that the dog pulls and apparently, in the end the dog will stop pulling. You may end not going very far at all for a while, but the dog will learn to stop pulling.
Alternatively, when the dog starts to pull, turn and walk in the opposite direction to where the dog is going. This is supposed to keep the dogs attention on where you are going.
I'm sure others more experienced than me will be able to help you out. Good luck.

Dear Both

Thanks v. much for your replies. I have actually had the gentle leader for a few months and for a couple of months we have walked her on this only. however, she cries and squeals always with it on and as I said has now also learned to pull ( and snort!) with the Gentle Leader in place. This is not really fun as the whole neighborhood knows she's out and I'm quite worried about her nose!

We do stop for a rest when she's pulling, and we have sometimes tried the stopping and turning in the other direction, but to be honest it's so bad that we would just be walking in circles!

A few weeks ago being warn down by the squealing we have returned to the normal collar, so at least she is relatively quiet - the worry here is that sometimes she just seems to stop breathing all together.

Karen.

Karen

I have found stopping and immediately going in the opposite direction to be more effective than anything else. You just have to stick with it. Yes you do go in circles, but within a few days of going nowhere, you will find you are making gradual progress. Nothing that has long term results happens instantly. Simply stopping does not get through to the dog that it's the pulling that's causing the problem. Similarly, head collars have simply caused other problems for me and mine, namely the irritation so they are to busy trying to get the thing off than walk, let alone developing a technique that allows them to still pull.

One theory is that a dog pulls because he/she wants to feel you at the end of the lead and that it makes him/her feel secure. If you use a long lead, say about five foot, then as she's going ahead, before she gets to pull, go the other way, or make a 90 degree turn. She will then find you are pulling her, not her pulling you. Keep at it - you will get dizzy:-). Walk briskly, with your head up and be very confident. Don't talk to her other than to say good girl when she's walking at your side. She will soon realise that the best place to be is at your side and that she can only feel secure by keeping you in her line of vision. She may always be a step or two in front, looking back very often, just to check you are there - at the mo she does that by feeling you on the end of the lead, butwith any luck, she won't pull:-)

I found this worked very well for my boys and have others who found the same. It might help you but only if you persevere, constantly trying different solutions doesnot help. I know it's tempting, but stick with it and give her a chance to respond - you will get there.

Hope it helps you.

Pam n the boys

hi karen
try taking her for a walk and stop each time she pulls this way she will learn she won't get anywhere by pulling,you might need to address a few things in house as well,like making her wait for her dinner,put the dinner on the floor and make her sit in her basket while you was you hands,put away a few pots or something after a few minutes tell her she can take it,this will enforce your dominance,you should also be walking through door ways before her.she thinks shes the alpha of the house hold therefore when you take her for a walk [in her eyes a hunt] she should be leading where as you need it the other way round!
i hope this works for you as it did for me,i have a staff and you always have to be top dog other wise they'll walk all over you.scuse the pun.
vicky

Hi Karen, I agree with all the previous posts and the key is to persevere. It takes time to break the habit. I have been at it 7 months and am starting to see an improvement in my year old dog now. He forgets himself when hes excited about a walk or a new smell but readily takes up the correct position when I stop to remind him- until the next distraction! :) Whatever you do DONT PULL THE LEAD and this takes superhuman control.
Loose lead, keep at it and dont be downhearted, she'll learn.

One trick I like to use when training dogs is to use a squeky toy. I take the toy with me on a walk. I hold the toy up agianst my chest. When we start on the walk I squeak the toy to get the dogs attention. If he doesn't move from my side then I give him the toy for a minute. Then I take the toy back and squeak it. Then I say the dogs name and heel and then take two steps and stop. Then I squeak the toy. If the dog is still at my side then I toss him the toy agian for a minute to play with. I also praise him and say his name and Good Heel. Then I take the toy back and squeak it. I then say his name and heel and walk forward 3 steps. As before if he stayed at my side then he gets the toy. In this manner he sees you as the exciting spot and the toy as his reward bny staying next to you. The first walk we slowly progress to 10 steps. The next day we progress to 15 and so on. It seems slow but it works. Within a couple of weeks the dogs I train are walking at my side and a nice loose lead between us.

Dear All

Many thanks for the replies - I will try harder with the turning etc. and possibly take a squeaky toy again. I think we need to set aside a training week as a family and drive somewhere where we can do this. In our street she may be too crazy. With regards to talking to her and squeaky toys, most of the time she seems just too excited to take any notice - maybe this is because she is still young, but we will try this again.

Would you recommend that we take her for an off lead run somewhere to wear her out a little before the traininging sessions? And again, is it best to just not walk anywhere away from the front of our house, or from the car until she walks properly. I guess my doubts are that at the moment i cannot imaging us getting off our front garden!

Thanks for all your help
Karen.

Karen,

I don't think age has a great to do with this particular problem. Stan is the same and he's always been like this..every new smell and distraction is just so exciting for him. The only time he is a pleasure to walk is off lead, which isn't alway possible. Keep persevering...I think it will take longer than a week. I didn't perservere, and he's never improved.

A weeks concerted effort will do no harm and may help get the ball rolling, but it won't cure your problem. You need to be walking her away from your garden as you don't normally take your dog for a walk in the garden. She will get better over time. Going out several times a day is a good idea. To be honest, if you don't get past your own house front for a few days that's no bad thing. She needs to learn that it's her behaviour that's getting her nowhere and she has to be able to do it from your house, not just somewhere new. When she sees that walking with you gets her further, she'll learn to be better.

As for free running first, you need her to have energy to correct the behaviour. If she's tired and so doesn't pull, she won't know that she shouldn't be pulling. I would take her to a park in the car, if you can, and then spend about 15 minutes walking on the lead, albeit in circles. Then when she's starting to be better, and she will - most likely:) then you could let her off as a reward. If she doesn;t do any better after about 15 - 20 mins, then take her back home.

When she seems to be responding, only give gentle praise, not giddy praise as I call it as that'll be likely to excite her and make her pull again.

Good luck

Pam n the boys