I have a 2 year old springer who is adorable, he is excellant on recall and very well behaved.
Now the problem.
1. I cannot lead train him, I have tried every lead on the market but he will not walk on a lead, and pulls so hard his eyes bulge and he squeals loudly.
2. When he meets another dog he gets so excited and squeals, which frightens the other dog. he is so docile and timid himself and I trust him 100% but how can I stop this squealing.
I have tried every trick in the book including taking him back to the car, I have even tried the master collar which did help a bit but did not stop it.
There must be a solution somewhere.
Sandie.

Have you tried a headcollar such as a gentle controller, gentle leader, halti, pullstoppa or dogmatic?  This will not "train" your dog not to pull but will enable you to "manage" him until you do.

As for the squealing he sounds over excited and the frustration of not being able to access a playmate is causing the noise :D

HAve you tried ignoring the noise and rewarding the silence?  It can be time consuming but it does work.

ATB

Yes have tried the halti, gentle leader and the dogmatic.
I knew its best to ignore him but when there are other dogs around and their owners its difficult as I have to try and explain his noise to them. All they see is a screeching dog.
Unfortunately treats wont work he is not a dog that will take them.

Have you tried a toy?  Alternatively only feed him whilst out and adopt a "nothing in life is free approach" I think a couple of days of hunger would focus his attention nicely :D

Sometimes training your dog has to take second place to the untutored opinions of others and so why not try adopting a "never complain and never explain" approach?  The time wasted speaking to the "tut tutters" could be better spent concentrating on your dog. 

I know how you feel as when I rescued my dog at 10 months old he looked like a crazed animal at the end of the lead; but sometimes you just have to ignore others and work on the important end of the lead; the bit that is attached to your dog :D

Explain later :D

sorry not feeding any dog does not work

have you taken him out , then asked people to meet you with a toy or ,ect wot he likes food sweets nota lot but just to get his ways so he looks at you

Hi Sandy

Have you tried teaching him where you want him - ie beside you.  Try this in a static position with praise when he is in the right position and silence when he is not.  When he works out what you want take one step and get him in the correct position again.  If you can find someone who will teach you how to use a clicker or voice instead of click then this may also help.

Teaching heelwork is a very time consuming exercise which is why so few dog owners bother - there is no magic fix such as special collars or leads as you have already discovered :D

Have you tried training classes...it sounds like he needs more socialising even though he is very freindly.I would phone a local training school and explain your situation.I  would expect it to take a few sessions but being regularly(often as possible) trained alongside other dogs may help.The more he sees the less exciting it may become.I just wouldn't expect too much in the way of 'work' for the first few sessions LOL
Archer 

This take time, but does work - even if you only get 50mtrs in an hour
Walk along and say heel -as the dog pulls ahead walk backwards a few steps, the dog should turn and follow you, when he turns himself round walk again-  sayning heel, keep repeating exercise and dog should learn that it it wants to get anywhere it must heel.

Good Luck

HI,

It sounds as if your springer is very excited to meet other dogs and people so as mentioned above more socialisation in a class would probably help.  For pulling on the leash the following method has been recommended several times on the forum and really works :) it takes longer to explain than to put into practice so I've copied my reply to another post on the same subject.

"The secret is to always be totally unpredictable on a lead walk. As Soon as the dog thinks he knows where you're going and tries to get ahead -CHANGE DIRECTION ! and keep changing direction until the dog realises that he HAS to watch you or get left behind or bumped  But don't allow his lead to move away from you - keep your hand glued to your side at all times. Your dog will think this is a good game.

At first it's worth quickly changing direction (always at right angle to your original direction, or back the way you came) every two steps or so, then as the dog starts paying attention to you and keeping to your side you can leave it a bit longer, four or five steps or so and then a little longer until the dog is staying by your side at all times and watching you. The nice thing about this method is that if the dog lapses you only have to change direction a few times to remind him. It makes life much more interesting for the dog too as you become completely unpredictable and he has to keep up! Don't forget to talk to him and praise when he's keeping his eye on you.

This method works amazingly quickly - even on older untrained dogs, I had to look after a 4 year oild mini schnauzer who was completely untrained on the lead, and within 5 minutes he was walking to heel and watching me :D"

Good luck with your springer whichever method you decide to try

Regards
Dill

Just to say thanks to those who posted on this thread. Pulling goes in phases with us - we go through a few weeks OK, then it starts again. Tonight, after reading this I went right back to change direction as Dill suggests, whereas I fully admit I had got to stroppy-yank-on-the-lead stage - and it worked a treat. Even better - Sparky was so tired after concentrating so hard to keep up with all those changes of direction that he is now snoozing away happily making little grunty dream noises!
So glad I discovered this site!
Tracy

Tracy,

I'm so glad it has worked for you too :D  I know what you mean about having to 'remind' the dog of its training, mine seems to need reminding every so often too but its so much fun that it doesn't seem like work at all :)

This method was a revelation to me when I found out about it many years ago, its particularly good for dogs who ignore everything the owner tries (toys, treats etc.) and they seem to get the idea so quickly :)

I have found this post very informative and WILL be putting this to the test IMMEDIATELY as my dog yanks my arm off every time we go out.  I have 3 dogs intotal and the other 2 I have never had a problem with, but Jack is like a steam train when out walking, he just wants to get there NOW. So thanks Dill, and I will let you know how I get on.  :)  Sarah

Definately a revelation :) Also wanted to say thanks for this informative thread....tried it out last night myself. Rosie looked a little confused at first...but then definately got the hint :D  As ever, I'm so greatful to you Dill, and all the knowledgeable people out there on CDs...who make novices like me, improve on a daily basis.
Jo
:)  :)  :)  :)

Hi

This I have got to try. Í walk my friends dog frequently, and she is pulling my arm of, food is not interesting, toys she just jumps up after and you can't get her attention.

I'm going to try this next time I'm walking her.

Thanks

jeanette

Hi TracyL and fellow sufferers of canine steam trains! :) We are also back to reminding a certain dog about his manners on lead, and I have found Dill's method works well for this. Just as I was beginng to doubt my competence again, I find Im not alone. PHEW! What I have started to do is look at myself after reading the Dogs Today article on TTEAM and check my balance and that shoulders/arms etc are relaxed before and during walks. You all know what I mean... large jars of Liniment in the bathroom cupboard and an addiction to Lavender bath oil mean the pulling is getting to me again.

...but I bet Morse is retrieving like a dream, eh, Lorelei? Sparky still thinks go fetch means "go over there - pick that thing up if you feel like it, give it a chew, then run off with your tail in the air" - very embarrassing. :-D

Hey, hes Marvellous Morse! :D He is older than Sparky mind you and I go on about the retrieve cos it took a while to teach. What really worked for us was the back chaining Tohme describes so well - sit in comfy chair with pot of hot dog slices at elbow, choose easily held soft thing ( socks were our favourite) and call dog. Dog noses sock, bingo! You just won a hot dog! Then move on to hold sock in mouth, Good dog, you just won more hot dog! Then you drop sock on floor and ignore dog until he picks it up, thus triggering more hot dog. Then you go on to chuck sock and hot dog around the house like a nut until the connection is made. Now transfering this skill outside takes some planning and I used to keep him on a line or confined in a boring space like an empty car park to focus the mind. Now we use all kinds of things but Morse will absolutely NOT pick up a solid rubber ring toy even if covered in sardines.

Stinkfoot and I are teaching Morse to play messenger at the mo using his favourite chewy tennis ball which is funny but alarming the natives as a big dog plunges about our average size kitchen accompanied by shrieks of laughter from Stinkfoot. :D

Thanks Lorelei,
Guess what daughter number one is going to be doing at 6.30 in the morning then?! ;)
Her latest accomplishment is "wiggle" - so funny to watch - Sparky weaving in and out of her legs as she walks. Next focus has to be the retrieve and this back chaining thing sounds worth a try.
PS Exactly which member of your family is Stinkfoot? And do they all answer to these names you have for them all?

I have 4 kids, one son aged 15 Gothboy aka Nosferatu whose recall is about as good as any adolescent un-neutered male ( only appears if he thinks theres sonething in it for him), Satans Filly is my 12 year old daughter who is on a dominance reduction programme with positive results, Stinkfoot is 9 and shes my Deputy Dog Trainer. This is the one who used to be dog phobic and is saving for her own dog. She used to want a CKCS, now its a Staffie. Minibeast is my youngest and shes 6. They all know their nicknames and dont want me to reveal their true names. Silverback is my husband who has this name for his online shootemup games, and he answers to anything.

Very impressed with wiggle how did you do that?

Have messaged you, Lorelei. Thought I'd strayed too far from the original post with my wiggle! :-D