Kratty

Town Hall Topic – Loose Leash Walking

• How did you teach your Doberman to not pull on a leash? Any particular methods did you use?
• At what age did you start to see any improvements? How often do they need reminders?
• What type of collar and leash do you use? (prong, harness, flexi, etc)
• What distractions are the hardest to overcome?
• Are there any particular situations that you find more difficult to walk in than others? (Large crowds, parks, other dogs around)

crxman321

The first time I took Holly outside I put her at my side with a regualr collar and started Walking. She was about 2 Months everything would freak her out People,Dogs,cars, ect. When she would pull I would snap the leash back a week or so later she walked alot better and that leads us to now were working on Heeling it just needs lots of fine tuning as usual and nothing was more of a distraction to Her

DobiLove

Ok, interupting the guestioning.. with one of my own.. My jack hes like 9 weeks and can walk on the leash good. either to the side of me or behind me.. But how do i get him to not stop dead and wont budge when he doesnt want to go somewheres.. will he out grow this stage? cause i take him up to my daughter school every night to pick her up and he wont walk up there fully on his own.. but when my dughter comes out he will head to the truck on his own with no issues.. its like he doesnt want to be there and is gladly and more then willingly to go back to the truck...
Jamie.

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Lexus

How did you teach your Doberman to not pull on a leash? Any particular methods did you use?I taught Lexus I guess by just rewarding her for keeping slack in the leash, and also have used the method where I stop dead if the leash gets tight.
At what age did you start to see any improvements? How often do they need reminders?I guess it was just a gradual thing that she learned to keep the line loose for the most part, I'm okay with her going to the end of the flexi and once feeling pressure, she holds up and waits a few seconds before moving on again. She does still get reminders periodically as we walk
What type of collar and leash do you use? (prong, harness, flexi, etc)That depends, usually if my intentions are to be on a loose leash and I know we will be in a public situation at some point while walking when we head out, I will put the prong on her with my 6ft leather working leash. Typically though she just on her flat nylon collar and I have my flexi I walk her with. But if I'm going in the woods to walk I put her harness on with the flexi, which she does tend to go to the end of her leash and feel a tug before she lets up, but she is enjoying the woods and scents too, so I never punish her, we just don't go on (which is what she desperately wants to do!) until she has let up.
What distractions are the hardest to overcome?Hmmm, for whatever reason there are certain people we pass in yards that she won't take her eyes off them, she NEVER barks, but she insists on facing them as we pass, so I usually call for her attention and give her a little tug to remind her to catch up with me.
Are there any particular situations that you find more difficult to walk in than others? (Large crowds, parks, other dogs around)Honestly, I don't ever have Lexus in a loose leash situation while walking in a crowd. If I stop to talk to someone and introduce her, she must sit, it has always been a rule, so it is an automatic with her now, after she is introduced, she is allowed to get up, especially if there is more than one person for her to get attention from. So then she is on a loose leash, but not really walking. Dogs don't really faze her too much. She does get distracted in PSplus, if there is no one in the aisle I let her have some slack to explore

And with her mom, oh lord, try to get any attention out of the two of them when they are together! All they do is whine under their breath and get really to launch into play I do like to walk the two of them on a connector, but they are always in a heel, they just need a frequent verbal reminder to relax. Yeah I can see me, I'd be like a kite flying behind them if I let them walk loosely! 150 (ish)lbs of happy dog woohooo! Mush mush!!

Okay I'll give my book a break now

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chatterweb

How did you teach your Doberman to not pull on a leash? Any particular methods did you use?

Humane Society Training and especially the
Sensation Harness, for my Pit Bull too.

At what age did you start to see any improvements? How often do they need reminders?

She improved alot since she had the harness and training. She went to school at 6 months to Head Start Progam at the Humane Society.

She does need reminding when she sees people, she loves people.

What type of collar and leash do you use? (prong, harness, flexi, etc)
Nylon collar, sensation harness and 3 foot leather leash. All hooked up together.

What distractions are the hardest to overcome?

People, kids, other dogs; in that order.
Are there any particular situations that you find more difficult to walk in than others? (Large crowds, parks, other dogs around)

Large crowds

I let Malika run off leash at the park, later at night. She is very good about not being further than a few feet from me.

BackInBlack

How did you teach your Doberman to not pull on a leash? Any particular methods did you use?

From the very beginning he has always wanted to stay right next to me, hasnt really been a problem. He has his moments, but he was really easy.

At what age did you start to see any improvements? How often do they need reminders?

I see improvements in him each time we go out. Since he is a puppy I try not to "remind" him to much, because I dont want him to get burned out. I give him a small margin of error and he pretty much knows his boundries. He will pretty much "foos" or "heel" on command.

What type of collar and leash do you use? (prong, harness, flexi, etc)
Nylon flat collar when playing. Pinch/Prong Collar when training. No collar in the house. 6ft Nylon leash.

What distractions are the hardest to overcome?
Lets see...when he was about 8-9 weeks old, everytime he heard a dog bark, he would just stop dead in his tracks and look around for a minute. We overcame that and now suddenly he has an issue with cars driving past us, I think it is just that 10-16week fear stage though, I just encourage him to keep moving, some days are better than others but I think he will be fine.

Are there any particular situations that you find more difficult to walk in than others? (Large crowds, parks, other dogs around)
Not really, but he is still young. We will see.

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Luv_my_Bruno

We're in this process. Bruno LOVES to run free when we take him to an open field. But walking him is a different story. So I'm going to read some of these and soak in the info. Because I want Bruno to walk nicely by my side so I can walk him down town and in places where he won't pull. He does fairly well now. But I want him to ALWAYS stay by my side.

Anyone have any suggestions/opinions on the halti? We went to the pet store to get a choke chain for training Bruno. But the lady told us we were mean by doing so and to go with a halti? We got neither there. But later went to another pet store and got the choke chain, but rarely use it. Unless walking in big crowds. So I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with the halti and if it's worth it to get for my Bruno

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Pippinislove

How did you teach your Doberman to not pull on a leash? Any particular methods did you use?

Pippin, though not my "first" dog, was my first dog that I actually trained! So he got to put up with my own learning experiences, my mistakes, and my indecisive attitude. He's been on a prong and a martingale once or twice, but I realized I had no idea what I was doing. The training class I took wouldn't allow for anything other than a flat collar or a head halter, so he was on a Halti for quite awhile. I wasn't exactly pleased with it, but it did the job and I had a trainer there helping me along. He did decently on it and it helped lay the "foundation" for actual loose leash walking, but I don't consider head halters a training tool. He now is only ever on a flat buckle collar and I still do training with it. So for now I use the start and stop and random direction change method (as well as positive reinforcement with treats and toys). When he pulls, I stop moving and he's gotta be slack before I continue. If he refuses to let the lead slacken I'll turn around and promptly move the other direction.

At what age did you start to see any improvements? How often do they need reminders?

Depends on what you mean. Like I said, the entire time he was a pup I was learning more than he was. I would say I really saw big improvements when I enrolled him in an actual obedience class. He still needs reminders almost everytime we go out... But I don't use physical corrections. I'll give him a "eeeeey!" "eeeeeeeasy" (in a low, quiet, but not quite growly tone) when I see him starting to ignore me/move ahead. That generally works to get his attention back on me and I'll give him a command (sit, down, etc.) and give him a treat. If he hits the end of the leash I'll stop, or turn around and walk the other direction.

What type of collar and leash do you use? (prong, harness, flexi, etc)
What distractions are the hardest to overcome?

I use a four foot leather lead and a flat buckle collar. The hardest distractions are things that are alive... Humans (especially kids)... But other dogs are by far the hardest thing. Generally if I start walking away from another dog he'll start to pay attention. Humans that I don't allow him to greet can get him a bit on edge (not in an aggressive way, but he does go into a more alert mode if I continue to walk by someone who is quite aways away).

Are there any particular situations that you find more difficult to walk in than others? (Large crowds, parks, other dogs around)

Other dogs around who's owners aren't paying attention. If another dog is walking on a loose leash and ignoring him (or off doing it's own thing), he may be eager to greet but won't pull me (much, he still does need reminders). If a dog zooms right up to him and sniffs him all over it's MUCH harder for him to pay attention and to walk away calmly.

JavasMom

Java was pulling on her lead from day one (close to 4 mos). That is, until I took her to obedience class and the first thing the trainer did was put a training collar on her. It only took two corrections (and an initial indignant yelp) for her to get the idea that maybe she wasn't in charge after all.

Even at 10 mos, her posture and attitude change slightly when the collar is on her. I only use it when we are walking, and she is much better about maintaining a loose leash. I rarely need to pop the leash, even during obedience classes (and this is generally during a 'leave it' exercise). It only takes the rare pop on the lead to correct her. Part of this is just maturity. Her attention span is better, she is more focused on the task at hand and eager to please. She has also become my 'velcro dog' - she doesn't want to stray too far when we're together and/or she is on leash.

Word of warning, though - don't be surprised if people who see your dog with a training collar on give you wide berth on the sidewalk or even cross the street. They assume the training collar is there to keep a vicious dog in line. I have had this happen on a few occasions - funny thing is, both times Java was walking nicely at my side not even giving the other dog notice. The first time this happened she was 5 mos, ears taped and all oversized paws - hardly a Kujo!

If you don't currently have your dog in obedience class, you may want to consider a few private sessions with a trainer. If you can find one who has experience with Dobes, even better.

Good luck!

Gracie's_Mom

Town Hall Topic – Loose Leash Walking

* How did you teach your Doberman to not pull on a leash? Any particular methods did you use?
When we got Gracie she already knew not to pull. But once we took the prong collar off she was allowed to pull. No discomfort in her normal collar.

* At what age did you start to see any improvements? How often do they need reminders?
Not sure.

* What type of collar and leash do you use? (prong, harness, flexi, etc)
Now I use a choke chain. I almost never have to use it. I only give one or two corrections then she is good.

* What distractions are the hardest to overcome?
Dogs, people, small animals. It is hard to work on these with her. No one is willing to stay out once they see her or they take their dogs in because my dog will kill their dog. (Yea okay, that's gonna happen.) *rollseyes*

* Are there any particular situations that you find more difficult to walk in than others? (Large crowds, parks, other dogs around)
Crowds. We have a hard time keeping her attention in a crowd, so much so that we just wont take her with us if we are going into a crowd.

Any advice on any of the above would be appreciated.

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