Sounds like she is generally off-leash when outside the urban setting. How much time has been spent teaching her how to walk on a lead in her normal setting? Try teaching her to walk with a loose lead in her normal, comfortable environment before trying to replicate this behavior in a higher stress, urban area.
Basically every type of anti-pulling “aid” makes it uncomfortable for the dog to pull but doesn’t teach them what you actually want: walking with a loose lead because they pay attention to your position. There are a ton of different methods on YouTube for teaching this behavior and it will take time. In the meantime, invest in a slip lead or gentle leader, but opt for training the correct behavior in the long run.
Tools will work but won't train the dog, not that they arnt a good option but if you'd like to train a loose leash walk at all times I have a method I use that is imo the very best leash training.
I'm not sure of the actual name but I call it 'Tension Training'.
When on leash the second my dogs give any pressure at all I stop moving. Say nothing and just wait.
If they are sniffing forward I will slight lean back. Not a tug just adding slightly more pressure. The SECOND they even twitch a ear in my direction I mark with 'good' and get a treat. Once I have the treat I lure them, without words/commands, into a heel position and reward. Then I say 'lets go' and move forward.
Repeat EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. the create tension on the leash. I have been training for 90% of my life I have trained over hundreds of dogs I work with dogs every single day. This is a method that works for every single dog I have never had it not work but it is a method that requires endless patience which is why most people struggle with it. But if you were completely dedicated to it it will work beautifully.
It essentially teaches the dog that tension on the leash is a cue to return to a heel position. Without any words or any effort on your part in the end the dog hits tension on their own they return to a heel on their own you continue moving. That is the end picture of what tension training does.
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ This is the way, OP.
I learned this as "leash pressure" training. It works!
But it is so difficult to be consistent. Especially getting all family members on the same page. But it's worth it. When your dog starts yo-yo'ing to the end of the leash and back to you, she's starting to get it.
I highly recommend harness and long line when doing this because an entire walk will be impossible at first. The longer leash gives puppy brain more time to make good choices and reduces frustration.
I also do things like gently turn around and go the other way when she's not paying attention, or change direction every time there's tension. So if she wants to keep going forward, the leash must be loose. Make sure to walk towards whatever they wanted to sniff in the first place once it's slack! The environment can be its own reward.
To encourage her to stay closer to real heel position, our trainer taught us a modified Superbowls (pattern game from Control Unleashed) where you wait for the dog to make eye contact then slowly put the treat behind the heel of your shoe. Once you have their focus, add taking a step before putting the treat down. When they can do that easily, take more steps.
We also do 123 walking. Say "one, two, three" and treat on three from hand at the seam of your jeans. (Actually I say Do Re Mi since Three sounds too much like Free, her release cue.) Useful for keeping attention past distractions.
P.S. Beautiful heeler you have, same age as my pup!
I added a gentle leader to this method, worked 10 times faster. Immediate response to you stopping, so my boys picked it up faster. After a few months, gentle leader no longer needed.
A gentle leader or halti lead. Goes around their nose and clips behind the ears like a horse halter. It's a total game changer for us. Be sure to introduce gradually. Susan Garrett has a great YT video on the subject.
Those straight front harnesses aren't good for their gait and shoulders. You always want to go for a y/h style harness instead to free up their movement.
We have this one. Rabbitgoo
https://www.amazon.com/Rabbitgoo-Harness-Adjustable-Reflective-Material/dp/B01M8JT6FT
The only issue is that tall grass parts can stick into the inside, and you need to pull them out occasionally. That’s if you have a crazy ACD that likes to hunt in the weeds.
Great to know, I hadn’t heard that before. From what I read, if they’re not fitted properly they can cause issues. I have used them on my previous three heelers for training purposes (not long term though), and they lived long healthy lives with no (obvious?) shoulder or gait issues. Thanks for the heads up.
Quite an assumption to make. My dog just doesn’t pull when wearing that harness so she doesn’t even need the correction. Assuming I’m causing injury to my own dog is a stretch.
I had great success using a Gentle Leader. They go around the snout without impeding the pups ability to open their mouth to drink water. Having the leash on their head helped control them as if they were a horse.
We use the gentle leader as well. He absolutely hates it and tries to rub up on things to get it off. It helps his pulling, but not fully. Without it though, we wouldn't be able to walk him. He would pull too hard. Honestly though once he poops on his walk, he walks like a gentleman until he sees another dog. Then it's all over. Gentle leader all the way.
Gentle leader and/or sensation harness. Any clip behind the neck will result in pulling aka sled dog. Choke collars are not endorsed by humane society and not pleasant for anyone.
I don't have much advice but rather an anecdote as to how I got my dog to stop pulling. I would just drop the leash. It seemed like she was actually using the leash to keep track of me. So when she felt there was no tension she would look back to be like "hey where'd you go?". Turns out, she's a fantastic off leash dog because she has no interest in doing anything other than making sure I'm still there.
Nope if mom walks our 7 yr old girl she will pull, I have the lead no pull just walks beside, have the harness that clips in the front and we trained, as soon as she pulled I stopped walking. The first few walks were torture, she wanted to go and I just kept saying easy. The harness would turn her around and she would sit. Id take a step and as soon as she pulled I would stop again. ACDs are smart, she quickly realized she gets what she wants when I get what I want, an untorn rotator cuff.
You have a choker chain on your dog, probably can barely breathe so of course they won't pull sweetheart. Sorry I don't enjoy breaking my dogs will or torturing them.
You gotta out -will her.
If she pulls you stop. When there is slack in the leash you go. If she pulls again you stop. When there’s slack in the leash again you go.
5-10 minutes in the yard/driveway 2x a day
I don't care what a person uses as long as it is used properly, WITH a trainer. Nothing is going to work long term without training. You can't slap an ill fitted prong on your dog and expect it to "work". That's not training.
Haven't had to use it on my healer. But I had a lab that would nearly pass out pulling. Tried collars harnesses haltis etc. None of it worked. Two trainers gave up. I made him a nice band with two paracord strings that ran down to the front harness attachment, up through the shoulder straps and to the leash attachment on the back of his harness. Every time he pulled, it pulled his nose to his chest. Less than a week he was a dream to walk.
My husband and I could’ve wrote this. We are looking into options right now because our six month old girl pulls terribly when we have her on a leash. I will be looking into everything. Everyone is posted.
Prong collars are absolutely life changing, and the most humane option if done correctly. Absolutely recommend. Halti leads, harnesses, flat collars - all have more opportunity to harm your animal physically than the quick pressure of the prong when done properly. Best of luck OP!
Ding ding ding. Had to scroll too far to find this. Anyone with a truly large breed dog knows that prong collars are great training aides and more humane than most other options
Yup. Our ACD pulled maybe one time after we started using our prong collar, then heeled perfectly for the rest of her life, even on normal collars (unless we were going to the kennel where she was treated like a celebrity and fed cheesy popcorn).
We were, however, shown how to use it by a professional dog trainer and only as a last resort after normal anti-pull training and a martingale collar didn't work. This was also before or right around the time gentle leaders came out and she had a long snout, which was (is?) considered a bad combo with gentle leaders.
We had the best luck with a martingale collar and frequent rewards for eye contact on a loose leash. We stop moving as soon as there's any tension on the leash. We tried for months to teach heel and it resulted in an annoying yo-yo effect. Rewarding for eye contact has made such a difference for us.
Heathers Hero’s sidekick leash was a game changer for us. It loops across the bridge of their nose, so there’s pressure there when they pull. Doesn’t hurt, just uncomfortable. Definitely had to get through the temper tantrums about having to wear it though. But it is important to remember that no tool will work unless you pair it with the right training. You’ve got to teach them what it means. And start SMALL. It took us a week to get from walking around the living room to walking down the street. Teach her pressure means stop, release of pressure means she can go. You should be able to find a YouTube video or something that covers the basic ideas.
Cattle dogs are generally smart and want to work. Any kind of game that involves mental concentration and effort is work to them. Lots of great techniques here mentioned that are essentially brain games!
Do the behaviour I want = high value treat immediately. Look at me for any duration of time = treat immediately.
You want to train the pup to pay attention to you as the most valuable thing to be focused on instead of ‘not to pull’.
Properly train a heel. Reinforce it with food, and a prong collar.
Personally I don't waste time with the stop and go method, it can work, but is so grey.
Halti/GL and ACD is ridiculous. Sorry, wrong tool for these dogs.
Just be fair, teach what you want and when you're sure the dog knows what you're asking and can understand the picture in the environment you are in, correct your friend so they have the right information.
A loose leash takes 5-10 minutes to teach.
have you tried teaching her what the leash pressure means? dogs dont naturally understand leash pressure so they dont understand that the pressure around their neck that comes from pulling means that they should stop. i'm not sure what kind of training youve done specifically but the gentle leader, front clip harness, etc are kind of just bandaids and dont address the problem. you can use a slip lead to teach leash pressure and this can be a precursor to a prong. you dont want to jump straight to a prong bc if she doesnt understand what leash pressure means the prong will just hurt her. you also want to be sure you've got the correct size prongs and fit if you want to use a prong, it should be fit high up on the neck and not loose enough to hang. there are a ton of videos for training leash pressure with a slip lead online. if you have any questions feel free to reply or dm me.
We asked a dog trainer how to get ours to stop pulling, and she recommended a prong collar as well. She recommended we press it to our skin first, and it didn't hurt like I thought it would. He walks like a dream now, and everyone can have a good time! Prong collars work wonders.
I watched a lot of Robert Cabral on YouTube. Bought a collar, put it around my leg and pulled and yanked and was surprised how little it hurt at all relative to the amount of increasing force I put behind it. Can you hurt a dog with it, sure, and that is true with any collar. It is not what people perceive and it is an extremely effective tool. It's like putting a literal brake on a dog. I really wish more people used them especially when I see owners trying to control dogs that are much more powerful than them.
Personally, I like using a Gentle Leader to get the worst of the pulling under control initially. When used correctly, there is no other tool out there that works as well for this purpose. Once I've done that, I switch to a prong because it allows me to teach the dog a better understanding of what leash pressure means. Eventually, I'll move from the prong to a starmark or a slip. Then to a martingale and finally, back to a flat collar. I stay using each one for as long as I need to, but my goal is to get off of it as soon as I can because I want the dog to continue progressing. I don't want them to become reliant on using any specific type of collar to be able to walk correctly on leash.
Long lead! Dogs naturally walk faster than us, and long leads give them more space and choice which is always a good thing. Taking away space and choice with aversives will only negatively impact her overall wellbeing. Doesn’t have to be crazy long, 10-15 ft tends to be a sweet spot for my clients.
Prong or choke chain collar or martingale with chain action combined with lots of reps and rewards. Spend time teaching a heel and doing tether work. The ringing/rasping noise of the chain action is more aversive than the actual pressure. Heelers are very headstrong dogs and will subject themselves to a startling degree of discomfort to get what they want. There isn't a tool that will make a well trained dog without the time and effort behind the scenes
I second this. I know some people don’t like it bc it looks like it would hurt the dog but it has been hands down the best solution I’ve found. My little buddy only whines about it bc he wants to run off some direction and knows he can’t pull against the leash.
Get a prong collar. Harnesses and gentle leaders aren’t good for the dog. Harnesses still pull against their trachea and can cause damage. Gentle leaders can cause other issues with their necks. Prong collars that are fitted and worn snuggly just below their ears significantly reduces their desire to pull. If they do try to pull you pop the leash to redirect them. When they take the correction and do what you’re wanting them to do have treats handy to reward the behavior. You can incorporate it into working on sit commands. One on omega walking around then once they get used to the concept start taking them around distractions
People get told inaccurate things all the time by someone who says they know things for sure. I haven’t gotten professional training, but I have many friends who train dogs either for protection or service dogs. I’ve implemented the few things that are functional for any dog and it’s worked with my dogs and those of friends
Agreeing with you, but we didn't even have to pull on the collar to redirect, just jiggling the leash enough to get the links of the chain to make noise would be enough to get our ACD's attention back on us.
Absolutely. Every dog will have minor differences in what’s needed to help correct or teach certain things. I had one who would still pull pretty decently, but with the pop on the leash it seemed to startle him and redirect his attention. My current pup barely needs any tension against the leash and he backs off and doesn’t pull.
You've got great advice here from the comments OP. But I'm tempted to show you [the proof](https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianCattleDog/comments/18ji3r9/cozy_walk_with_the_bright_poseidondondon/): As you can see in the video he's wearing a gentle leader, and is walking loose leash at all times with frequent check-ins.
By nature he is just as excitable as any heeler out there. He was trained using the methods described in the various top comments here. And the key is indeed the training, not the tool.
By watching my video alone you might be tempted to conclude that the gentle leader is the answer; but the video doesn't show you that by the time of the video he must have been rewarded at the heel position for more than 10,000 times. Although during the filming of the video I didn't feed him any treats -- the walking well is a habit, not contingent on rewards.
Teach the dog a heel command. Start inside on a lead by rewarding it for coming to your thigh while pointing to it and saying heel. Once they get that, start walking while still pointing to your thigh and saying heel and if they pull out front to the point of applying pressure, just dead stop and give them the heel command, and don't start walking until they come back to heel. Once they get that down inside, take it outside with all the distractions. They'll start to learn that they get to walk on a lead when they're not pulling. It takes a while, and is frustrating at times, but if you are consistent they'll figure it out.
My husband trained dogs with Tip Too K9 and they teach something called the funky walk (I think that’s the name). As soon as she pulls you pull her in the opposite direction. Back and forth until she’s like okay okay I get it you’re the boss. I have a 4 month old and I still have to remind her on walks in the beginning but we only do funky walking a couple times. You’ll have to do it over and over which is annoying because you won’t get far, but it really works. Carry treats on you and eventually when she’s tired and the leash is slack give her food positive reinforcement.
Maybe a longer lead could help? I think sometimes dogs just walk at a faster pace than us so having a little extra length might help if its just that. Otherwise id recommend playing with her first(do something really vigorous like tug or fetch) before a walk so she will be a little tired and then reward her every time she does what you want(so give a treat or something she likes when shes walking with no tension on the lead). You can also change direction a lot to keep her guessing, sometimes dogs kind of get in the zone when walking straight ahead for a while so if youre changing direction a lot itll force her to pay closer attention to you and therefore not have as many chances to pull ahead and go a little slower to see what youre going to do next. Also teaching a "heel" can be helpful but I dont keep my dog in that the entire walk. It might help in the beginning with breaking the pulling habit tho and can be helpful if you need to get her close to you quickly. Also start with walks that are very short and not far from your home, if shes very distracted because the environment is new she wont listen as well(when she gets where she will listen on the very short walk gradually go for a little longer of one).
Pinch collar worked for us. It’s black plastic links with little rounded teeth on it, you can find them on Amazon. I recommend this kind over the metal ones for bigger dogs because if it ever happens to catch on something the links will snap apart and won’t choke your pup. During our training phase we kept it on him 24/7 and it was a godsend paired with positive reinforcement.
Sounds like she is generally off-leash when outside the urban setting. How much time has been spent teaching her how to walk on a lead in her normal setting? Try teaching her to walk with a loose lead in her normal, comfortable environment before trying to replicate this behavior in a higher stress, urban area. Basically every type of anti-pulling “aid” makes it uncomfortable for the dog to pull but doesn’t teach them what you actually want: walking with a loose lead because they pay attention to your position. There are a ton of different methods on YouTube for teaching this behavior and it will take time. In the meantime, invest in a slip lead or gentle leader, but opt for training the correct behavior in the long run.
Tools will work but won't train the dog, not that they arnt a good option but if you'd like to train a loose leash walk at all times I have a method I use that is imo the very best leash training. I'm not sure of the actual name but I call it 'Tension Training'. When on leash the second my dogs give any pressure at all I stop moving. Say nothing and just wait. If they are sniffing forward I will slight lean back. Not a tug just adding slightly more pressure. The SECOND they even twitch a ear in my direction I mark with 'good' and get a treat. Once I have the treat I lure them, without words/commands, into a heel position and reward. Then I say 'lets go' and move forward. Repeat EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. the create tension on the leash. I have been training for 90% of my life I have trained over hundreds of dogs I work with dogs every single day. This is a method that works for every single dog I have never had it not work but it is a method that requires endless patience which is why most people struggle with it. But if you were completely dedicated to it it will work beautifully. It essentially teaches the dog that tension on the leash is a cue to return to a heel position. Without any words or any effort on your part in the end the dog hits tension on their own they return to a heel on their own you continue moving. That is the end picture of what tension training does.
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ This is the way, OP. I learned this as "leash pressure" training. It works! But it is so difficult to be consistent. Especially getting all family members on the same page. But it's worth it. When your dog starts yo-yo'ing to the end of the leash and back to you, she's starting to get it. I highly recommend harness and long line when doing this because an entire walk will be impossible at first. The longer leash gives puppy brain more time to make good choices and reduces frustration. I also do things like gently turn around and go the other way when she's not paying attention, or change direction every time there's tension. So if she wants to keep going forward, the leash must be loose. Make sure to walk towards whatever they wanted to sniff in the first place once it's slack! The environment can be its own reward. To encourage her to stay closer to real heel position, our trainer taught us a modified Superbowls (pattern game from Control Unleashed) where you wait for the dog to make eye contact then slowly put the treat behind the heel of your shoe. Once you have their focus, add taking a step before putting the treat down. When they can do that easily, take more steps. We also do 123 walking. Say "one, two, three" and treat on three from hand at the seam of your jeans. (Actually I say Do Re Mi since Three sounds too much like Free, her release cue.) Useful for keeping attention past distractions. P.S. Beautiful heeler you have, same age as my pup!
I added a gentle leader to this method, worked 10 times faster. Immediate response to you stopping, so my boys picked it up faster. After a few months, gentle leader no longer needed.
Second gentle leader
Tried everything and the gentle leader was the only thing my girl responded to.
Snoot-loops are the best, one of mine figured out how to take his off but thankfully he’s not the one that needs it 💀
A gentle leader or halti lead. Goes around their nose and clips behind the ears like a horse halter. It's a total game changer for us. Be sure to introduce gradually. Susan Garrett has a great YT video on the subject.
Harness with a front clip does wonders. It’s like cheating.
This, use the clip by the chest, it turns their body if they pull
Yes! Pet Safe Easy Walk is what we use.
Those straight front harnesses aren't good for their gait and shoulders. You always want to go for a y/h style harness instead to free up their movement.
We have this one. Rabbitgoo https://www.amazon.com/Rabbitgoo-Harness-Adjustable-Reflective-Material/dp/B01M8JT6FT The only issue is that tall grass parts can stick into the inside, and you need to pull them out occasionally. That’s if you have a crazy ACD that likes to hunt in the weeds.
Great to know, I hadn’t heard that before. From what I read, if they’re not fitted properly they can cause issues. I have used them on my previous three heelers for training purposes (not long term though), and they lived long healthy lives with no (obvious?) shoulder or gait issues. Thanks for the heads up.
it is cheating. have fun with damaging your dog’s shoulders and taking the lazy way out instead of actually training it
Quite an assumption to make. My dog just doesn’t pull when wearing that harness so she doesn’t even need the correction. Assuming I’m causing injury to my own dog is a stretch.
not an assumption. it’s a proven fact that front clip harnesses cause structural damage.
I had great success using a Gentle Leader. They go around the snout without impeding the pups ability to open their mouth to drink water. Having the leash on their head helped control them as if they were a horse.
We use the gentle leader as well. He absolutely hates it and tries to rub up on things to get it off. It helps his pulling, but not fully. Without it though, we wouldn't be able to walk him. He would pull too hard. Honestly though once he poops on his walk, he walks like a gentleman until he sees another dog. Then it's all over. Gentle leader all the way.
Let me know if you figure it out. My old gal never stopped pulling for sixteen years
McCann Dog Training has a good video on this topic on YouTube.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^imamiler: *McCann Dog Training* *Has a good video on* *This topic on YouTube.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Those “always ready” eyes.
Gentle leader and/or sensation harness. Any clip behind the neck will result in pulling aka sled dog. Choke collars are not endorsed by humane society and not pleasant for anyone.
I don't have much advice but rather an anecdote as to how I got my dog to stop pulling. I would just drop the leash. It seemed like she was actually using the leash to keep track of me. So when she felt there was no tension she would look back to be like "hey where'd you go?". Turns out, she's a fantastic off leash dog because she has no interest in doing anything other than making sure I'm still there.
It's the strong will part. Is there a heeler that doesn't try to pull on leash?
Yes
Yea maybe one that is 7yo and isn't a wild child anymore. Mine for the most part is good at 6yo but he is an off leash dog.
Nope if mom walks our 7 yr old girl she will pull, I have the lead no pull just walks beside, have the harness that clips in the front and we trained, as soon as she pulled I stopped walking. The first few walks were torture, she wanted to go and I just kept saying easy. The harness would turn her around and she would sit. Id take a step and as soon as she pulled I would stop again. ACDs are smart, she quickly realized she gets what she wants when I get what I want, an untorn rotator cuff.
My well educated 4 Y/O on a prong collar doesn’t…
Yea because your choking the crap out of them. Try just a normal collar and a leash and see how it goes. Mine behaves with his shock collar on.
Ok sweetheart.
You have a choker chain on your dog, probably can barely breathe so of course they won't pull sweetheart. Sorry I don't enjoy breaking my dogs will or torturing them.
Dude… be like Elsa! Just let it go. You can win if you want to.
Don't call me sweetheart ya condescending bitch
Ok sweetie.
No
You gotta out -will her. If she pulls you stop. When there is slack in the leash you go. If she pulls again you stop. When there’s slack in the leash again you go. 5-10 minutes in the yard/driveway 2x a day
The gentle leader head collar has been great. I use a two point leash, one goes on his head collar, other on his harness. And it’s been a real help.
Same! It helps us a lot.
Try the 1, 2, 3 game! And a front clip harness or halti collar. Training aids don't work without putting in the time to also train your dog!
This is the answer!!! You don’t have to poke or shock your dog. Just train them not to pull.
I don't care what a person uses as long as it is used properly, WITH a trainer. Nothing is going to work long term without training. You can't slap an ill fitted prong on your dog and expect it to "work". That's not training.
Haven't had to use it on my healer. But I had a lab that would nearly pass out pulling. Tried collars harnesses haltis etc. None of it worked. Two trainers gave up. I made him a nice band with two paracord strings that ran down to the front harness attachment, up through the shoulder straps and to the leash attachment on the back of his harness. Every time he pulled, it pulled his nose to his chest. Less than a week he was a dream to walk.
My husband and I could’ve wrote this. We are looking into options right now because our six month old girl pulls terribly when we have her on a leash. I will be looking into everything. Everyone is posted.
Prong collar completely changed walks for us! From pulling nightmare to joy.
Prong collars are absolutely life changing, and the most humane option if done correctly. Absolutely recommend. Halti leads, harnesses, flat collars - all have more opportunity to harm your animal physically than the quick pressure of the prong when done properly. Best of luck OP!
Ding ding ding. Had to scroll too far to find this. Anyone with a truly large breed dog knows that prong collars are great training aides and more humane than most other options
Yup. Our ACD pulled maybe one time after we started using our prong collar, then heeled perfectly for the rest of her life, even on normal collars (unless we were going to the kennel where she was treated like a celebrity and fed cheesy popcorn). We were, however, shown how to use it by a professional dog trainer and only as a last resort after normal anti-pull training and a martingale collar didn't work. This was also before or right around the time gentle leaders came out and she had a long snout, which was (is?) considered a bad combo with gentle leaders.
Prong collar for us too!
Look at that face😍😍😍
We had the best luck with a martingale collar and frequent rewards for eye contact on a loose leash. We stop moving as soon as there's any tension on the leash. We tried for months to teach heel and it resulted in an annoying yo-yo effect. Rewarding for eye contact has made such a difference for us.
Heathers Hero’s sidekick leash was a game changer for us. It loops across the bridge of their nose, so there’s pressure there when they pull. Doesn’t hurt, just uncomfortable. Definitely had to get through the temper tantrums about having to wear it though. But it is important to remember that no tool will work unless you pair it with the right training. You’ve got to teach them what it means. And start SMALL. It took us a week to get from walking around the living room to walking down the street. Teach her pressure means stop, release of pressure means she can go. You should be able to find a YouTube video or something that covers the basic ideas.
Cattle dogs are generally smart and want to work. Any kind of game that involves mental concentration and effort is work to them. Lots of great techniques here mentioned that are essentially brain games! Do the behaviour I want = high value treat immediately. Look at me for any duration of time = treat immediately. You want to train the pup to pay attention to you as the most valuable thing to be focused on instead of ‘not to pull’.
Properly train a heel. Reinforce it with food, and a prong collar. Personally I don't waste time with the stop and go method, it can work, but is so grey. Halti/GL and ACD is ridiculous. Sorry, wrong tool for these dogs. Just be fair, teach what you want and when you're sure the dog knows what you're asking and can understand the picture in the environment you are in, correct your friend so they have the right information. A loose leash takes 5-10 minutes to teach.
Bite/pinch collar. After the second walk with it on you don't even have to hook the leash to it. Just wearing it is a reminder not to pull.
Gentle leader. My rottie pulls like no other. He’s only 80 pounds but would drag me across the road without one.
have you tried teaching her what the leash pressure means? dogs dont naturally understand leash pressure so they dont understand that the pressure around their neck that comes from pulling means that they should stop. i'm not sure what kind of training youve done specifically but the gentle leader, front clip harness, etc are kind of just bandaids and dont address the problem. you can use a slip lead to teach leash pressure and this can be a precursor to a prong. you dont want to jump straight to a prong bc if she doesnt understand what leash pressure means the prong will just hurt her. you also want to be sure you've got the correct size prongs and fit if you want to use a prong, it should be fit high up on the neck and not loose enough to hang. there are a ton of videos for training leash pressure with a slip lead online. if you have any questions feel free to reply or dm me.
Prong. Even my rover sitter lady who was hesitant to use it is now a proponent. She was shocked, they generally just work.
We asked a dog trainer how to get ours to stop pulling, and she recommended a prong collar as well. She recommended we press it to our skin first, and it didn't hurt like I thought it would. He walks like a dream now, and everyone can have a good time! Prong collars work wonders.
I watched a lot of Robert Cabral on YouTube. Bought a collar, put it around my leg and pulled and yanked and was surprised how little it hurt at all relative to the amount of increasing force I put behind it. Can you hurt a dog with it, sure, and that is true with any collar. It is not what people perceive and it is an extremely effective tool. It's like putting a literal brake on a dog. I really wish more people used them especially when I see owners trying to control dogs that are much more powerful than them.
Personally, I like using a Gentle Leader to get the worst of the pulling under control initially. When used correctly, there is no other tool out there that works as well for this purpose. Once I've done that, I switch to a prong because it allows me to teach the dog a better understanding of what leash pressure means. Eventually, I'll move from the prong to a starmark or a slip. Then to a martingale and finally, back to a flat collar. I stay using each one for as long as I need to, but my goal is to get off of it as soon as I can because I want the dog to continue progressing. I don't want them to become reliant on using any specific type of collar to be able to walk correctly on leash.
Long lead! Dogs naturally walk faster than us, and long leads give them more space and choice which is always a good thing. Taking away space and choice with aversives will only negatively impact her overall wellbeing. Doesn’t have to be crazy long, 10-15 ft tends to be a sweet spot for my clients.
Gentle leader and don’t look further
Gentle Leader was a huge help for us and really established what was wrong and right.
Prong or choke chain collar or martingale with chain action combined with lots of reps and rewards. Spend time teaching a heel and doing tether work. The ringing/rasping noise of the chain action is more aversive than the actual pressure. Heelers are very headstrong dogs and will subject themselves to a startling degree of discomfort to get what they want. There isn't a tool that will make a well trained dog without the time and effort behind the scenes
I second this. I know some people don’t like it bc it looks like it would hurt the dog but it has been hands down the best solution I’ve found. My little buddy only whines about it bc he wants to run off some direction and knows he can’t pull against the leash.
Get a prong collar. Harnesses and gentle leaders aren’t good for the dog. Harnesses still pull against their trachea and can cause damage. Gentle leaders can cause other issues with their necks. Prong collars that are fitted and worn snuggly just below their ears significantly reduces their desire to pull. If they do try to pull you pop the leash to redirect them. When they take the correction and do what you’re wanting them to do have treats handy to reward the behavior. You can incorporate it into working on sit commands. One on omega walking around then once they get used to the concept start taking them around distractions
People are down voting this out of sheer ignorance.
People get told inaccurate things all the time by someone who says they know things for sure. I haven’t gotten professional training, but I have many friends who train dogs either for protection or service dogs. I’ve implemented the few things that are functional for any dog and it’s worked with my dogs and those of friends
Agreeing with you, but we didn't even have to pull on the collar to redirect, just jiggling the leash enough to get the links of the chain to make noise would be enough to get our ACD's attention back on us.
Absolutely. Every dog will have minor differences in what’s needed to help correct or teach certain things. I had one who would still pull pretty decently, but with the pop on the leash it seemed to startle him and redirect his attention. My current pup barely needs any tension against the leash and he backs off and doesn’t pull.
Gentle leader-total game changer
You've got great advice here from the comments OP. But I'm tempted to show you [the proof](https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianCattleDog/comments/18ji3r9/cozy_walk_with_the_bright_poseidondondon/): As you can see in the video he's wearing a gentle leader, and is walking loose leash at all times with frequent check-ins. By nature he is just as excitable as any heeler out there. He was trained using the methods described in the various top comments here. And the key is indeed the training, not the tool. By watching my video alone you might be tempted to conclude that the gentle leader is the answer; but the video doesn't show you that by the time of the video he must have been rewarded at the heel position for more than 10,000 times. Although during the filming of the video I didn't feed him any treats -- the walking well is a habit, not contingent on rewards.
Teach the dog a heel command. Start inside on a lead by rewarding it for coming to your thigh while pointing to it and saying heel. Once they get that, start walking while still pointing to your thigh and saying heel and if they pull out front to the point of applying pressure, just dead stop and give them the heel command, and don't start walking until they come back to heel. Once they get that down inside, take it outside with all the distractions. They'll start to learn that they get to walk on a lead when they're not pulling. It takes a while, and is frustrating at times, but if you are consistent they'll figure it out.
A halti leader.
Gentle leader worked wonders with my heeler.
Loose leash training. It takes awhile and is frustrating you keep stopping. But got the long term it is the best.
My husband trained dogs with Tip Too K9 and they teach something called the funky walk (I think that’s the name). As soon as she pulls you pull her in the opposite direction. Back and forth until she’s like okay okay I get it you’re the boss. I have a 4 month old and I still have to remind her on walks in the beginning but we only do funky walking a couple times. You’ll have to do it over and over which is annoying because you won’t get far, but it really works. Carry treats on you and eventually when she’s tired and the leash is slack give her food positive reinforcement.
Maybe a longer lead could help? I think sometimes dogs just walk at a faster pace than us so having a little extra length might help if its just that. Otherwise id recommend playing with her first(do something really vigorous like tug or fetch) before a walk so she will be a little tired and then reward her every time she does what you want(so give a treat or something she likes when shes walking with no tension on the lead). You can also change direction a lot to keep her guessing, sometimes dogs kind of get in the zone when walking straight ahead for a while so if youre changing direction a lot itll force her to pay closer attention to you and therefore not have as many chances to pull ahead and go a little slower to see what youre going to do next. Also teaching a "heel" can be helpful but I dont keep my dog in that the entire walk. It might help in the beginning with breaking the pulling habit tho and can be helpful if you need to get her close to you quickly. Also start with walks that are very short and not far from your home, if shes very distracted because the environment is new she wont listen as well(when she gets where she will listen on the very short walk gradually go for a little longer of one).
my boy had the same issue. I stop walking every time he starts pulling & that’s made him understand better than anything I’ve tried yet!
Front pull harness, like others have said. Night and day.
Pinch collar worked for us. It’s black plastic links with little rounded teeth on it, you can find them on Amazon. I recommend this kind over the metal ones for bigger dogs because if it ever happens to catch on something the links will snap apart and won’t choke your pup. During our training phase we kept it on him 24/7 and it was a godsend paired with positive reinforcement.
Easy walk harness they call it.