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[Snowy]

Candy pulls like a train! I don't want to use a choke chain on her, so at the moment we have a plain collar. Anyone got any experience of the harnesses or head collars? I know they won't stop her pulling, but are either of them more comfortable on the hands, or able to give a bit more control?

[Cooks]

if she pulls you'd be best to get her a Gentle Leader collar (on head), or I think they are also called Halti's, my cocker had one initially as she was the same, and it stops them, they dont like them at first but they are very successful.

[The Dogmother]

Try just a plain collar and train her not to pull. The others won't stop her pulling.

 

Stop dead every time she pulls ahead, wait for her to notice, then call her back to heel and reward her with a treat. If she persists, then pretend to stumble and be hurt (have to be an actor to do this) when she pulls, she'll immediately stop and look at you, call her to heel.

 

Rubes is a lot better after doing this, not perfect, but far better.

[Cooks]

my training class advised to get a halti or gentle leader for severe pullers, and I have to say it stopped her pulling

Ordinary collars can hurt their necks if they are pulling dogs IMO but we all have different opinions..

 

edited to add: as she is a rescue you may find she may get better at pulling but never totally over it, she's not a puppy so not as easy to 're-train' this is where IMO the gentle leader type head collars are brilliant as they are gentle, they do not hurt their neck and they do walk at your heel with them, they do not pull.

 

I personally believe ordinary collars should just be for ID tags, I am not a fan of walking dogs on them. Suzi has a harness and loves it but she doesn't pull at all and even if she did I would hardly notice being as she is so small

[Snowy]

Yes I've been trying with a normal collar and although I think she is starting to respond, it isn't doing my hand any good! Also she is just not treat led - once she gets wind of the grass and fields she goes completely unresponsive (a typical springer trait I've discovered) and is oblivious to me. I'm afraid that if i fell over she would gaily leap over my body I think I'll give the hali a go - it can't do any harm to try!

[Cooks]

she sounds like a typical spaniel to me :lol:

[Chucky Mama]

Whilst I am a fan of collars and training I have a feeling that with your spaniel a halti or gentle leader may be necessary.

[karlotta]

A headcollar can be a great idea to calm the whole walking experience. While she's focussed on pulling she can't focus on learning so to use one while you train is perfect.

 

I can highly recommend the Dogmatic headcollar - when Martha was little (10 stone of puppy!!) she could literally pull me off my feet if she was distracted by a cat or similar. This headcollar is great as it turns the dogs head to you while lowering the muzzle so you can bring them back to heel and therefore give a command and treat.

 

Find it here http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

[Lesley]

Try just a plain collar and train her not to pull. The others won't stop her pulling.

 

Stop dead every time she pulls ahead, wait for her to notice, then call her back to heel and reward her with a treat. If she persists, then pretend to stumble and be hurt (have to be an actor to do this) when she pulls, she'll immediately stop and look at you, call her to heel.

 

Rubes is a lot better after doing this, not perfect, but far better.

 

Unless it's Jazz - you can stop dead and wait.....and wait.....and wait.......she does not turn round to see why you've stopped

 

So, we tried a Halti - which she can get out of in less than 30 seconds

 

She now wears a full harness which means she does still pull but doesn't choke herself We've persisted with the stopping when she pulls and she does know why she's stopped - she won't look but will stop pulling so we're getting there......slowly.........

 

It doesn't help that most of Jazz's walks are on our own land.

[The Dogmother]

and I thought that Ruby was a puller!

 

Have you tried her in town Lesley?

[Tessa the Duchess]

Polly the collie nearly pulled your arm out of it's socket when we first rescued her At dog training classes we were taught that the minute she started to pull we should change the direction of the walk so she never actually got anywhere, and although you do feel a bit silly and it takes ages to get anywhere it did work and she doesn't pull at all any more.

We also used tiny treats once the lead was loose. If your dog is not food led our trainer told us to use what he called 'high quality' treats maybe tiny pieces of raw meat rather than just normal dog treats.

 

Tessa

[Gamebird]

I think headcollars have their place, i.e. if you really do have to go from a to b and your dog pulls so hard you are in danger of falling over.

 

However, it will never teach it to stop pulling. I teach my puppy class the same method as Tessa. Keep changing direction and when the dog follows give lots of praise but as soon as you feel the lead going tight change direction again. You should keep your tone light and happy to make it fun for the dog and not a boring exercise. The training session should be kept reasonably short and after you've achieved even a short loose lead walk then you can allow your dog to have a sniff for a while and then try again. Eventually the times your dog walks to heel will get longer and longer. It's not going to happen overnight and it's a lot of work but it's worth it in the end.

 

Working spaniels are more interested in fur and feather than treats. It might be worth buying one of these furry creatures to keep her interested in you and giving it to her to hold as a reward for good behaviour. However, it belongs to you and she should only be allowed to have it when you say.

[The Dogmother]

That sounds like the 'This Way' game that I play with Ruby - she has to keep closely to heel while I turn and change direction, stop and ask her to sit. She loves it and gets plenty of high value treats to keep her attention.

 

She's only a year old and what some trainers call a 'hard mix' to train (saluki x lurcher) but she mostly heels now and only forgets when she's really excited.

[Snowy]

Thanks for those tips - yes I've read somewhere about that method of teaching them to walk to heel. I'll have a go at that and reserve the halti for our dashes to the fields for morning walkies! I was wondering what toys to get for her as well as she doesn't seem very toy led. The plan is to take something to the field and get her to hunt for it with me. I'm looking forward to this!

[Cooks]

most spaniels seem to like a chuck it toy which is a long handle holding a tennis ball on the end and to lob the tennis ball into the distance... it goes quite a way... You can get these at pound shops sometimes... they are not expensive. They are worth a try but more for a ploay rather than to get her attention type toy.

[victoriabunny]

My dog is a rescue and a real puller - we really tried with the stop/wait/move on when he comes back to you idea, but it meant it was taking us half an hour to move more than a few metres. The problem with the technique is that for it to work you have to be absolutely consistent with it - and for Charlie to get the amount of exercise he needs (he is a collie/lab/lurcher mix, so that's a lot) I would literally have had to devote the entire day just to his walk! So we looked for a quicker option I'm afraid. The halti didn't work - he HATED it. He would twist his head around non-stop and then quickly worked out how to slip out of it. So the next step was a harness - we use a snugglepets one which is fab, doesn't chafe or rub at all and it's machine-washable. He still tries to pull but as his weight is more evenly spread it's no longer a problem, I hardly feel it at all. He also doesn't make that awful wheezy choking sound they make when they pull on a collar! Hate that noise!

 

One horrible thing I saw in Spain - a lot of dogs wearing collars that were a version of a choke chain, except that they had spikes on the inside. When the dog pulled, the spikes dug right in its neck. Brutal things. I've never seen anything like that here, so perhaps they're banned - hope so.

[chooklady]

Have a look at this. http://www.gencon-allin1.co.uk/products.html They are fantastic, they give brilliant control. I have tried a halti, a gentle leader and one other which I cannot even remember the name of. But this is by far the best. The size adjusts according to the size of the dog's head, it forms a continuous figure of eight loop, it doesn't cut under the dogs eyes and they can still open their mouths properly and it is very hard for them to slip this head collar, They are extremely tough and they go in the washing machine. I cannot praise it enough they are fab. you would not be disappointed.

The lady that has designed it is really helpful.

[Snowy]

Have a look at this. http://www.gencon-allin1.co.uk/products.html They are fantastic, they give brilliant control. I have tried a halti, a gentle leader and one other which I cannot even remember the name of. But this is by far the best. The size adjusts according to the size of the dog's head, it forms a continuous figure of eight loop, it doesn't cut under the dogs eyes and they can still open their mouths properly and it is very hard for them to slip this head collar, They are extremely tough and they go in the washing machine. I cannot praise it enough they are fab. you would not be disappointed.

The lady that has designed it is really helpful.

 

Thank you for this! Unfortunately I have a Halti on order, but if that doesn't work this looks like a better alternative

[henriette]

We have found the Halti is better than just an ordinary collar, but I am not too happy with it for Ben (Border Collie who REALLY pulls). It's not that it doesn't stop him from pulling, but it sometimes pulls under his eyes if he tries to pull too hard against it. Bill walks beautifully anyway. Beth certainly pulls much less with the Halti. I have just looked at the Gencon site though, and I must admit it looks as if it could be very efficient.

When the Border Collies were younger I spoke to our vet about the pulling business and he said he had managed to train all his dogs to walk properly apart from one and he said that it didn't matter what he tried, that particular one always pulled.