My dogs are hurting my hands..

[Deleted User] · 27/12/12 - 10:09

I have two black labs, and one collie.

I am sick of the way the collie keeps pulling her lead when I am walking her. I've tried telling her off (pointing my finger by her noise) - but I don't like being horrible. I find that she keeps walking all over me. She has ripped up the large padding on the dogs bed - and is always barking.

Any tips on how I can stop her from pulling her lead?

turquoiseblue · 27/12/12 - 10:11

Dog classes might help, so your dog can learn some basic obedience and you can get advice from the person running the classes. We use a harness for our dog and it does help with the pulling.

dollymarie · 27/12/12 - 10:17

Buy a "lupi" harness. Has worked with the two dogs I've used it on who both used to pull like mad.

[Deleted User] · 27/12/12 - 10:45

I'll buy one - I'd love to take the collie to classes. The labs have grown out of it.. She is now 3 and is worse than ever.

StressMonkey · 27/12/12 - 10:50

There are a number of ways. One is to change direction every time she pulls. Another is to rewards her for walking correctly at heel - for a collie sized dog direct rewards would work (I had to use a clicker for my tiny dogs so they made the connection) and have the added bonus of keeping her attention on your hand.

However, it sounds like there is a bigger problem with the collie, with the barking and you sound frustrated (I know that feeling!) so training classes - or even one-to-one training would be your best bet. Make sure the trainer uses reward based training and run a mile if they start about 'dominance'

Make sure you are spending time alone training with the Collie - don't always walk all the dogs together. Collies are a difficult dog and get bored quite easily so she'll need a lot of mental stimulation. The upside is they learn quickly - though it has to be said they learn 'bad' habits just as quickly!

[Deleted User] · 27/12/12 - 10:54

Strict wrote: »

I've tried telling her off (pointing my finger by her noise) - but I don't like being horrible. I find that she keeps walking all over me. She has ripped up the large padding on the dogs bed - and is always barking.

Discipline is not "being horrible", it's an essential part of a dog's life and lack of it leads to your dog walking all over you as you have said. Classes would definitely help you to gain some confidence and learn some techniques to benefit both you and your dogs

xdow · 28/12/12 - 00:41

could she be bored?

as for pulling on the lead, a Halti, or other head collar could be of some training assistance there.
our collie was a horror on the lead (he snapped one collar & two trigger clips) the halti really helped things.

Dracarys · 29/12/12 - 11:47

xdow wrote: »

could she be bored?

as for pulling on the lead, a Halti, or other head collar could be of some training assistance there.
our collie was a horror on the lead (he snapped one collar & two trigger clips) the halti really helped things.

I agree with the Halti. My 45kg German Shepherd, would get over-excited and drag me along on walks! I have to say since using this head collar, I can now walk him with no tension on the lead whatsoever. Such a huge difference.

xdow · 29/12/12 - 23:45

i wish the same could be said from my friends 20 month old GSD.
she'll fight any kind of head collar that you put on her, nightmare to walk

Muze · 29/12/12 - 23:54

Haltis, and all other brands of headcollar, are a training tool.

They need to be properly fitted, carefully introduced and used alongside ongoing training - they are not a magic fix, same with harnesses.

Either go to classes to learn how to train your dog, pay for a 1-1 trainer or read some books.

Hey there!

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