Can I still correct this? She's 8 months old when I got her. I'm stressed out when I try to walk her.
Is it her nature?
My dog is doing the exact same thing since i got him. Dogs are eager to go for their walk and like getting everywhere ahead from humans. You have probably noticed he/she likes getting into rooms first as soon as u open the door, or try to get inside the elevator first. They do that cause they are too eager in everything. This can stop if you train or have your dog trained to walk beside you calmly. You should have your dog trained asap cause older dogs tend to stop being too open in the learning area (they can learn but tend not to want to). I myself haven't trained my dog to -beside me walks- cause i don't think it is obligatory cause i always let him loose (we live in a underpopulated area). Good luck with your dogie..
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
You're supposed to wrap it around your hand and keep her next to you so she knows you're the leader. I saw this on The Dog Whisperer and it works. Stop every few feet and say 'heel' and she'll stop after awhile. Don't give dogs a long leash because it makes them think they're in control. You can probably youtube some Dog Whisperer videos if you want.
References :
Dogs are a very smart animal so it doesn't matter how old she is. If want to you can go to a dog training center and they will teach the dog to not pull on the leash while walking
References :
well its in the breeds nature to want to work,
trying bringing your dog to an off- leash park to drain some energy, then she'll walk home ok, or when you put her leash on make her sit for a while to calm down before walking, the more she pulls you stop walking till she's calm
References :
yeah of course you can correct it, its never to late to train your dog!
the tip is when she pulls, stop dead, get her attention to come to your side an treat her, tell her a command 'walk,heel etc' and if she walks a few step nicely, treat her. If she pulls stop dead and repeat.
She'lll soon learn pulling gets her nowhere and walking nicely gets her treats! but once she has learned this, gradually reduces treats.
good luck =]
References :
I have a collie x springer who pulled constantly, so took her to training and thats what we learnt! Now she never does.
Any dog will do this. It's not her nature, it's just that she gets excited as any dog will…and forgets about you and just wants to explore the world.
Go to walmart and buy a regular dog harness and clip the leash to the FRONT ring on the harness, not on the back.
When you are walking her, she will try to pull and you simply stop your feet and she'll be stopped and turned around to face you. this causes her to stop thinking about pulling because she can't pull. Her own weight makes her turn toward you.
Then just keep walking. She'll learn quickly that she can't pull. If you feel her start to get ahead of you too much, simply stop your feet and this will stop her easily. Repeat this a few times and she'll get the idea and not pull anymore.
this is how I got my own dogs to stop pulling.
References :
My dog is doing the exact same thing since i got him. Dogs are eager to go for their walk and like getting everywhere ahead from humans. You have probably noticed he/she likes getting into rooms first as soon as u open the door, or try to get inside the elevator first. They do that cause they are too eager in everything. This can stop if you train or have your dog trained to walk beside you calmly. You should have your dog trained asap cause older dogs tend to stop being too open in the learning area (they can learn but tend not to want to). I myself haven't trained my dog to -beside me walks- cause i don't think it is obligatory cause i always let him loose (we live in a underpopulated area). Good luck with your dogie..
References :
Proud to have a dog in my family
Age matters little in animal training. although I will admit that older (upwards of 3) dogs do kind of get set in their ways. Now, for the matter at hand.
There are several ways to do this. If she was younger, I'd suggest holding a treat by your side, saying heel, and walk forward, praising her when she followed at your side. But having a treat-driven dog is not fun and sled dogs, in my experience, are more likely to become treat-driven. And they're cunning little creatures.
To correct a bad puller, get a correction collar. And I do not mean a choke chain. those can and do cause fractures in the windpipe of dogs, especially pullers. I prefer prong collars. They look wicked and mean, but they aren't. They can only tighten to a certain width, and a child can use one with the same ease as an adult.
Anyway, have the dog start by sitting at your side. no matter what she does, stand like a statue until she sits and stays seated. then tell her to heel and go to walk. AS SOON AS she starts to pull ahead, correct her and make her sit at your side again. Now repeat, ad nauseam. When she does walk at heel, praise her, then go a further distance and give her a treat. If she pulls or jumps on you when you praise her, go back to square one and no treat.
The best way, I've found, to correct with any collar is to allow some slack, then give a quick jerk and release. If you don't give slack, all you're doing is pulling against the dog. Which doesn't work.
If the above will not work, get a horse lunge line with a safety clasp, and tie her up to something. WATCH HER CAREFULLY. If she gets tangled to badly, untangle her and continue the lesson. This teaches her to respect the collar, and that the only way to relieve her discomfort is to give to the collar. And, she's pulling against herself, not you. After she does fine at this, go back to the above.
As for the mention of The Dog Whisperer, he mainly works with dogs who have dominance issues. If you watch, he's not training them. He's showing them that they are not pack leaders. His is a good method for retraining aggressive dogs, but not as an out right training method.
References :
a good article on prong collars, for those who think them barbaric:
http://www.fortunatek9.com/Articles/Prong_Collar_Julia_V_McDonough.pdf
Lol a siberian husky that pulls? NOooooo… (high use of sarcasm)
Of course she's going to pull!
You can correct this but you'll need to go to a trainer. If you haven't figured out how to correct it by now you won't be able to do it alone.
Choke collars, slip collars, prong/pinch collars, halti's, harnesses (used for pulling) are all vices. You need to learn how to train properly.
References :
http://www.adoptahusky.com/education/AAHI-education.html
All dogs will pull when walked if they aren't properly trained. Siberians can take longer to train out of this, and may not be as responsive to some training methods, but it doesn't mean they can't be trained.
Get a well-fitted prong collar, and teach her how to walk properly. If you're not sure how to fit a prong collar, have someone knowledgeable show you how.
A great collar fitting example:
http://leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm
Prong collars work well for Siberians, since they sink down through the coat directly to the dog's neck. They don't choke, and they quickly show the dog that pulling is not rewarding. Used in conjunction with *proper training*, they are very effective.
Good luck!
References :
Siberian husky owner/exhibitor, musher, rescue, breeder for for 20+ years. I've put obedience titles on two Siberians, and both were initially trained with prong collars.