Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok i have a 1 year old chocolate lab named rebel. He is all i could ever ask for in a pet and more. He learned every thing i tried to teach him with ease(except for roll over). But one thing i cannot get him to do is heal when i walk him. He is always pulling always. I walk him alot i have tried lifting his choker collar up higher so that it puts more pressure on him but he keeps pulling till he is out of breath and panting and gagging so i always feel bad and lowerr it again. Is there anything anyone can suggest?

Well here is what I would try. When you and Rebel are ready to walk, have him in a sit stay on your left side. Take one step forward. If Rebel moves forward, give a correction such as NO or whatever word would work for you. Place him again in the sitstay. Take one step forward, if he stays bring him forward to you, reward him and have him sit again. Continue to do this and with each success increase the number of steps you take and reward him when he does what you want. It may take some time and others may have a better solution but it has worked for me. Good luck and please post some updates as to the progress made.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

There are a Few ways I would do it. I have a 2yr old lab named Bently. When I was Training him I chose to do pinch collars vrs buckle and Choke Chains. You need to keep in mind that a choker will do just that Choke the dog, they can also cause Bruising around the neck, Pinch collars do just that pinch the skin, try putting one on your wrist and pulling that way you can see what it feels like.
when I'm walking Bently I will usually walk on a pinch if I have the other dogs with. if he starts to get ahead of me I will give a slight tug on the leash and tell him to heal usually that works.
Also I would suggest trying this, when you are walking if he gets ahead of you stop walking, make him realize that pulling isn't going to get him anywhere eventully he will get the hint that pulling is a no no.
Also one thing that helps me is all my dogs are taught to sit when we get to a corner keeps them thinking.
Sara

I'm not very good at my timing so I don't use correction methods to train my dogs not to pull on walks.

Instead, I put them on leash, proceed out the door, and the moment there is any tension put on the leash I stop dead in my tracks and do not go forward. I've even turned around and goen the other direction instead of the direction the dog wants to go.

Now, I have a stubborn girl that had a history of pulling me already. It took 2 weeks for her to realize that tension in the leash meant we do not move. That was for her 2 weeks without a walk (something she dearly loves to do). Then once actually on the walk, she'd start pulling towards something and the same rule applied- I'd stop and not move towards what she wanted to go to. Today after a number of years where I was incredibly consistent about not letting her pull, she knows her job is to keep the leash slack and she's pretty good about it. She does forget, but again, we just don't move forward.

There's probably faster ways to go about this, but this was the one method that was the easiest for both of us to be consistent about. I don't have to remember a command and I don't have to nag her to stop pulling. Walks are her free time and supposed to be fun for all of us. Training to be in a specific position during a walk, that's a whole different story for us and I don't train it using a leash.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

Ok thank you all for the good ideas i will try some of them starting tommorow on his walk. And i will keep yous informed on his well our progress lol

I also stop when they pull. They will learn when they pull there's no forward movement. Good luck with your Lab.