Advice for walking with a leash

Does anyone have advice or success stories for training your dog to walk gently beside you without pulling? I have tried a lot of different collars but the only time the lead is loose, is toward the end of the walk when he's tired. He is very strong and it becomes more difficult the bigger he gets. Thanks, Traci

I owned staffords and boy could they pull. We cured their pulling by walking backwards whenever they pulled. I suddenly found muscles I nevr knew existed

Took us 3 times as long to get anywhere but it was worth it. It took me a few attempts to even get out of the gate with them As soon as they pulled it was straight back in the house, lead off and a 10minute wait before trying again. Once they both realised they weren't going anywhere they soon started walking properly, it took me about a week or 2. They occassionaly made a lunge at something that smelt good but a tug of the lead and a sharp 'No' put a stop to it.

Good luck

Oh dear, they're are plenty of us with the same problems and many different threads. We've tried the halti head collar and Canny Collar but find a body harness is best for us. It still takes a lot of work and training around the problem and we are by no means sorted....yet. It is getting better though. I'm sure some more of the DW's will be along shortly to give their view as well. Patience and determination along with training, bribery with treats etc is how we are getting there

i have a staffy and a staffy cross who are walked on a coupler(only 1 hand free,i use crutches),my pup pulled something terrible and i swapped to harness' it is 90% better.i got mine from here http://www.collarways.co.uk/ they are reasonably priced and have a lifetime even if chewed guaranteemy pup chewed his after 2 weeks,sent it back and received the new one within 2 dayshope you get it sorted

How i would go about this is firstly has he got use to wearing his collar i persume he is still a young pup? Take him out into the garden or around the house persuading the puppy to follow you by hiding a tipbit in your hand, and reward it when it does so, now attach the lead and get the dog to follow you without putting tention on the lead. Then go for a walk using the tipbit and praising the dog as it walks by your side and tell the dog to 'heel' or 'walk' if its attention begins to wander. Try not to let the lessons be too long and keep them enjoyable

I love this suggestion, and will give it a try. Thanks!

Wufflehoond, Griff and Natasha - Thank you all as well I sincerely appreciate the tips and will be working on this!

Have Pm'd you dog_mom_1

I must confess that when I'm in a hurry and haven't the time to keep stopping when any of my dogs pull, or when I'm taking more than one at a time, I do resort to a headcollar. I have found the Dogmatics brilliant - they are a bit more expensive than the others but are a really good fit and don't ride up under the eyes. It still takes patience as they tend to fight them at first, and you get bruises on the back of your knees where they try to rub them off, but perseverence and lots of rewards when they are walking nicely pays off - eventually!

Hi Dogmom just a couple of points,you don't say how old your puppy (?) is..it is not a good idea to 'lead walk' it until it is tired ..this can put strain on the joints and cause damage..the rule of thumb is five mins x each month of age So best to limit 'lead time'.. but have lots of off lead play when the puppy can stop if it gets tired.

I have never had a problem with dogs pulling, I start by gently coaxing a puppy on and give praise when it is walking well ..if it pulls I stop and bring it back to me then set off again more praise and repeat the process a puppy who pulls soon learns they are not going anywhere...if I have a bad puller (usually somone elses dog) I do the same as Staffy .
You may find this article by Dogwebber Shadowboxer helps too if you are training a puppy..