im with the others

having rehomed, owned and trained many rotties and GSD's myself, ive never been floored, nor found that many amongst them that were 'pullers'.

those breeds are more 'lungers' than 'pullers', especially if they arent animal socialised or someone has taught them to be protective on the lead thru defensive handling and use of short and/or tense leads.

but have all responded pretty well to relaxed lead and treat training, so i never really had much of a problem.

i have used equipment, but only as a starting measure if and when i was handed an extremly unruly character that hadnt received any training at all for a long time.

but they werent really pullers or lungers, more like bucking rearing horses, as the issue in the first instance is the dog simply wasnt even used to any form of control or handling, even being on a collar and lead.

so the equipment was just to gain some equilibrium of control as a starting point for training.

now, if you said springers, beagles, or retrievers, then i could relate to your stories of nearly landing flat oin your face.

training, training, training,

you have only had your dog a short time, it would help build the bond you have with him to do some fun training,

I never use anything other than a collar and lead on my lot, they are very responsive to fun trianing,

they pick up walking at heal very quickly if you find the right motivation for them, they even do it well off lead, I tend to train them to heal off lead first, I would never depend on a collar and lead, they can snap,

http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q...royce001-1.flv

also the rottie was originally bred for herding not pulling

My boy has pulled me over twice in the early days (labrador). It didn't matter, it was soft ground and not his fault as it is up to me to train him properly on the lead. He is good now. No special leads or anything. I do use a harness but that is because I prefer them, He walks great on the lead, took some time though. I also use 'leave it' if I see him looking interested at cats etc.

Oh dearie me Kruzie, not again, we must stop meeting this way.

YES, the Rottie was used for a number of reasons - herding amongst them. As we are going back to Roman times, the Rottie variation then was used for PROTECTION, GUARDING and HERDING, mostly guarding.

But in later centuries it was used for PULLING carts etc. - a draught animal. Hence the inherent selected strength of the creature.

It came originally from a Mastiff type of canine that existed in Roman times - you are thinking of around 640 BC to 460 AD. We do not want a history lesson, just to get the gist of evolution and the intervention of man.

Oh by the way - why on Earth should a dog need such a powerful body, muscles and sheer strength for if all it is used for is HERDING ? Come off it Kruzie, ya just gotta be jokin.

Use the PM if you wish to pursue this matter, don`t clag up the thread, there`s a good chap.

John Bull

i know all of the above

i carefully inserted the word 'originally'

i was adding context to your statement they were bred to pull

thats easy to answer..........for the same reason as any big muscular flock guarding breeds......to fight bears

Im with kruize on this, yes the dog was adapted to pull, but it wasnt what they were first used for it came later,
they were drovers dogs, they were large with good guarding instincts to protect the cattle on the way to market, then many farmers tied the money they made in a small purse round the dogs neck on the way home, as often they would be robbed for there money when returning home,
so the personal protection came into play at that point,.

I have to say, rotties adapt to whats needed fairly well, they are a good all rounder with a bit of muscle if needed.

I would agree with most who have already posted, to say training is the key really. You can use all the check chains, headcollars and harnesses you like, but at the end of the day training the dog to walk nicely on the lead should be the end goal.

rotties do like retainers very much, but dont tend to do as well with restrainers lol

Ok I have a 44kg Rottie x GSD and I am only a 5'5" 52yr old woman so not as strong as a man.
I agree training is the key but sometimes like with my girl they have severe issues and although the training is ongoing and will continue to be I do need to know that I have such a powerful dog under full control.
Shady walks beautifully to heel until another dog approaches or a cat appears or heavy traffic or even just cars in the wet or a bicycle goes past or a small childwhen she will lunge using all her power treats or me become oblivious to her as she gets in this blind panic to scare them away.
When I do our daily lead walk she wears a halti harness with a lead clipped to the front chest ring and a dogmatic headcollar with another lead attached. I have tried many headcollars but the dogmatic is certainly the best IMO.
Both leads are kept slack and I use the one connected to the harness to control slight anxiety or an attempt to pull ahead at any time, and the headcollar comes into play as back up in situations she loses the plot in. That way both her, I and anyone else are always safe and I can get her attention back quicker, and she can't have me over.
I must stress she does get a good free run everymorning in a field I hire for her away from anything that causes her anxiety, where we can both relax and have fun.
Shadys problems are all down to fear so i try and keep her in her comfort zone as much as possible on our lead walks but I feel confident, relaxed and in control using this combination on our lead walks.