hi there,

i am working on the whistle training with sam at the moment. i play hide and seek around the garden and different rooms in the house, and blow the whistle.....he comes like a shot!!! also i blow it every time i feed him or give him a treat for whatever reason....so hopefully he's associating whistle=food which is good! i've tried it a few times outside....sometimes he responds, other times not. especially if there are distractions!

i went to agility with him last night and he was superb! we did alot off the lead too!! he was paying attention the whole time . my trainer has also referred us to a behaviourist who happens to be a trainer at the club i go to anyway. so hopefully he'll be able to give me some good advice!

as for the pulling.....he does it going home too even after he's blasted round the field for an hour! then gets home and has another blast round the garden!!! springers eh...who'd have 'em . then flops on his bed and sleeps!!

Have you tried just stopping dead whenever the dog pulls? You'll end up getting funny looks from passers-by but hey...

With Blondi, I spent days at the front of the house. I would get her to sit by me on the leash. Then I would start to walk with her in a straight line. The moment she pulled, I gave a "Ooops" to her, stood still for a few seconds, marked the ground with chalk so I could measure how far I was getting, turned around, went back to the starting position and continued repeating.

If she got further than the chalk line, she was rewarded. If not, then "Ooops" and back again. I don't think that it, in itself, had a major impact, but combined with all the other disciplines, I think it helped a great deal.

yes i do all the stopping and starting and the 'ah ah' when and changing direction etc......! . he'll just stand at the end of the lead as if to say.....what's up!?? little monkey! anyway my mikki halter comes tomorrow hopefully!

hi there,

just thought i'd give you an update on my progress. i recently purchased a mikki harness as adviced by GSDLover and its transformed my dog-walking! it has become a pleasure once again! . he still pulls to a degree but stops almost instantly....there is no continuous pulling like before! so my arms are now getting a rest! i even managed to walk him this morning practically on a loose lead!!

i've decided that i'm not going to practice any recall outdoors until i'm sure he understands what i'm asking of him. so back to basics and we're just practising in and around the house and garden. so i will keep you posted how we get on.

Hi SG. Just read through this thread. Sorry you were having such a hard time. It sounds like you are making real progress. Well done for sticking with it. I am sure all your hard work will be rewarded. Keep us posted. Any pictures of your lovely boy?

hi berger,

thanks very much! i know i've got a long way to go. think i just wanted everything to be perfect with him, and unfortunately i've got 4 years of bad behaviour to undo!! but we'll get there together! here are some piccies of him....and also my girl!

this is my boy sam...



this is my girl bronte....

They are beautiful. Thanks so much for posting

my pleasure.....glad you like them

Yay! Glad to hear you have your arms back.

The thing to remember is when there isn't a curve in the leash, the dog is still pulling, it's just that the design of the harness means that you are not feeling it. I would suggest using the harness full stop for the next four weeks so that the dog gets used to where it should be in relation to you. Also during this time, you should notice a lot more time where there's a curve in the leash, meaning that the dog isn't pulling. When these moments arise, continue walking but praise the dog verbally.

Then, one day a week, remove the harness part and see how the dog is without it. I think you'll see quite a difference. Really glad you're able to enjoy the walks again though.

thanks GSDLover for the advice re the harness!! the only question i have is because its got a collar attached when he pulls am i putting undue pressure on his neck or is it distributed more evenly as opposed to a normal flat collar which would probably hurt his neck more? must admit its great having my arms back and not aching when i get back from a walk