# Walking to heel



## Tecstar

I have really been persevering with Ollie to get him to stop pulling on the lead like a husky! I stand still when he pulls and he comes back to my side most of the time, but the moment I start walking he pulls again. Eventually he will lessen the pulling so it seems like he's getting better but next time we go out he's off again. Does anyone have any tips?

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## Cat 53

I bought a canny collar for Max....they use them to train guide dogs. It works for us and Max no longer pulls......which is a great relief for me as he gave me tendonitis.


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## Tinman

Puppy class taught us to hold a treat in our hand, and give them at intervals to make sure they stayed by our side. It works on occasions!! Or maybe a pull lead that goes on the muzzle? X


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## fairlie

This is another instance of me having to get really mad with Rufus before he got it. It was the same with toileting. I used every trick in the book and he still pulled. Finally I snapped and corrected him quite severely (held him by the collar and shouted at him). Again he looked at me as if to say "why didn't you just tell me earlier?" He gets it now but we walk on leash so infrequently I have to remind him of the rules each time we do.


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## RuthMill

Lola took a long time to get this. I tried every harness out. The only thing that worked was perseverance and hard work correcting her behaviour, pet corrector was the most effective. Now we just use collar and lead. She is amazing now and walks beautifully. Nina is learning. I think it takes cockapoos a while. Our trainer said they are desperate pullers cockapoos!


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## JasperBlack

Ollie sounds a lot like jasper. Believe it or not he walks better with my daughter. We use to laugh at her wrestling with him pulling him to heel but now he walks or rather struts happily by her side. He is getting better with me thank goodness xx


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## Toffin

I've tried everything with Miss P. Sometimes it works and she walks beautifully and other times nothing will stop her dashing ahead. The best is when I'm walking with someone else then she happily trots along just behind and between us. But as she's on the lead so infrequently we don't really have the training opportunities we would have if she were on the lead more often.

Toffin
x


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## dio.ren

With Molly I have had her in a harness since she was a baby. She is a big puller she see's someone and has to go and visit I tried the treat thing they showed us in puppy class but she lost interest in the treats...Our trainer suggested the easy walk harness..it works ok but she can still pull with it on. Lately she is getting better maybe it has to do with age not sure?

If she see's squirrels or a rabbit etc...she will pull but otherwise she is pretty good. I think Tilly has this harness but still manages to pull They are small but strong ha!

Go on youtube there is this guy that is amazing his name is tab 289 he is amazing! Here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKsANmYVTI He is my go to guy when I have issues love him!


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## Marzi

Heel walking is a lesson that has to be practised all the time - so often lead walking is the dull bit before the fun of the off lead bit.

Don't forget to praise him when he is walking nicely and if he is getting ahead try putting in a warning noise before you stop - ie just before the lead goes tight because he has got too far ahead of you. I use a bit of a growlly noise and the dogs check back at me and slow down until they are back in the right place and I can say 'good walking'. If they ignore my growl, the lead goes tight, I stop and they have to reposition themselves before I move. They are plenty smart enough to work out it is better to react to the growl and so prevent me stopping.
Also be clear about what you are asking them to do - for lead walking I use a 'Don't pull' command - I don't mind if they are a bit ahead, or a bit to the side as long as the lead is not tight. If I'm doing serious training I tell them to 'heel close' - which requires more precision work from them.
It sounds as if you are doing really well with Ollie - he is still young, the world is an exciting place. Keep going, keep being consistent - it will get better...... eventually (10 years or so!)


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## DB1

Dudley has improved but is still not perfect, I think lots of praising when he does it right (need a treat by your side I found) rather than telling off when he does things wrong I have found to be most effective, if he is just walking nicely - not a perfect heel but not pulling I will say 'nice walk, clever boy' and treat, or sometimes now just the praise, I use good boy when he has obeyed a command and finished - when I was teaching heel I realised he thought good boy was like a release command and went off again, so I use clever boy for something I want him to carry on doing. when he does pull I usually say no pull and pull him to walk a circle behind me, he seems to get a bit fed up with that a few times and walks better for a while - the stopping never worked for me and this was a compromise on the change of direction that seemed to work but is a pain when trying to get somewhere!! when the evenings are lighter I'm going to walk/work him using a double ended lead attached to a collar and harness - its a tellington touch method which is meant to help the dog find balance and be more aware of its body, I just like that he walked better on it! but I find I sometimes use both hands to keep an even tension and at the moment its difficult when carrying a torch as well. His morning walk is for charging around with his doggy friends so I won't use it then.


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## Meredith

I found a combo of lots of treats and praise and not moving if he pulled worked great. If he stays next to me he gets lots of high reward treats and lots of praise. My tone of voice for him seems to be as important as the value of the treat. He responds very well to an excited voice. I also found walking very quickly and changing direction lots helped make it feel like a game for him and kept his attention. The second I felt any pull on the leash I would just stop moving. The first couple of times what should have been a 10 minute walk took about 45 minutes. I almost gave up on this method because it was seeming ridiculous but it worked after 2 walks. I still give him about 3 treats per walk to encourage him to continue but he generally heels perfectly for the entire walk now. 

This is the first dog I've ever had heel so well and this is the first time I've used this method so I'm not sure if its a great technique or I just got lucky. I'm interested to see if I'll have as much success with my new puppy when he arrives.


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## Tecstar

Thought I would drop an update. Just after I posted Ollie began behaving better - he must have known! Anyway ot didn't last and despite my best efforts could not train him so we ended up getting a Halti collar. Wow amazing! Instant effect in being able to control him. Its great to be able to walk him without fighting against his pull all the time. On the odd occasion that we haven't used it he still pulls but we will persevere with the Halti for as long as it takes. I can definitely recommend it to help with walking to heel training if your dog is a puller.

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## Lindor

A run in the garden before training helps too. They are better able to concentrate when some of their energy has been drained off.


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## fairlie

2ndhandgal wrote a post on this topic a few days ago. With treats and a clicker mark and reward for one step without pulling, then two steps, then three and on and on. Go back to one if they pull. That was sort of the jist of it I think.


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## 2ndhandgal

That is about the jist of it Fairlie  here is the link

http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/LLW.pdf

It sounds time consuming but it really isn't and although the first day might feel like you will never get anywhere it builds up really nicely and the dog is able to understand what you want so with a bit of work in more distracting environments too it can really work everywhere.

I think the main thing which stops pulling on the lead is a determination that from NOW the dog will nowhere get anywhere if they are pulling so a combination of stopping, changing direction and using rewards will work as long as you do it all the time - there is no point putting in the work some days then letting the dog haul you to the park as you don't have time to mess about.


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## DB1

2ndhandgal said:


> That is about the jist of it Fairlie  here is the link
> 
> http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/LLW.pdf
> 
> It sounds time consuming but it really isn't and although the first day might feel like you will never get anywhere it builds up really nicely and the dog is able to understand what you want so with a bit of work in more distracting environments too it can really work everywhere.
> 
> I think the main thing which stops pulling on the lead is a determination that from NOW the dog will nowhere get anywhere if they are pulling so a combination of stopping, changing direction and using rewards will work as long as you do it all the time - there is no point putting in the work some days then letting the dog haul you to the park as you don't have time to mess about.


Yes I think being consistent is the hard bit, as usual, as obviously sometimes you just have to get somewhere, Dudley knows how to and can heel perfectly its just that he doesn't want to when we first go out, the first 3rd of our walk is always me reminding him not to pull while he is keen to smell everywhere pull to tree's etc, the second third he generally walks a bit better, the last 3rd when Dudley feels he has had enough sniffing, weeing, pooing etc he will trot perfectly by my side looking up at me as if butter wouldn't melt as he knows he is likely to get occasional treats then - got me well trained hasn't he?!!


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## Tecstar

I did the stopping, changing direction etc for months with no real effect. If Ollie wanted to pull there was no stopping him! We have tried taking him out without the Halti a couple of times and it is definitely working. Like most things, some work and some don't- especially when you have an intelligent beast involved!



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## wiz1908

I'm a bit late on this post but Enzo is terrible on the lead to the point of chocking himself & no amount of training helps so I feel your pain! I found the Mikki "I won't pull" harness really good & he doesn't pull at all with this. I thought I'd mention it as it's quite cheap so if it doesn't work you haven't spent too much money.


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## Lexi&Beemer

So harnesses were awful for us. And I've tried all sorts of leads. The one I think that turned a corner for us was this really heavy durable one that's stiff. Now I find that a short (4 ft) leather one, also stiff works best. If I don't want them to pull, I keep the leash short so there is only enough for them to walk comfortable but not enough to sniff. I watch for their nose, too. Once it starts I make a noise or do something to get their attention focused on me. 


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## 2ndhandgal

Check out some of the reviews for the Mikki harness particularly the negative ones - they work because the stringy bits under the dogs armpits pull on them if they pull and they can cause serious sores.

I much prefer a harness with front connection points so you can balance the dog if pulling. This is the sort I like if I use a harness

https://mekuti.co.uk/products.htm 

Chance wore one of this type as a pup if we went somewhere more exciting so I had some extra control and could stop pressure on her neck if she did pull. 

As DB1 says the problems with humans is we are just not consistent - smart dogs usually learn quickly if they NEVER get anywhere when they are pulling. Exercises like putting food on floor and walking towards it only making progress if the lead is loose can help human and dog work it out.


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## Nanci

Much respect to all of your comments and various techniques!! Sami and Carley are TERRIBLE on walks. We have tried all those ideas with the exception of training leads. Oddly enough we have taught them both to "Here now!" when a car is coming they will come to us and sit by our sides until the car passes. Then they are off to pulling again. I walk very fast for exercise so I usually don't notice them pulling a lot as they generally are at a trot just to keep up with me. I let them sniff for the first 5 or 10 minutes, which is when they do pees and poos normally also. After that time I increase my speed and if they pull I say "Here" and they run to catch up. The terrible part I mentioned is when they see a squirrel or rabbit or another dog . . . they will pull hard to get to them and I have yet to find anything that will curb this? If there are no distractions they walk well as I walk fast and don't give them the chance to pull ahead. If we are walking for more than 20 minutes I will say "Water" and they will come to me and stop as they know we are stopping for a water break. It's more difficult if I have both of them as occasionally they will cross leads but when Freddy walks with me it is quite good as we have a routine down . . . I really envy those that have dogs that will walk to heel!!


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## RuthMill

I really think the changing direction or stopping the walk completely is the only thing that works but you need to be consistent, by this I mean really consistent on every walk, if you lose concentration so will the dog. Truly perseverance is the only thing that works!!


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## Janey153

dio.ren said:


> With Molly I have had her in a harness since she was a baby. She is a big puller she see's someone and has to go and visit I tried the treat thing they showed us in puppy class but she lost interest in the treats...Our trainer suggested the easy walk harness..it works ok but she can still pull with it on. Lately she is getting better maybe it has to do with age not sure?
> 
> If she see's squirrels or a rabbit etc...she will pull but otherwise she is pretty good. I think Tilly has this harness but still manages to pull They are small but strong ha!
> 
> *Go on youtube there is this guy that is amazing his name is tab 289 he is amazing! Here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKsANmYVTI He is my go to guy when I have issues love him!*




I've just discovered this thread and dio.ren is right - this guy tab 289 really is good!


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