Training my dog

[tylerjones553 Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close tylerjones553]

I have a Labrador Retriever (2 yr) while on a walk he pulls his leash very strongly and run behind every small thing like Frog or lizard when ever he saw them to eat them although he has not eaten anything like that yet. Any suggestion to me regarding these two problems

[KatieDidIt Cub Find all posts View Profile Close KatieDidIt]

My Shepard mix loved pulling and she almost completely choked herself on occasion. I found a few different training techniques and one that worked great. If you don't mind them you can use a prong collar. I know these are a hot topic for most people but I found them to work the best. If a dog were in the wild and he was in a pack and he tried to get in front of the alpha dog, the alpha would do much worse than the prong collar ever would. If you have an issue with them than you can substitute with a regular choke collar. If you are using a prong collar then place it where you would place a flat collar. If the choke collar is your choice put it up on the neck. A little behind the ears is a good spot. Say 'heal' and when he doesn't pull him to your heal, a little behind you is even better. Every time he tries to get in front of you pull him backwards with the choke collar and with the prong collar snap him backwards a little. It wont hurt him unless you really snap it. It'll just tell him he's doing something you don't want him to do. If he yelps a little it's just in protest. Every now and again when he stays behind/next to you give him a little pat on the head to tell him he's being a good boy. Both of my dogs are prong collar trained and my Lab mix even stays next to me without a leash. I hope this helped. I know Lab's are pretty big dogs, specially the males.

[LPC Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close LPC]

A good alternative is to use a harness, not a collar. The dog cannot choke.

[xAnimalLoverx12 Cub Find all posts View Profile Close xAnimalLoverx12]

Well i have a German Shorthaired Pointer and she pulls me nearly off my feet. I used a collar at first but she kept on choking herself so I tried a harness and it has made a big difference. She doesn't choke herself anymore and more to the point you have more control over the dog with a harness. So now when I go out walks I go straight to the harness because it's so much better and more comfortable for the dog. Try and avoid places that have small animals ect.

[KatieDidIt Cub Find all posts View Profile Close KatieDidIt]

Actually, putting a harness on a dog is putting the control in the dogs paws. Harnesses go on the strongest part of the dog, his shoulders. Obviously I'm not counting small dogs. And I'm not trying to put anyone else's point of view down. I'm just saying what I've found out over the years.

[jessewills Cub Find all posts View Profile Close jessewills]

Re: Training my dog

I think that running behind any small creatures shows dog’s DNA to hunt, since they come from a line of predators. Such dogs will be difficult to control when exposed to frog, lizard or squirrel, especially when moving. The only way to deal with such situations is to use aversive training including finger pokes, leash jerks, or shock collars.

[LPC Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close LPC]

Re: Training my dog

I would not recommend use of shock collars. Firstly, their use is illegal in certain countries (including Wales). So any suggestion that they be used could be inciting an illegal act in those countries. Secondly, they are generally disapproved of by most animal welfare organisations. See, for example the advice of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors: http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/shockcollars

[freemanjulia Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close freemanjulia]

Re: Training my dog

Up to this time all exercises have been conducted in an open area, and the transition from one phase to the next was closely related. Now as the dog progresses to exercises involving the exterior of a building, you will find he is confronted with somewhat of an abrupt change. However, this is an extremely good phase of training to prepare the dog for future building interior smell training.

[Meitene_007 Cub Find all posts View Profile Close Meitene_007]

Re: Training my dog

To train a dog, you have to be his leader. You haven't said anything about training your dog so I don't know how you do it.
But from my experience, you should hire a dog trainer to learn the right way how to train your dog on walking and not pulling. My friends did that and it was quite amazing, how obedient the dog became with a trainer. They just had to excercise dog every day and do what the dog trainer told. Results where very good.
If you don't have any dog trainers near you, you can try reading some literature on internet. Labradors are smart dogs and should be easy to train, but as we know, that's not always true. I have learned quite a lot from tv series about Victoria Stilwell and Dog whisperer Cesar Millan.

[Meitene_007 Cub Find all posts View Profile Close Meitene_007]

Re: Training my dog

And one more thing about what KatieDidIt said, harnesses are better, because they are safeer for dogs and not as traumatising, but instead of attaching the lead behind the dogs head, you should do it in front of his chest. In that way, he will be easyer to control. You won't have to pull all dogs weight, instead he will be naturaly forced to obey.

[KadyGirl Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close KadyGirl]

Re: Training my dog

Have you tried having treats with you and everytime he starts pulling get his attention back to you by pointing to your eyes and saying "watch me". The idea is to distract what he is doing and even if he looks at you for a second, reward him with a small treat. Eventually, you will only use treats every other time and then not at all. Go to my profile and you will see a link that will guide you to become a great trainer for your dog. Thank you

[vrj Cub Find all posts View Profile Close vrj]

Re: Training my dog

hi i have that problem before well you just need to show your dog that you are the boss and not them and they will listen to you..have a nice day....

[lalawoof Cub Find all posts View Profile Close lalawoof]

Re: Training my dog

Yes we should use harness for the safety of our dogs.

[perriejinnie Cub Find all posts View Profile Close perriejinnie]

Re: Training my dog

My dog also used to do this thing. He almost choked himself whenever I take him out for a stroll. I wish I should have cut him loose but I couldn't because there were other people also in the park who wouldn't feel safe otherwise.

[stephy Cub Find all posts View Profile Close stephy]

Re: Training my dog

Instead of using a shock collar, you can try a vibrating collar. It is a lot less painful for the dog but still let them know that what they are doing is wrong.