Leash training

[Redyre Rotties]

I never use force or coercion when teaching puppies to walk on a leash. I prefer to use a retractible lead. I avoid every giving a puppy any tension to pull or buck against. I use food and praise to coax a puppy along. Once they learn to follow, I will gradually and gently apply gentle pressure to the lead to encourage them to learn to move forward towards the pressure. Patience and kindess is key in teaching puppies to learn to follow and come along.

 

[jak2002003]

I'm glad you saw for yourself that a choke chain is not a solution... It does what it says on the tin CHOKES

Yes, I agree there are so many different characters in the dog breeds and rewards do not always work but patience and understanding often do, terriers are probably one of the most tricky dogs to work with, I think if you take on a terrier you definately have to have a sense of humour, although they are not all little monsters

I agree with you there. He was a lovely dog and I miss him a lot. He was gently with children, got on really well with other dogs, was not destructive or noisy in the house, and did not mind being left alone a few hours in the day. He knew loads of funny tricks too, and was very quick to learn (I think that was the problem because he was so smart).

He was from working stock, that were used for ratting and fox hunting. Thats why he had such a drive to get prey. I took him to puppy training school and spent a lot of time with training, but nothing would stop him running away to find some small animal to kill. He would get a scent and forget everything. Then when it was all over he was lost. He would turn up miles from home. I was worried about him causing a car crash so I always kept him on the flexi lead in the park after I gave up on the recall training.

I think he was a bit crazy anyway. We used to have patio table and a shade umbrella. The stand for the umbrella has a hole in it to fill it with water or sand to weight it down. My dog would spend hours looking into the hole and scratching at it whining and getting really upset. I got rid of the patio furniture, but for years after that he would go to the spot the hole used to be and stand there whining and whimpering staring hard where the hole used to be!

 

[moomoodiddy]

I'm glad you saw for yourself that a choke chain is not a solution... It does what it says on the tin CHOKES   Yes, I agree there are so many different characters in the dog breeds and  rewards do not always work but patience and understanding often do, terriers are probably one of the most tricky dogs to work with, I think if you take on a terrier you definately have to have a sense of humour, although they are not all little monsters

i used to think choke collars where the most inhumane thing to put on a dog :collapsing its throat...but when i started training my welsh corgi mix i found that as long as u control the amount of pressure on them it can send a clear message after a couple of days of training my welsh corgi puppy walks by my side for 30 mins or more there are also harnesses that collapse on the chest to less harmfully choke them

 

[Fly 2006]

How do you "Control" the pressure of a choke chain?

 

[fowl farm]

Thanks for all the tips! I found this video really helpful.

 

[moomoodiddy]

How do you "Control" the pressure of a choke chain?

jerk back really quick so it only lasts a second

 

[Fly 2006]

Ok, so most people use a choke chain because their dog pulls on the lead, how would you give a quick jerk to a dog that is straining and choking ( yes the clue is in the name) on the lead, there is never a need for these horrible collars, patience and time is all that is needed unless you have a little dog as described in an earlier post that just won't respond, put a harness on it so at least it doesn't get hurt! when I got my Collie at 7 mths, my neighbour asked me why I used a harness, I said because she had yet to be trained and it was kinder, her reply was, if she pulls on the collar and it hurts enough, she will learn and not pull, and she was an experienced breeder and trainer!!!! Most dogs will pull even if it hurts, they need kind but firm guidence, not cruelty

 

[fowl farm]

A choke collar causes no harm to the dog IF used properly. However, not many people know how to and it takes a lot of practice to get it right. Each dog needs a different kind of discipline and each person prefers a different kind of method.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

After over 20 years of training dogs, I have found that the more dogs I train and the more time goes by the less force and correction I use in my training. Katie has been corrected nearly NONE. I begin puppies now with NO collar or lead and teach them to follow along with me using praise, food, and marking with the clicker and then once they have learned I add the collar and leash.

It is my personal opinion that it is not fair to use force or inflict pain on a dog who does not clearly understand what he is being asked to do. I NEVER use force, correction, scolding etc, when I am teaching a dog something new. This includes corrections with any sort of collar. I simply don't find it necessary to get what I want from the dog. And what I want is sharp precise obedience given to me with the utmost of willingness and attitude.

 

[Fly 2006]

Absolutely, there will always be people that prefer to work with their dogs and gain mutual respect and there will always be people that want a quick fix regardless of the consequences, I still say there is no kind way to use a choke chain on a dog that is pulling and if your dog is not pulling then you would use a normal collar, so no, there is not a need for choke chains IMO