Need advice on how to stop leash pulling

[reveriereptile]

My female english bulldog is 16 weeks old and I can't break her of pulling on her leash. I use to use a harness but she pulled more so I quickly switched to a collar. For her age and size she is very strong compared the other puppies I've been around. She has almost pulled me over a few times when she caught me off guard. She is giving my arms a workout when trying to go on a nice walk. So far before I leave the house I make sure I'm in the mood to walk so I'm relaxed and not all stiff. I don't do or say anything to cause her to become hyper before walking out the door. I simply walk over to the door and hook on the leash and make sure I go out the door first to show my leadership. She usually starts pulling in the house before the door is even opened. She isn't pulling in a way that she is afraid of the leash. She is use to it but wants to go where she wants to. Outside when I start walking and she starts to pull I turn around quickly and walk in the other direction but she somehow manages to find something as soon as she turns around to pull at again. I forgot to add that I have a 6 foot leash but i wrap part of it around my hand so I don't lose grip and to make it shorter. I also try to not let her walk infront of me. She can walk beside or behind. I do praise her if she goes a few feet without pulling but that rarely happens. If she sees another dog or a cat she will go on a run to try to get to them. Even if I turn around she is still pulling towards them. I've even done the tree method of not moving at all. She will pull till her front feet are hanging 4 inches in the air, gagging, and sometimes even vomiting. That is without me moving or even pulling. That is just all from her pulling. She weighed 16.5 lbs. a few weeks ago and I'm assuming she is around 20 lbs. now or more. I need to get her out of this fast before she starts dragging me. I've been trying to break her of this since she was 9 weeks old. I thought about trying a high collar but I haven't seen one and don't even think it would work on her. Also I prefer not to use one of those on a puppy. I have some 10 year old cousin-in-laws that come over that would like to walk her but I know she would drag them. I'm only around 110 lbs. and she gives me a workout. I'm looking for any advice. I've been looking around online and watching the Dog Whisperer and It's Me or The Dog shows for tips. Doing a sound doesn't work either when I go to turn around. She just ignores it. I'd appericate any help I'd get.

 

[Reinbeau]

I saw a dog trainer on TV teach a dog to heel by sticking his foot in front of the dog every time it pulled ahead, or tried to. It worked quickly, but you have to be firm, decisive, and let the dog know who's boss.

 

[Ema]

Of all the years I have had dogs, I am still trying to master this one!!!

 

[Crazyland]

You are right that she is a puppy. And using a choke collar is not the solution.

It will take a lot of time.
First I would do is make sure she knows SIT/STAY. When she knows them fully then start with the leash on and have her sit next to you. Take a step and make her sit next to you again. Building it up to staying in a heel position.
To me when I say SIT it means to stay in that position so STAY is not a needed command. As with any command. When I say DOWN/PLATZ it means to stay in that position.

I do not follow the whole I am the leader and must go first theory. My dogs walk ahead, behind and next to me on walks. But when I say heel they heel. They know through constant training that what I say is what you do no matter where you are.

 

[suzettex5]

What worked for my 2 Boston terriers is- When training, I stop all forward movement and make them sit the moment they start to pull. I keep the leash short so they cant get ahead of me also. It takes awhile and many sessions, but it works. I dont reward pulling by forward movement, and I do all the training at home first, then move onto public training. Vocal praise is used alot as well.

Treats are for when they do a trick, or when I'm working on the 'Come' command. I am still working on my 6 month old male Boston (our 3rd BT, recent addition)- he's a goof and its hard to keep his attention, but I know he's a baby, so we are taking it slow with him. He knows sit, lay down, army crawl, and shake. Working on the leash and come command still.


Good luck!

 

[reveriereptile]

She knows the sit command which I've tried to get her to do when I see a cat before she does. I'll tell her to sit and if she isn't pulling she will. If she is pulling she won't listen to me. I don't mind if she walked in front of me if she wasn't pulling. If she goes out in front of me and pulls it makes it harder on me as far as not letting her pull me over. If I have her near my side it is easier for me to not let her pull me forward. I may start trying to work more with her on commands. She only knows the sit command so far which was easy for her to learn. Maybe I'll start working with the stay command also. Just hard to get her to even do the sit command if she sees something she wants. My husband has said he never seen a dog so focused on something. She will even stare and bark at something she can't get to but wants for a long time even with trying to distract her with something else.

 

[EweSheep]

Ive used chokers, plain rolled chokers and there is a right way and wrong way of using them. If you do not know how to use them, do NOT use them. I will not give you advice how to use, or correct your dog.....but used them properly, it worked for me and my parents (obedience titles under their belts) successfully.

have you tried obeident training in one of your local dog clubs? There should be puppy classes and the instructor can teach you how to manage your dog. This is how we got started in our training in Collies and Borzois and GSD. It would give us the guidelines to start off and once you mastered the class and graduate with your puppy, you can do just about anything with your dog.

 

[suzettex5]

Sounds like she may have a high prey drive. Watch out for that around your other pets and chickens. Maybe try the leash training in the house first where she cant pull you around as far, then move to bigger areas once she has a few basics down.

When my youngest dog went after my hens, I was soooo mad! I grabbed him in mid-chase, spanked his flank while yelling NO, and then grabbed one of my bigger hens, held the puppy down, and rubbed the hen all over his face and body, all the while yelling NO, NO, NO!! The hen was not so thrilled with the treament, BUT, that puppy has NEVER gone after another bird. He now will sit or lay by my feet in the pen while the flock enjoys treats tossed to them. He still watches them a bit too close for my comfort, but I will *remind* him with the same treatment if he ever tries chasing them again. I think it worked for him. (so far)

Please dont give up on your puppy. She is NOT bad, or dumb, just a baby. She needs training every single day, a few times a day, at minimum. You will be soooo glad you spent the time once she's grown.

Oh, and how about some pics of your cutie?????

 

[synoviaus]

There are several ways to stop leash pulling. One way is to try a pinch collar. This makes it uncomfortable to drag you around. It's kind of like power steering in cars it makes the dog think before disobeying. Another way is to do a 360 turn every time they start pulling. Soon they will figure out man, I'm not getting to go anywhere like this. It really depends on how hard headed the dog is. Just keep practicing and you'll get it before long. Amy

 

[reveriereptile]

I'm going to keep working with her on it. The breeder I got her from said their dogs still pull cause they get over excited.