Am new to this forum but just have to jump into this debate
Ten weeks ago I adopted a Lab from a local Rescue. He was exactly 1 year old at that point.
He has apparently never been on a lead before and in addition to pulling like his life depends on it, he also JUMPS up at every single person that passes. I tried my best to check this in advance but couldn't do it every single time.
In week 2, in desperation, I booked an entire afternoon with a dog trainer who was recommended BY the rescue. He did help a bit. For the past 8 weeks I have been following his advice religiously.
Result? Dexter still PULLS like a steam train and still jumps at anyone he possibly can. I have tried every single technique recommended in this thread.
After he gave someone a nasty scratch by jumping up to greet them, I realised that even though I don't *like* head collars, I actually have no choice because the safety of other people is - right now - MORE important than my dog's ability to walk to heel.
So we then tried the Halti head collar - it did stop the pulling but the slip line constantly rode up into Dexter's eyes and he hated it.
Next we tried the Gentle Leader - utter waste of time. Didn't do a damn thing and again, the slip line kept ending up in his eyes.
I then switched to harnesses - specifically ANTI PULL ones. The first one, a generic Pets At Home harness, actually did help quite a bit but was poor quality and only lasted a few weeks. It didn't stop him jumping but helped with the pulling.
I then tried a Halti Harness - totally useless. I tried a Lupi harness - useless. Ditto with the Sporn Anti Pull Harness.
By now walks were a total nightmare. Dexter would not stop pulling no matter what I tried and the result was that my arms were being yanked all the time and I was developing a bad knee and pain in my lower back. Plus he was still jumping.
As a last resort, I tried a CANNY COLLAR - similar to a Halti but ties round the *back* of the dog's neck and also is attached to a proper collar so is more secure.
This product WORKS. It is literally the only thing enabling me to walk my dog! It also stops him jumping and on every walk, at the end, I take OFF the Canny Collar and walk Dex on a normal flat collar and lead - since we began using the Canny Collar, his pulling is less and the jumping is slightly reduced.
So while in an ideal world all dogs would *get* the training techniques and all owners would have hours every day to spend walking in circles, stopping every other minute etc, the reality is - we cannot all do that. My dog needs exercise and if, at present, I need a head collar to do that, SO BE IT!
by mkp123 » Wed May 26, 2010 6:22 pm