What is the best way to discourage pulling while on walks? She is not a bad puller, but when she wants to sniff something, oh boy, she will drag you! If I get her attention she backs off, but it starts again when she finds something else to go investigate.

You get her heeling,  which will slow her mind down and inhibit her impulses,  and you do not allow her to sniff or meander or socialize or walk ahead of you. If she attempts any of that stuff, you must correct her the moment she attempts to leave the heel position,  and it has to be firm enough to be meaningful.  

That is the best way to stop you dog from pulling or lunging,  both symptoms of an impulsive dog who is not told what not to do/what is not allowed.

seattlesibe wrote:

You get her heeling,  which will slow her mind down and inhibit her impulses,  and you do not allow her to sniff or meander or socialize or walk ahead of you. If she attempts any of that stuff, you must correct her the moment she attempts to leave the heel position,  and it has to be firm enough to be meaningful.  

That is the best way to stop you dog from pulling or lunging,  both symptoms of an impulsive dog who is not told what not to do/what is not allowed.

Stupid question, how do you teach heeling (I know what it is, just never had to train it before)?

I personally teach heeling with a basic Pressure On/Pressure Off method.  So, this requires a way to communicate Yes and No to the dog.  This is most gently and effectively done with a prong collar or e-collar.  

Keep in mind, heeling is not just a bodily position, but a mindset. That mindset is best cultivated with other foundation work, such as thresholds, crates, food protocols. Place command, etc.

 Calmness is a thorough, multi-faceted investment.

These are the basics for just heeling:

-Get the dog geared up and ready to go.
-Start walking with a Release (Let's Go, Okay, whatever.  This is your Release across the board.)
-When the dog moves forward past your hip, a calm, flat-No and then pressure goes On
-When the dog moves into position, pressure goes Off, followed by a calm, flat-Good
-You can start to layer in the command Heel in between the No and Good position change
-Then it's just maintenance and cleaning up the position

That's it. Super low level, gentle stuff.  There is a basic foundation of conditioning to pressure On and pressure Off that you can use to essentially teach anything you want.  

With anything, as the dog's intensity or stubborness escalates, so too does the pressure because you have to cap it off and then deescalate the dog back down to a calm, flat mindset that is tuned into you and responsive to you.  You become the reference point, or deference point, for the dog.  

Here's my instructor showing the magic.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrrQJto8xJU

seattlesibe wrote:

I personally teach heeling with a basic Pressure On/Pressure Off method.  So, this requires a way to communicate Yes and No to the dog.  This is most gently and effectively done with a prong collar or e-collar.  

Keep in mind, heeling is not just a bodily position, but a mindset. That mindset is best cultivated with other foundation work, such as thresholds, crates, food protocols. Place command, etc.

 Calmness is a thorough, multi-faceted investment.

These are the basics for just heeling:

-Get the dog geared up and ready to go.
-Start walking with a Release (Let's Go, Okay, whatever.  This is your Release across the board.)
-When the dog moves forward past your hip, a calm, flat-No and then pressure goes On
-When the dog moves into position, pressure goes Off, followed by a calm, flat-Good
-You can start to layer in the command Heel in between the No and Good position change
-Then it's just maintenance and cleaning up the position

That's it. Super low level, gentle stuff.  There is a basic foundation of conditioning to pressure On and pressure Off that you can use to essentially teach anything you want.  

With anything, as the dog's intensity or stubborness escalates, so too does the pressure because you have to cap it off and then deescalate the dog back down to a calm, flat mindset that is tuned into you and responsive to you.  You become the reference point, or deference point, for the dog.  

Here's my instructor showing the magic.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrrQJto8xJU

Thank you so very much, that is a really good video.

You are very welcome Good luck, and let me know if you have questions.

Here's my Dizzy boy learning this method this weekend, just so you know its possible with huskies too.

seattlesibe wrote:

You are very welcome Good luck, and let me know if you have questions.

I know this is off topic, but does Mysti look (badly bred) Husky or a mix? We are flooded with BYBs and puppy mills out here and she was dumped with teats to her knees, so yeah she most likely came from either one (Husky's are a popular breed in this area for them, Craigslist is full of BYB puppies). I'm just really cruius, because she sounds so much (behavior) wise like what it says on the AKC site.

If you're asking me personally, my gut and my brain say Mix, but who knows.

I'm leaning with Jenny on another thread of yours, husky/chow mix......the tongue and almost solid coat color leans towards that.

Jen - that was a good pickup on the blue tongue - I never even noticed it. Too struck by what a beautiful girl she is!

My Rascal pulls on the leash too, but I don't want to use prong collars, they scare me :s
we're trying to work with food rewards and stopping-turning around every time... doesn't work very well so far.

Lily82 wrote:

My Rascal pulls on the leash too, but I don't want to use prong collars, they scare me :s
we're trying to work with food rewards and stopping-turning around every time... doesn't work very well so far.

Mine is not very motivated by food either. I'm going to try using a clicker to see if that works in combination with the food.

Lily82 wrote:

My Rascal pulls on the leash too, but I don't want to use prong collars, they scare me :s
we're trying to work with food rewards and stopping-turning around every time... doesn't work very well so far.

What is it that scares you, exactly?

seattlesibe wrote:

Lily82 wrote:

My Rascal pulls on the leash too, but I don't want to use prong collars, they scare me :s
we're trying to work with food rewards and stopping-turning around every time... doesn't work very well so far.

What is it that scares you, exactly?

that my pooch might get hurt... I've seen some nasty pictures on the internet :p

I'm not sure those pictures are valid - I've been using a prong on Ami since we adopted him (the shelter gave me his prong collar when we adopted him - they have a woman who donates them and fits them so that volunteers can walk the dogs.) Ami has never had an injury from the collar, he has in the long past done some fairly impressive leaps, pouncing on little critters in the ditch and still not been injured. I started using a prong on Archer when he was about 6 months old. I don't yank on it - most of the corrections come from the dog. When I do correct, it is a brief flick of my wrist (if you've ever ridden a horse, sort of like using the reins).

I am the original softy when it comes to animals - no way would I use a prong if I thought I was hurting Ami. When his collar and leash come out, he is one excited, happy boy.

That's great information Amy.

It's pretty well known in the training community that the infamous prong collar puncture picture is a dog who was abused and a prong collar was left on him while physically growing without being ever removed. It was not from using the collar, especially using in properly.

The exact same photos exist for flat buckle collars and harnesses. I don't recommend looking thst stuff up and looking at it, but, the point remains, anything can be abused or taken out of context and used for moral lashings.

seattlesibe wrote:

The exact same photos exist for flat buckle collars and harnesses.  I don't recommend looking thst stuff up and looking at it, but, the point remains,  anything can be abused or taken out of context and used for moral lashings.

While I often check the fit of Ami's flat buckle collar, I don't often remove it - his ID tags are on it. I do occasionally remove it at night, at bedtime, after all the doors are locked, if we have no one staying over and Archer is not here (ie - no chance of someone letting him out without his tags).

Thus it was, 2 nights ago, that I discovered a small cache of burdocks and fur snarled around his collar I cannot imagine leaving a prong on except for when walking...

Exactly. You'd be my dream client

seattlesibe wrote:

Exactly.  You'd be my dream client

Why thank you, kind sir

Which does bring up a spring project - Ami definitely needs some refresher training. He's good with walking, we walked this winter. And he is good with sit 'cause w/o sit there are no treats from Dad's plate. But, recall? With the boys running free most of the winter, I've not had to use it much and he, apparantly, has decided he has no use for it either I have taught them to come to the back door with 2 sharp blasts of the whistle. The rest of the time, if I am out, they just trot around after me, so I've not really practised with him.

My chickens come home to roost. Or not as the case may be

For 1 article that says the prong collar is good, I find 2 opposite XD I really can't make up a decision on that. Furthermore, shops here don't sell it because they think it's bad :p

Lily82 wrote:

For 1 article that says the prong collar is good, I find 2 opposite XD I really can't make up a decision on that. Furthermore, shops here don't sell it because they think it's bad :p

http://www.leashesbydesign.com/ProngCollars/ProngCollars.html

I like the medium with the side release buckle.

Note: I have NOT ordered from this site, don't know anything about them. My prong came from the shelter - recommended by the shelter director. There are at least several of us on this forum that use prong collars.

I wouldn't order from the US anyway as it costs a fortune to send something here

http://www.luvmydog.co.uk/acatalog/caps_pic.html

Well, I put a Top Paw harness on her and BOOM barely any pulling.

I'd forgotten the fact that we trained dogs at the shelter on a harness and I never used a clip leash with her, so part of the problem solved. The leash was slack for most of the walk.
We are now working on keeping her focused on me.