Hey guys,
I got a Husky whos 1.7 years old, i got him when he was 1.5 ish (previous owner didnt do much training) i had to train him to sit etc.
When i head out to walk him using a normal collar the walk ends up being the other way around,(he walks me ) hes pulls like crazy.
I tried training him inside the house in the yard before and he was fine with no troubles at all on leash or off leash.
When were outside its like he doesnt see me at all..
I tried a few things so far:
1) treats.
2) short leash.
3) harness.
4) choke chain (i know alot are against it but i also know that in reality its just for corrections n it doesnt hurt if used properly)
5) i recently got a Gentle Leader head collar, worked amazingly but the moment its off its like it never happened.( i tried commands when the correction happens, i got him to look at me when i correct him.. now hes refusing the collar completely, i cant even put it on him)
All of the above did not work.

Walks are getting really stressful...
Also its worth noting that where i live theres a bunch of stray dogs, by a bunch i mean alot. Hes not neutered, so he sniffs like crazy..
Any suggestions on how to stop my dog from pull? My wife got her wrist injured slightly at one of the walks..

Its my first dog ( i know it might be a bad choice for a first timer :/ as ive heard)

I'll offer a couple of thoughts - but I admit I had to laugh at your last comment.  Nope, Huskies as a first dog are not for the faint of heart, they will try your patience and just about everything else!

I have three dogs and since I'm a bit on the elderly side, I tend to walk them individually.  I have two who are great, I can let out as much lead as I want and when they get close to the end of it they slack off.  (( 30 foot leash and I keep the excess in a loop in my hand ))

The third one is terrible on a leash but has the saving grace that I can let him run and he stays, generally, somewhere close to my trailer.  When I walk him - if we've had much traffic on my remote road - it generally ends up with my arm getting pulled out of its socket (okay, it just feels like it.)

What he will respond to, even if he doesn't like is:

• getting pulled up on a real short leash - he ends up walking right beside me, like it or not.
  
• me stopping - dead stop! - until he decides that he doesn't need to try to pull me over.
  
• me turning and going in a totally different direction.
  

The object is to convince him that if he wants to get out and get some exercise that it'll be on my terms.  There have been a few times where I turn around, go home and put him on his outside lead with a "tough!"

One of my females, Sasha, took off one day and when she hit the end of the leash it felt like she'd pulled my arm out of its socket - hurt like blazes for a couple of days.  'Course she did a backflip and wasn't too impressed either!  She's normally pretty good about staying close on a loose leash and since where I live is really remote, I can let her go and she normally stays close to me.  I realize that's an option for me but not for most folks.

Re the choke collar (and prong collars) I think we've had enough of a discussion here to say that if they're used properly and removed when not in use, we don't have a big problem with them.  The problem is that  when some guy has a problem with his dog, goes out and gets a prong collar and then, figuratively, kills the dog trying to get it to behave - that's what we have a problem with!

Thanks for the reply,
Ive tried the stop and go, he stop but afterwards the moment i move he bolts.
Ive tried the going into another direction the same thing happens :/
Right now i refuse to take him out if he doesnt behave, i put him back into his crate n left.
Im gonna try taking him out now after an hour ish

Im still not sure if i should resort into using a prong collar.

I'll respond layer phone out of juice.

Big fan of prong collar, will give you training protocol

Zlash wrote:

Thanks for the reply,
I've tried the stop and go, he stop but afterwards the moment i move he bolts.  Then stop again and again and again
I've tried the going into another direction the same thing happens :/ ditto
Right now i refuse to take him out if he doesnt behave, i put him back into his crate n left.  You're letting your frustration show and he's going to know that you're angry (frustrated) and that's not going to help.  You have to keep your cool and believe me, I know how hard that can be at time.
I'm gonna try taking him out now after an hour ish Stay cool and that'll be good for both of you.

Im still not sure if i should resort into using a prong collar. See @Amymeme note, she's a proponent of proper use of a prong and can help.

Sorry about the interlineations but that's the only way I could see of responding to you.

You're finding out why so many Huskies end up back in shelters - they definitely take a very patient human (and then push them to their limits!)  You don't say how long you've had him, oaky, it looks like maybe 2 months?, and that plays a big part in how quickly he's going to respond.

My goal with Grant was for us to build a strong bond through being running partners. We have run hundreds of miles together in the past couple of years, after building up to it slowly. Without a prong collar, we could not run 7.5 minute miles because it would not be safe: he would trip me without the communication of the collar, as other dogs, squirrels, and screaming children would be potentially dangerous distractions for him at running speed on our trail.

Also, on outings to the post office and downtown, the collar helps us communicate amidst chaos. It looks like he's in training, too, so people ask before petting him. He's so alpha and loves worship, haha, but I am glad for the respect all around.

Even the vet tech comments on his gentle, calm, and obedient ways, and there is no yelling or high energy corrections necessary. Ever.

I hired a trainer to help me use the collar, but she referred me to a lot of videos like this one:

https://youtu.be/23zEy-e6Khg

Just my experience, ymmv, and it is only used for training then removed. But Grant embraces the collar because of all the fun things it "leads" to.

As a side note, while I was waiting to bring my puppy home, a 9-month-old Husky owned by a free spirit teenager who didn't even believe in leashes was killed by a car after the entire neighborhood tried to intervene each time he wandered off and into traffic (!) ...

Huskies are working dogs and really do great with both equipment and structured activities. Again this is my personal philosophy.

aljones wrote:

Zlash wrote:

Thanks for the reply,
I've tried the stop and go, he stop but afterwards the moment i move he bolts.  Then stop again and again and again
I've tried the going into another direction the same thing happens :/ ditto
Right now i refuse to take him out if he doesnt behave, i put him back into his crate n left.  You're letting your frustration show and he's going to know that you're angry (frustrated) and that's not going to help.  You have to keep your cool and believe me, I know how hard that can be at time.
I'm gonna try taking him out now after an hour ish Stay cool and that'll be good for both of you.

Im still not sure if i should resort into using a prong collar. See @Amymeme note, she's a proponent of proper use of a prong and can help.

Sorry about the interlineations but that's the only way I could see of responding to you.

You're finding out why so many Huskies end up back in shelters - they definitely take a very patient human (and then push them to their limits!)  You don't say how long you've had him, oaky, it looks like maybe 2 months?, and that plays a big part in how quickly he's going to respond.

yeah i guess i just need more time and consistency.

thanks for the reply, i will keep trying

Ok. Back in business.

I use a prong collar on both dogs. The Herm Sprenger brand is your best bet, well made, the prongs are rounded on the ends. Most huskies do well with the medium (the size relates to the size of the individual links, not to the length of the collar. You can add or subtract links as needed.) I use a Herm Sprenger that has been modified with a metal side release buckle (as shown here: http://www.leashesbydesign.com/ProngCollars/ProngCollarBuckle/ProngCollars.html) In addition, once in a blue moon a prong collar can come undone so it is reasonable to have a fall back. I use a carabiner attached to the dead ring of the prong and the D ring of his flat buckle collar. Another alternative is the short connector shown here: http://www.leashesbydesign.com/ProngCollars/ProngCollarConnector/ProngCollarConnector.html

Proper fit is important - the collar should sit high up on the neck, just behind the ears/jaw. Snug but not tight. https://thegooddog.net/training-videos/free-how-to-training-videos/learn-to-train-the-good-dog-way-intro-to-prong-collars-part-1/

The collar should ONLY be used for walking the dog. I keep mine attached to the leash and when the walk is done, leash and collar are taken off together and hang on a hook. Essentially, the collar is self-correcting, when the dog starts pulling it tightens. At most, you may need a very slight "pop" of the leash - for me that translates to a brief, almost instantaneous, slight downward pull of the wrist (sort of like using the reins on a horse, just a brief, gentle tug than release.)

Now...for actual training. In the initial stages, I start with a structured walk. Which starts at the door. Which means "sit" and wait while I open the door and give the ok to exit. At the beginning, this may be most of your walk time. First dog sits, then you reach for the door handle - if dog stands or rushes the door, drop hand, step back and return dog to sit. You will most likely need to repeat this to eternity on the first day until you can open the door and give her the ok to exit.

Once you are out the door, keep a short leash, folding it over in your hand. These initial structured walks are for learning, not for exploring (that can come later) Keep the dog by your side, walk without talking. I intersperse lots of changing of direction, sit commands in these early walks and sudden stops in these walks...what you are looking for is for the dog to start looking to you to see what you are going to do rather than impulsively doing what ever the hell appeals to dog. If dog starts to pull ahead and doesn't respond to the tightening of the collar, give a slight pop. Not yanking the dog into a back flip, just a flip of the leash.

In these first few structured walks, you can stop where you want her to pee/poop and wait. You can also incorporate a bit of "free" time maybe half way through or at the end where you let her sniff and explore but it is YOUR decision as to when and where. Then finish the walk with the same tight structure as you began. Including sitting nicely at the door while you unlock, open etc whatever is your routine.

http://www.canineprofessionals.com/structured-walk

Good luck!

amymeme wrote:

Ok.  Back in business.

I use a prong collar on both dogs.  The Herm Sprenger brand is your best bet, well made, the prongs are rounded on the ends.  Most huskies do well with the medium (the size relates to the size of the individual links, not to the length of the collar.  You can add or subtract links as needed.)  I use a Herm Sprenger that has been modified with a metal side release buckle (as shown here: )  In addition, once in a blue moon a prong collar can come undone so it is reasonable to have a fall back.  I use a carabiner attached to the dead ring of the prong and the D ring of his flat buckle collar.  Another alternative is the short connector shown here:

Proper fit is important - the collar should sit high up on the neck, just behind the ears/jaw.  Snug but not tight.

The collar should ONLY be used for walking the dog.  I keep mine attached to the leash and when the walk is done, leash and collar are taken off together and hang on a hook.  Essentially, the collar is self-correcting, when the dog starts pulling it tightens.  At most, you may need a very slight "pop" of the leash - for me that translates to a brief, almost instantaneous, slight downward pull of the wrist (sort of like using the reins on a horse, just a brief, gentle tug than release.)

Now...for actual training.  In the initial stages, I start with a structured walk.  Which starts at the door.  Which means "sit"  and wait while I open the door and give the ok to exit.  At the beginning, this may be most of your walk time.  First dog sits, then you reach for the door handle - if dog stands or rushes the door, drop hand, step back and return dog to sit.  You will most likely need to repeat this to eternity on the first day until you can open the door and give her the ok to exit.

Once you are out the door, keep a short leash, folding it over in your hand.  These initial structured walks are for learning, not for exploring (that can come later)  Keep the dog by your side, walk without talking.  I intersperse lots of changing of direction, sit commands in these early walks and sudden stops in these walks...what you are looking for is for the dog to start looking to you to see what you are going to do rather than impulsively doing what ever the hell appeals to dog. If dog starts to pull ahead and doesn't respond to the tightening of the collar, give a slight pop.  Not yanking the dog into a back flip, just a flip of the leash.

In these first few structured walks, you can stop where you want her to pee/poop and wait.  You can also incorporate a bit of "free" time maybe half way through or at the end where you let her sniff and explore but it is YOUR decision as to when and where.  Then finish the walk with the same tight structure as you began.  Including sitting nicely at the door while you unlock, open etc whatever is your routine.


Good luck!

alright i just got a collar ( its not the herm sprenger brand, it doesnt have the plate infront but it can be adjusted the same way) will give it a go today.
i might try harness first.

ill work on structured walks.

I would also suggest a prong collar....worked wonders for my two pullers! I did a ton of research, bought the Herm Sprenger collars and used the the training videos from Solid K9 Training (they have TONS of free videos on their website...http://solidk9training.com/). The videos lay out everything...proper fit, introducing the collar, and then using the collar. Good luck!!!

Short leash. The last thing you want is to give him 5 yards of lead to build up a good head of steam before your leash goes tight...that's a good way to take a shoulder out of socket.

Try wearing him out a bit before the walk. If you have a fenced in yard, have him chase things or play games, or play fetch for 10-15 minutes before the walk. Getting some of that energy out ahead of time might make him more relaxed on the walk.

If the gentle leader works, use it. He doesn't like it, so he's refusing. Well then, you refuse to take him on the walk. If he refuses, try again in 10 or 15 minutes. Or wrestle it on him despite his desires and take him for a walk. Either way he will begin to associate it with the walk and accept it as part of the deal.

So an update from todays walk, i fixed the collar on him had to adjust it before since it was my first time it was still loose but adjusted it.
Got two pulls and he learned not to pull if its on him, i think i need a few more walks n he’ll get used to it.
I checked a bunch of vids from SolidK9, it helped abit.
As for the gentlleader i think i broke a piece of the lock mechanism while wrestling him so ill keep it aside for now, i have a feeling that if he pulls on it he’ll end up hurting his neck specially if a cat shows up.
I do let him play around for 10-20minutes before, it only takes him like 5minutes to fully recharge to bolt. (The amount of stray dogs in and around my area is huge so the smell drives him crazy)


Thanks for the help everyone, ill update if more obstacles occur hahahaha