hey Amanda here and I have a problem every time I go to walk Meeka she pulls about half the time stops to smell every blade of grass and then takes off running and ends up choking herself when the slack on the leash ends. Also when we pass another dog she gets SO EXCITED and tries to run up and again chokes herself till shes pulling me. I know shes harmless but other owners seem to kinda freak out what can I do??? I do want to get a harness but we wanted to wait till shes bigger since shes mixed with german shepherd we don't know exactly how big she will get

You have just described both huskies that I've had! It's horrible and I fear that I am doing damage to his neck when I allow this behavior.

I am currently trying to teach my 5 month old boy to not pull by offering treats continually when he is walking properly. I have also used a frozen stick of string cheese held at my side and allow him to nibble it as he walks. These methods keep his attention IF we don't walk too far and IF we don't run into any people or critters that are more interesting than the treat. When we stop to meet someone, I make him sit and then I stand on his leash. This prevents him from jumping and lunging. He can still comfortably sit and stand to greet the visitor. Standing on his leash has been the best thing I learned in puppy school. If I allow him to lunge frantically at small children, I fear he would hurt them and I am certainly not in the mood for irrate parents and law suits!

Good luck!

Lisa is right on - offer little snakies and treats to keep them focused and interested on YOU. Also, I highly encourage getting a harness. We have a sort of cheap-o adjustable one from PetSmart (I think it was $12?) and because it's adjustable, we can make it fit him if he gains/loses weight, etc. My guy doesn't really pull per se (he likes to keep the leash taut, but not pull), but if I have him sit at a corner, then say "Hike!" he'll take off at a full RUN an choke himself (if we're just walking with his collar).

Anyway, here's a good article about good leash walking and how to train it:
Good Dog Walking - Pat MIller

As much as I hated to do it I had to put both Adobo & Biko on the prong collars as I felt they would be painful to them. They learn real quick just what their limits are to pulling and I haven't really had any yelping from them when they wear them. I worried way to much about Biko choking himself w/o the prong collar to the point he would be choking and gagging within 5 minutes of our walks. According to the obedience instructor used properly they are almost harmless. just remember these 2 words......used properly.

Here4thePics wrote:

As much as I hated to do it I had to put both Adobo & Biko on the prong collars as I felt they would be painful to them. They learn real quick just what their limits are to pulling and I haven't really had any yelping from them when they wear them. I worried way to much about Biko choking himself w/o the prong collar to the point he would be choking and gagging within 5 minutes of our walks. According to the obedience instructor used properly they are almost harmless. just remember these 2 words......used properly.

we use the prong on our boy and with proper use it works! he is about 2 so im not sure if you want to uses these on puppys so im not sure about that? i also think with age they get better, i have noticed a HUGE change in my 2 the last few months with the pulling, its a great thing to have happen good luck on your training thats all it is training....

having this same problem with my 7 month old boy. Gonna enforce these methods more.

Willow is just as bad as you describe and I got the Easy Walk Harness. It made a huge difference in her pulling and you can get it for $14 on Amazon right now.


http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=easy+harness&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=166212306&ref=pd_sl_88hfvzz3rm_e

I'm shocked to hear of the easy walk harness working for you. I wanted to rip my hair out when customers used that on their dogs at my work and the minute they enrolled in training too we said no more!

It's the only thing that has made a difference for her. I have tried the slip leash that sits right under their chin, a choke chain and a regular harness. This easy walk harness was next on my list to try and it was the winner. I was amazed with how much it keeps her in check. She is a pretty calm dog in general, but she turns into a freak on her walks. It was very embarrising! Thankfully, I don't need it for Dakota, he's a dream to walk. What problems did you see with them?

I still have this problem with Demon but it is getting much better. I use a martingale collar and what I do is when he's about to get to the end of my 6ft lead I say "easy" and if he doesn't stop or slow down I turn around and walk in the other direction. He doesn't pull 100% of the time now, it's gone down to about 60% but he's catching on. Also, when I say "easy" if he looks at me I give him a treat. It teaches him to pay attention to me and what I'm doing. It's been a long battle but it's slowly working, hopefully we'll be 100% consistent before it's time to take Ghost our for walks around the block.

RiotAndAmanda wrote:

pulls about half the time stops to smell every blade of grass and then takes off running and ends up choking herself when the slack on the leash ends.t

I have that same problem! My almost 2 year old husky Blitz does the same thing. We got him when he was about a year old and we have no idea who his previous owners are, if he even had any, so we don't know what training he has had on leash... but we've had him for a year and have tried the choker collars, he would pull until, well, choking... then we tried the halti collar, he would turn around and put his head down so it would slip off, I tried every size of them, he gets out of them all... now I have the pronged collar and it has gotten better but he still pulls and my arms are sore from trying to keep him next to me. I've tried to use treats but when he is outside he has no interest at all in food, he just wants to go go go. I want to get him to the point to where I can take him on hikes and go bike riding, but I fear for my safety and his with his pulling. Anyone else have any tips? I'm tempted to try cesar millan's illusion collar but it's $50... I haven't heard enough about it to know if it's worth the investment..

Refer to my post above...I am still using the easy walk harness and swear by it. It has gotten so good that I thought she finally has learned to walk correctly so I tried to walk her without it the other night and she went right back to pulling big time. I don't know what it is about that easy walk harness but it's like a flip switch when she is wearing. I have also heard the Walk Your Dog With Love harness is having huge sucess but it's almost identical to the Easy Walk Harness. They are really cheap on amazon, so worth the money to try.

I've heard that using harnesses makes the dog feel more powerful since they can use their entire body to pull... since harnesses are used when needing to pull something.... you've found that this isn't the case with your dogs? Hm.. I may have to see if my PETCO has one that I can try!

KaylaNL wrote:

I've heard that using harnesses makes the dog feel more powerful since they can use their entire body to pull... since harnesses are used when needing to pull something.... you've found that this isn't the case with your dogs? Hm.. I may have to see if my PETCO has one that I can try!

The Easy Walk Harness and Walking With Love Harness are not the average harness..it connects in the front of their chest so if they try to walk in front of you it pulls them to the side. A regular harness connects on their back. If you decide to try it, please let us know how it goes!

Oh that is very cool. I definitely am going to try it after payday next week and will let you know if I have any progress with him! Thank you for the tip!

26nikita wrote:

KaylaNL wrote:

I've heard that using harnesses makes the dog feel more powerful since they can use their entire body to pull... since harnesses are used when needing to pull something.... you've found that this isn't the case with your dogs? Hm.. I may have to see if my PETCO has one that I can try!

The Easy Walk Harness and Walking With Love Harness are not the average harness..it connects in the front of their chest so if they try to walk in front of you it pulls them to the side. A regular harness connects on their back. If you decide to try it, please let us know how it goes!

Aevyn has a harness that connects on his back, however it tightens around his arms when he pulls. Apparently it makes them feel like their wearing a t-shirt thats too tight. Just uncomfortable enough that it discourages him from pulling. Same idea as Easy Walk Harness, just a different way of doing it.

So you just have to be careful what type you buy for what results you want.

I have not heard of that one Karen. Good to know other alternatives!

I've been experimenting with a combination of techniques for the past couple of weeks. I've been alternating every minute or so between "Heel" and "Go Sniff" (loose leash walking). I call Sky's name and wait for her to look up at me before I tell her to go sniff, too. She's loving it, because before we were working only on Heel. She still pulls when she smells something really exciting or sees another animal, but I stop and sometimes walk backwards. I think she's starting to make the connection between pulling and not getting what she wants. I think it might work well for her, but it's still a work in progress.

Still going to go get a harness to replace the chain training collar tonight. This cool weather has made her crazy! She's sooooo hyper now!

I GIVE UP. Tried the easy harness on both Blitz and Bullet. Completely worthless on them. I am at my wits end. I don't know what to do anymore. I cannot walk them!!! Bullet pulls even worse than Blitz does and he weighs more so it's twice as bad. I have to grip the leash so hard that my fingers swell with whatever method I am trying to do. The pronged collar works better than anything I have tried but they still pull the first 15 minutes of their walk. I need Cesar Millan.

KaylaNL wrote:

I GIVE UP. Tried the easy harness on both Blitz and Bullet. Completely worthless on them. I am at my wits end. I don't know what to do anymore. I cannot walk them!!! Bullet pulls even worse than Blitz does and he weighs more so it's twice as bad. I have to grip the leash so hard that my fingers swell with whatever method I am trying to do. The pronged collar works better than anything I have tried but they still pull the first 15 minutes of their walk. I need Cesar Millan.

I need Cesar also!!! LOL! I walk my 2 with the prong collar and it works, but they still pull for the first 5 minutes. Well, I should say that Mya pulls more than Kody. I've also noticed that when I take a different route she pulls A LOT more! Teaching Kody "heel" worked, but I didn't start trying with Mya until we got Kody and it's like in one ear and out the other!!!

I completely gave up on walking them together once Bullet hit 50lbs. Now that he is 67lbs it's RIDICULOUS! I have to do separate walks. One of the big problems is that they go completely BONKERS whenever they see me touch the leash. I've tried the whole standing there and waiting until they calm down... Let me tell you how that went!!! 20 minutes later they were laying down, as soon as I went to put the pronged collars on they flipped out again... 10 minutes later tried to put it on again, went crazy again... finally got the collars on, opened the door and they were pulling to get out of it.... after stading 5-10 minutes making them sit and calm down tried it again and as soon as I pushed on the screen door they bolt out. Then it's tug of war the entire first part of the walk. It is absolutely insane. I can't imagine trying to walk either of them if I were pregnant or had a kid that I had to take in a stroller with them! I just don't know what to do anymore. The last half of the walk I think they each get so tired out from pulling that they are easier to walk, but I need them to stop being absolute idiots in the first place!! lol ugh I just don't know how to do it.

Oh girl, I SO FEEL YOU PAIN!!! Believe me you're not alone! AT ALL! Wanna laugh? Check these 2 videos out.

This is how it started off!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LcymTMEyUE



I took everybody's advise and changed a few ways of doing things. This after a while of working with them and it's still bad. See how stubborn Mya is to sit!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We6hwEGuuRg

Now, it's better than the last video. Mya sits easier, but still starts off by jumping! Kody just lets me leash him and doesn't do the crazy whining anymore. Maybe one or 2 little yelps, but definitely better!

They do still pull me the first few minutes, but I can take them. I just bring them in close to me, make them sit, and wait until they calm down. For the most part that works, but if they see a dog they really don't like...IT'S ON! I jog with them on walks also so that tires them out.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I SO SO SO UNDERTSAND your frustration! I was about to cry a few times with these 2. Still am on their bad days!!!

When Frankie pulls on the leash, I turn around and walk in the opposite direction. When he starts pulling again, I go in the opposite direction. When we were first training, I looked like a complete idiot and was turning every 2 seconds, almost making myself dizzy. My trainer said ususally he can get a dog to walk properly in 15 minutes........it took him 45min with Frankie, damn stubborn huskies. It took me a lot longer, but it was so worth it.
On our daily walks, he doesn't pull at all and walks right by my side. But whenever we go somewhere new he is a pulling freak.

I would work with one dog at a time.

Wow Melissa. That is so much better than before. Mya's tongue is almost as long a Frankie's, lol

Dee&Frankie wrote:

Wow Melissa. That is so much better than before. Mya's tongue is almost as long a Frankie's, lol

That was like 3 months ago or so and it's much better since! Thank goodness. Haven't totally curved Mya's jumping, but she sits the first time I say "sit and wait". The second I go leash Kody she starts jumping again..lol. I'll have to get another video in the next few days. Omg, her tongue is SO LONG!!! Kody's isn't that long. I want to see Frankies..haha!!