# Leash Training



## VbarK Vizslas (Jan 31, 2012)

Okay Mr. Odon does terrible on the leash. He is only 12 weeks old but we need him to at least not pull on the leash for 4H. He goes for off leash walks with his mother and brother. I take them up to the hills and have them go UP hill so we can expend some of their energy. I think the only one getting tired is me!! I don't like him to pull I am afraid he is going to hurt himself. Looking for techniques to help him learn not to pull. When I take them up to the hills I have them on leashes to walk from the car past a barb wire fence that scares me around the pups, mom knows to avoid it but they have a tendency just to go. Once we are past the fence I let them run with the leashes still attached so I can grab them if there is a problem. They don't go to far from me when they are chasing mom. They chase her, come back to me, chase her, come back. They usually come when I give a little shout out to them.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I'd be  very hesitant to let them run with their leads still attached, what if they're going full throttle and the lead snags something?
As for the pulling on leads, what I did with Ruby was shorten her lead by making an extra loop by threading the length of the lead through the handle loop and slipping it over her so it acted like an extra collar while shortening the length,,easier to do than explain, I'll get and post a pic later.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,3171.msg21595.html#msg21595

Take a look at this recent thread about using the "hitch"

Give it a try.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/06/importance-of-mastering-art-of-walk.html

I'd be doing more on leash walking and less off leash right now until I got the dog to understand who is the leader in your pack.

Good luck and happy trails,

RBD


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

3 months was too young for Oso to work on leash training. He was having a lot of difficulty, I asked his breeder and he told me to wait until he was a bit older. I stopped taking him on "walks" and instead ran around with him on leash at the park. 

At 4 months I tried again and he was magically much better and learned more quickly.

I was pretty consistent about stopping when he pulled when I had to leash him, but not perfect. I know that doesn't work perfectly for you, just wanted to throw it out there. We wanted loose leash walking instead of some kind of harness, but I have heard great things about different tools.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Try working in the house, on leash with a handful of treats. Set the pup to your left hip, and slowly start walking with a treat to his nose. If he stays at your side and follows along, mark and reward. Start lengthening the amount of time between giving treats, and removing the lure. Then work up to going outside and doing the same thing, then with distractions. 

We started this at puppy pre-school at 12 weeks old. Hes great on leash unless he knows where hes going (i.e. the off leash park, dog school etc) then he will pull like a mad man. At 5.5 months, we invested in a gentle leader for those occasions where he is still a bit too distracted to be 100% on his loose leash. 
Puppy pre-school was invaluable for Odin, perhaps you should check out one in your area.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

here's the pic I mentioned earlier, both loops go over her head and act like a double collar, she doesn't pull when I use it this way


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Love my 4 ft long British slip lead it's fast, easy, convenient, clean and keeps the dog close and out of trouble.

Coupled with a freeleash (google freeleash) is wonderful tool to keep the dog around as you perform your daily chores. Even cleaning, vacuuming is fun. 
Mine learned (didn't happen overnight) to settle down every time I sat on a chair and just stand around when I was working standing up. 

Some friends train then put the dog away in a corner or close the crate door until it's time for more attention. 
We chose to involve the dog in every aspect of our daily life (at least 80% of it). With the help of the British slip lead and the freeleash waist harness this process was easy.
As an added bonus, our V stopped pulling on the leash (well not 100%, otherwise he would not be a V - stubborn).


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

datacan said:


> _* Love my 4 ft long British slip lead * _ it's fast, easy, convenient, clean and keeps the dog close and out of trouble.
> 
> Coupled with a freeleash (google freeleash) is wonderful tool to keep the dog around as you perform your daily chores. Even cleaning, vacuuming is fun.
> Mine learned (didn't happen overnight) to settle down every time I sat on a chair and just stand around when I was working standing up.
> ...


Mines a slip lead, and I'm British and it's about 4 foot long, is your's the same?


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## zigzag (Oct 4, 2011)

Quality 1inch leather pinch collar, you just walk at a steady pace with the leash at same length don't pull or jeark leash just let the dog self correct himself.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

:-[ OH, I just re read my post :-[

It's Valentine's day here in Canada...


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## Ruin (Nov 9, 2011)

Malcolm and his sister (Beagle) Kaylee are a continuous and active part of our lives. My wife and I take them everywhere we possibly can. This means he spends a LOT of time on a leash.

I'm very impressed with him, at only 11 and a half weeks he already walks loose leash about 90% of the time. The only time he pulls at all is if he comes across people who stop or other dogs. Even off leash at the family farm he walks right at my heel for the most part - until I encourage him to go play and run.

What I did was pretty simple, and it's the same thing I've done for all of our training. I set a standard. He has learned what I expect from him. I don't try to teach him something new, I keep him from doing something until he does it right, if this makes sense.

With walking he pulled like a fool until about eight and half weeks and I put him on a training/pinch collar. I kept it fairly loose so it didn't hurt him and never tugged on it - just let him find the end of the leash. After about a week and a half or two, I took a couple links out and had it sitting a bit more snug - when loose leash it does not pinch at all, but if the leash gets tight, it starts to tug back on him.

I use an "egh egh!" command with him whenever I tug on the leash/collar. Just a quick and light tug that sends a message and he's back on track. Whenever we walk, he stays at my heel and receives LOTS of praise. But when he gets ahead, or too far behind, a quick tug and an "egh egh!" and he's back where he should be, being praised.


This "egh egh!" is super handy when in the house to keep him out of things too. For the most part. Problem is, when his collar is off, he knows it, so it loses effectiveness haha. Not bad for being barely 12 weeks old I think!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Leash training can never start too early. I started with the heel first, then went onto the leash with the heel. Then, once out and about, whenever pup pulled, I would either stop or change direction. Depending on what it was that was making him pull. It took a good few weeks every day, but now they all walk nicely on the lead. 

Zsa Zsa is the worst offender with me constantly having to politely ask not to pull. But, she is my rescue dog and as such isn't perfect. But, once reminded, she heels on lead perfectly.

The loop set up that RBD mentioned is also a great method if the dog is very head strong. It removes that tug mentality. 

I also find that if I have been doing a lot of off lead walking, it can take a klm or so for them to get back into the swing of things. So if pup is not regularly lead walked, this could also be part of it.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Our miracle cure to stop pulling? Hot dogs. If you reward the pup with a little bit of hot dog for walking next to your knee, I guarantee he will very quickly stop pulling and even stare at you the whole time he is walking. I can now walk Riley on a completely loose leash and she gets a little piece of hot dog every 15-20 steps. You have to start out by giving the treat right by your knee every step. Then you work up to giving a treat every 2-3 steps. Then you keep working on it until you can walk a block before you treat. It takes a ton of practice, but we have now had two 10 minute walks with absolutely no pulling and a perfect heel. I would rather take my time in training than jerking her around or using a painful pinch collar. While another method may be faster, I'd rather have a dog I can depend on to heel because she WANTS to, not because she's afraid of getting hurt.


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