[NAGDU] pulling

[Julie J.]

Dar had asked about how to get a dog to not pull so hard in harness.  So here are some suggestions in no particular order.

*try releasing pressure on the handle and then resuming your normal grip.  It’s a sort of rocking motion or a back and forth movement.  Perhaps someone else has better words to explain.  .  In my experience it will help an excited dog who knows not to pull like a maniac remember and get with the program. A dedicated hard pulling dog  won’t be affected much by this intervention.

*If your harness will allow, you can  angle the handle at a steeper incline.  This makes the laws of physics work in your favor.  The dog simply cannot get the same leverage to pull as strongly.  Be careful to not increase the angle of the handle so much that you can’t follow the dog properly.  I’m talking about changing your position by a couple of inches.

*I’ve noticed with Jetta when she’s on a mission, she’ll put her head down and then she can really pull.  If I can keep her head up, she’s fine.  So I move her collar up and shorten the leash so if she dips her head the leash will immediately go taught with no movement on my part.  In effect she’s correcting herself.

*If the dog is pulling hard to go toward a particular thing, turn and go back the way you just came from.  This should stop the pulling.  then reaproach and continue as long as there is calmness,  turn and move away as necessary until you can walk past with reasonable pulling.  This method takes time and patience.  It’s best to use this one when you have set aside time for training.

*Stop and have the dog sit or do some obedience or nose targeting or whatever to get your dog’s attention back on you.  For Jetta I have her sit and she likes to lean her head against my leg.  I scratch her ears and talk softly to her.  Often that’s all she needs is just a bit of time to look at the new thing while calm and under control, then we can set off again.

*My new favorite and the method I’ve gotten the best results with in the most extreme situations is to quickly back up and call the dog to you.  this one takes some physical dexterity and speed on the handler’s part.  You continue to face the same direction, but you drop the harness handle and quickly back up a few steps.  As you are backing up call the dog and give small repeated tugs on the leash.  It combines the best of everything: incompatible behavior, attention redirection, reworking an error and movement.  Use caution though.  I’ve backed up not perfectly straight and stepped off the edge of the sidewalk.  And of course don’t do this in the street, near stairs or anyplace where you have the potential to get hurt.

*and then there are your basic corrections, but I don’t think they are very effective when used alone.  A soft dog might go easy, but a harder dog just isn’t going to get it.  You’ll end up escalating the corrections and enter into a serious power struggle.  I think the better way is to help the dog choose on her own to do the right thing using one of the methods above.

There might be some other ways to address hard pulling, but this is all I can think of at the moment.  Good luck!
Julie 
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com