Dog walking issues

This morning while all the kids were at school I decided to start Samson on a daily walking schedule. Until now he's mostly had a large garden to run and romp in but since we've moved we now have just a tiny bit of grass for him and he needs lots of exercise. So a few minutes ago I grabbed his lead and asked if he wanted to go walkies and of course he freaked out jumping and whining. I got the lead on him and knew I would be in for a bit of pulling so I wrapped the lead around my hand but I had NO idea what he would do next. I opened the door and he charged out nearly knocking me off my feet. I managed to pull him back only for him to do it again but this time so hard the lead cut my hand pretty badly and I had to bring the dog back in and bandage my hand up. I have no idea how Im going to get this animal to walk normally on a lead! He's 18 months old and very strong. What can I do??

It might be a good idea to invest in a dog training book (or look around online).  There's lots of info out there about training a dog to walk on a leash properly.  If he's used to behaving a certain way it will probably take a lot of time and dedication but they learn eventually!  Try out lots of different techniques, not everything works for all dogs.  Good luck!

It might be a good idea to invest in a dog training book (or look around online).  There's lots of info out there about training a dog to walk on a leash properly.  If he's used to behaving a certain way it will probably take a lot of time and dedication but they learn eventually!  Try out lots of different techniques, not everything works for all dogs.  Good luck!

I know. But I keep hearing the phrase "Can't teach an old dog new tricks" echoing in my mind. I'll have a look online and probably give our breeder a call.

hi pebbles...we have a rescue dog...a lurcher..and even though he's not that strong, he can be difficult to walk. we are trying different types of leads. the one that clips on their collars gives them an amazing ability to pull...and the tightness around their neck makes less blood flow to their brain! thus not helping their behaviour.

there are halties that loosely fit around their muzzle. they don't want to pull, not because it hurts but pulling with your muzzle doesn't work very well. our dog has aggression issues with other dogs and the haltie wasn't working well for that. we are now trying a halter that the lead clips both to the collar and the middle of the halter. this gives you more control.

stupidly i was using neither of these methods yesterday....while riding a bicycle. and i think he saw a squirrel. well it ended in 10 hours at the vet hospital to mend his ran over foot...and me covered in bruises from head to toe (and i missed the london get together!).

good luck...i can send you links for these type of collars if that would be helpful.

I don't have a dog myself, but my best friend is a dog trainer and I know she has trained dogs like yours.  She's got rescued dogs with issues as well.

She just published a book called "Control Unleashed". 

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1328&ParentCat=43

My in-laws have, in the past few years, had two great danes, which are enormous and impossible to control if they don't want to be. My husband insisted that the first one go to training school when she was little, and she turned out to be a "perfect lady." They adopted the second one when she was about eight, when the couple who owned her broke up and neither could find accommodations that would accept her. She was much more aggressive, and generally didn't listen to any commands. I agree with hatsu that you should get your dog into training ASAP. Your dog should be your friend, not your combatant.

Rufus is a puller hooo boy! And he's a rescue so he's older.

We got him the stop pull harness at Pets at Home http://www.woofnwhiskers.com/product~P~350~SPH~cat~PT~49~numRecordPosition~7.asp

and although it doesn't cure the pulling, it does make it more manageable to walk the dog.

After Rufus got used to being exercised regularly (3x short walks per day) with the harness, we were able to move onto running him with the bike and now, I use a very simple technique that totally works when I am just walking him. 

I use a regular flat collar and a regular lead.  I wrap the lead around his chest creating essentially a short lead where i hold onto the handle and the lead just above where it connects to his collar.  When he pulls, he pulls against the lead around his chest so there is no choking and he responds (he hates the feeling of the lead pulling against his chest).   I have the website with the instructions somewhere I'll see if I can find it. 

Now that will get you out walking but you have to teach him to obey and walk aside you with a slack lead.  If you really want to do this, you have to stop in your tracks and make him sit every time he pulls.  If you pull back, you are only reinforcing his pulling.  At first, be prepared to only go a few steps but it will get better.  another technique is changing directions every time he pulls.  You have to teach him that you are leading the walk NOT him. 

We never got that far because exercising Rufus effectively is more important than his doing a proper heel and I like the leash wrapping technique a lot so we're not too bothered about the proper heel. 

Just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful advice.

I decided to go with the Halti headcollar. It arrived today and works a treat! He pulled very lightly for less than a minute and afterwards he remained very calm even with barking dogs passing by!

Have you watched the Dog whisperer?  its great to watch every now and then to pick up tips

My dog use to pull like crazy when we walked her. We got a harness that tightened when she pulled, and it worked wonders.

I think its a good idea to invest in dog training lessons as its a lot easier with a professional there to offer support.  The size of the dog doesn't always matter.  My cairn terrier was a pain to train, but it was worth it.  He's a great dog and is really well behaved.

Good luck!

Have you watched the Dog whisperer?  its great to watch every now and then to pick up tips

agreed

 hi ricki, what kind of dog is sampson, or am i being stupid and you have said that already

hi ricki, what kind of dog is sampson, or am i being stupid and you have said that already

I think Ricki's dog is a German Shepard if I'm not mistaken I could be wrong though.

Have you watched the Dog whisperer?  its great to watch every now and then to pick up tips

agreed

I agree as well.

Pebbles, good to hear the haltie collar is working. My dog is a rescue dog and was probably 2-3 when I got her and she was wild! and I invested in the training lessons
and got her a good collar and it has made all the difference in the world. Good luck to you