walking nicely on a leash

[Zebbie]

Dakota does agility and he loves it! he did well in the pre-novice event on Sunday.

 

But he is also doing an intermediate obedience class, and he is terrible about walking on the leash.

 

I dont use a leash very often with him, he has a fenced in back yard, and I let him off lead on our walks in the woods. His recall is pretty good.

 

But in class he pulls so hard on the leash to get to the other dogs, it's embarrassing! Plus she had us practice walking nicely on the leash in class, and Dakota kept biting the leash and jumping around. The trainer told me it is a control thing, and it is inherent in his breed to be this way. After failing at the nice walking on leash, she made me take him to the corner and lie down.

 

The funny thing is, when he does agility he is so focused on the task on the hand, it is beautiful to watch, but as far as obedience class he is failing, or I am failing, not sure which.

 

I am wondering if doggy daycare is making this worse, because when he goes there, all he gets to do is play with other dogs. Do you think he is picking up bad habits there that spill over in class?

 

I guess I gotta just practice leash walking more......it's just difficult because he pulls so hard, and or bites the leash and jumps around like a wild thing! The trainer must think I am fibbing when I say he does great in agility!!

[Chevygal72]

Zebbie,

 

With my puppies what I used was when I walked them and they would pull our trainer told us to immediate turn at 50 degree going the oppsite directions you were going. It will catch them off guard and they will think they just made a mistake in direction. It has worked with my BC. He now walks next to me without an trouble for a the most part. He has his moments of couse. I don't know if it will work for you but it did for me. I also use a basic chain collar when we walk.. I wish you good luck..

 

Chevygal & Bandit & Oreo & Panda

Virginia

[Siena & Kathleen]

BC's are just too smart for their own good sometimes. I have different collars for Siena. She behaves differently on each one.

 

We use a head collar when we run. She can't pull me with that so there's less chance of me falling if she goes after something.

 

We use a pinch collar for obedience class type stuff...tight heeling, etc. I don't even have to attach the leash, she just know's it's a different collar.

 

We use a regular leash & collar for general walking where it's okay to be "imprecise" with heeling.

 

We use an "extendo" leash (we call it a yo-yo leash) when she can be wild and I don't care.

 

She really does follow protocol on each type. If your BC's not heeling well in class, try using a special type of collar just for those occassions. It's a job.

 

Siena & Kathleen.

[diane allen]

Not ever having done obedience with my girl, and not really caring that she walks "nicely" on a leash....I just haven't bothered to worry about it. She has a few novice titles, though lack of speed is her problem for advancing. She NEVER heeled properly, though she'd never yank my arm off. I only used a rolled leather collar, never anything else. Outside of agility trials, about the only leash I ever use is the Flexi (or "yo-yo") - she definitely knows where the end is (it's a LONG one!), and does go back and forth often.

 

Guess others will have to help on the "why" part - other than you're dealing with a border collie!

 

Good luck.

 

diane

[puppysiuk]

I've got this problem to some degree as well because since a tiny puppy our BC has been walked on leash with our huskie - who are notorious pullers - and our BC thinks he is one as well.

 

I go to obedience - where he's actually reasonably good because it's a small hall. In our lounge he is perfect at heel work - especially without a leash - but outside off he pulls, because all he is really interested in is being let off so that he can run and he knows he can't be let off near the road.

 

I've found the only way to halfway drill it into him is to stop everytime he pulls - and I mean everytime - get him round to heel and then off you go again. A short walk will take forever at first. However, if I stop now ours "comes round" automatically to my feet and we start again. Sometimes I've got 2 or 3 steps, stopping every third to wheel him in. However, he is at last beginning to get the idea and over the past few days I've noticed a big improvement in his heelwork. He's still not exactly by my heel, but he is more or less with me and he's not pulling - which is an achievement. Unfortunately this is where "practice" really does make perfect, although its a long hard slog. Don't know if this will work for you, but it does seem to have worked with mine - although I still have quite a way to go before he does it all the time.

[P. Sherwood]

I taught obedience for many years. The 180o turn advice is right on...and don't help him make the turn. You just whip around and head off in the opposite direction. Fast. Your dog will get snubbed by his own forward motion...and he thinks it's his fault for not watching you.

 

A choke collar, properly used, teaches a lot. And the dog thinks he's making himself uncomfortable...NOT that you're doing it to him. A crucial point.

 

Also, making 90o turns--sharp rights and lefts works. Move fast, don't slow down before the turn or give any warning. Walk through your dog on a left turn--it's up to him to get out of your way, which he can do if he's paying attention to you.