SearchCan't walk my dobie...She is too strong
I am having trouble walking Zena. She is 2 years old and listens really well with the stay, sit, and lay commands but she pulls so hard when walking. If she is pulling and I tell her to stop she will stop and sit. I will then try to lead her and she starts pulling again. I am an average sized woman and she has actually pulled me on to the ground once. I have tried a no pull harness and a choke collar but she pulls so much that she is being choked the whole time and i can't correct her correctly. Any help will be grateful.
Thanks. I will try to teach that to her.
I haven't used a pinch collar, but I did move her collar from down her neck to right up behind her ears. This gave me more control over Roxi. When she starts to pull I give the "heel" command very stern like and pull a little on the lead. She's getting it down within one walk (with the use of some treats too :P). I found the first time I tried the collar position Roxi had stopped pulling. But, the crappy part about it is she still has loose skin because she's still a pup, soooooo I have to readjust every so often. And whenever I have to, she heels before I come close and touch her. :]
Uh Oh I am training my boy to heel to right is this a problem? Always had a problem with left & right! Cannot remember for the life of me why I chose right.
You what?? I have no clue why people heel to the left..
Anyway I can get it is such a success that frankly Scarlett...
I think it's to the left for when they compete in obedience...? not entirely sure on that but THAT is my guess.
I'm like Kate.. either way I get a heel I'm happy, but naturally Steve heels on the right side of me.
I spent months trying to get Rocky to stop pulling and failed miserably. No amount of stopping, corrections or anything else would stop it. Finally I bought a Prong Collar and literally from the moment I put it on him the first time he's like a new dog on walks. I got what they call a 'secret prong' so it looks like any other collar, it just has prongs on the inside.
I use it everytime I walk him and even when we jog together. Not only is there NO pulling whatsoever but he knows to just act better period. It truly made jogging and walking with him enjoyable for the first time ever....
Just make sure if you choose a collar like that to read up on proper use.....
Our trainer says it's easier to train on the left, but it is fine with the right. Not sure why. But I train on the left.
Invest in a harness or even a gentle leader if that doesn't work. The harness for me is like walking a entire different puppy. Since he is learning heel he still will pull out my shoulder socket if a squirrel runs by. I can't stand having to pull his neck with the collar/lead.
:)
Also, the pinch collar-- from what I hear the purpose is when they pull to pull the collar up (not where it lays around the throat/neck). That actually does damage as does pulling on a normal collar very hard from a lead. There are mixed reviews about it-- but I think it is a good thing if you use it properly. But to wait until they are at least 6 months or older.
Freddie really hurts himself pulling on his soft collar. With the pinch collar he doesnt hurt himself at all. He knows now (8 months old) that soft collar is off leash and pinch on leash. Cutest thing he does is to stand patiently when I exchange them. Today I just unleashed him and told him to go with his pinch collar still on. He started to take off and then turned to look at me. I held up his soft collar and said, "collar" ( I always say this when exchanging) he came back to me and stood by my side for an exchange. Later on I did the same thing ..this time he was more prepared to go with his pinch collar. I held up his soft collar and asked him if he wanted it, we stood looking at each other for a while until he decided ..back he came for the soft collar. I didnt start the pinch collar until he was 7 months old.
@expat- There is no doubt a normal collar really hurts them. He is so strong it is a lose-lose situation for us both. I see a lot of large breeds with the pinch.
That is awesome how he waits. Laith will wait to get his "equipment" on too. :) He doesn't wear a collar indoors - just out.
i am having the same problem with my dobe. i got him a halti today and it seems to work great tho at first he didnt want to walk he just wanted to try and get it off his face. he warmed up to it a bit tho. you should look into getting one. i also tried the pinch collar but he didnt even seem to notice it was there and i had my trainer fit it on him.
The left is definitely for competition,but I prefer the right so I can be on the outside walking with traffic.
OK ya'll, why dogs on left....because your horse is on the right!! Goes back to Medival times or something crazy like that!
Why horses on the right, because that is the side you mount up on, why on that side.... because your sword is on your left leg and you can't get it up and over your horse very easily!
Now, doesn't that make all the sense in the worlld!
I knew there was a reason, but I never knew why... Thank you MyD! The only thing I could figure was gates. Most people are right-handed, so when opening a gate it would make sense to have the dog on the left. (Even after living in cities for 30 years, the country comes out once in a while - not that many cattle gates in-town!)
Very interesting information about mounting horses, etc. Thanks!
I alternate between having Ziva walk on my right and sometimes on my left. As long as she isn't doing circles around my legs with the leash, it's cool. 
Actually, Z has a "go around" command that not only works when she starts to go around one side of the tree or pole and I'm on the other side, but it also works when she is on my left and lags behind to sniff something and comes back to join up with me on my right side. I tell her "go around" and she will jump around behind me to be at the other side.
the pinch collar will simulate the biting of the neck as a mother would do to a pup to correct it....it will not "choke' the trachea as a choke collar would do, so it may not look it, but it is actually safer than your run of the mill choke collar. for pulling on the lead..I believe in using a pinch collar, you should get imediate response from the dog with it...(but would not use it in a real youg pup).
i agree nupe- I love the prong/pinch collar but I WILL not use them just yet- my babies are still too small... I have never used one on a dog until they were over 2. I am using the gentle leader now and at suggestion of glengate and MyD I am going to also try the slip lead and see if that helps...
WAY TO GO mANDY....Buddy said you better make sure his family is ok! lol
Most Doberman trainers I know that compete in obedience use the prong from very early on(in a proper gentle manner) With that being said if you use a prong make sure you don't let the puppy or adult pull into the collar. This is the same mistake that most people use with the chokes so they don't work the way they were intended. I don't think there is really a magical age to start using them. I've used prongs on all of mine from the time I started teaching them walk nice. They never yipe or dislike the training at all, it is all fun and games to them. I buy baby prongs which are WAYYY smaller than the huge ones that most people use. I use the baby prong even on my adults. The prong is much better for the dog IMO than a choke collar or a nylon flat collar that can cause damage to the trachea. With these other collars the dog pulls into the collar so much that it goes about it's walk choking itself. Used in the proper way prongs are much gentler.
Most of the time the owners haven't taught the dog proper walking methods so the pulling can really get out of hand. Because I do competition obedience I don't teach my dogs to heel at my side as we take a walk. When we are out walking they are taught a walk nice command. To them this simply means they walk nice on a loose leash, not tight leads. I purposefully teach this separate and I don't take the dogs on walks until they know this command. So as soon as the dog pulls I turn and go the other way. When the dog is at my side or checks back in with me they get a treat or a yes which is much like a clicker treat. It only takes a few sessions before the dog really understands what you want from it.
I have a hard time walking my dogs on the right side probably from all the classes and competition stuff we do. I will have my dogs get used to both sides though so they are comfortable it kind of helps us get our focused heeling down better. You would be surprised if you have always taught your dog to stay on one side then if they are walked on the other side it feels just as uncomfortable to them so things like the focused attention are much more difficult.
I do see the point in walking them on the right so you are inbetween the oncomming traffic, makes sense to me just feels really strange lol.
I never thought about the baby prong collars for the adults- their thin necks scare me so much... I had an akita and gsd mix we used the big ones on and I look at those things and go no way on the dobes neck... I will look into those as well... I want these dogs to be comfortable with everything...
the baby prongs are wonderful so much smaller. I don't even like the looks of the large prongs it is over kill if you ask me. Do you know that with the GSD's at Schutzhund they actually sharpen the prong?
OH lord Des! That just sounds awful?!?!? I know they have a thick gruff mine did so did my akita- but they worked just fine as is.... UGH....
I walk my 4 Dobes at the same time and I am on the sides of roads where cars do not usually go the speed limit ( if you know what I mean). I have the small prong collars on all my girls, Obi has a slip lead ( he's very sensitive). I can't take the chance of them bounding out into traffic. Many times loose dogs will come into the road and run circles around us, barking, we just keep walking. I always feel bad for the other dog, because now he is in the road! The prong collars work very well if positioned properly and if the prongs are not too large. When we go out walking, we are walking. There is no sniffing or looking all around. The kids just look straight ahead and walk with me. We are usually at a pretty good clip. Half way through our 2 or 3 mile walk, we take a break and I tell them they can "sniff". Everybody gets a break and then it's "Let's go" and we're on our way home!
I had the same problem with my dobe and the prong collar has made a world of difference. The trick is, as rnddobermans said is to have your dog give the correction, not you (as far as leash-walking goes anyhow).
As my trainer told us (my fiance and I), training the dog to walk on a loose-leash by just taking her on a walk everyday is not training at all. Training on a loose-leash means constant turning. Going left, going right, turning around, mixing up sits and downs, keeping it random. That teaches your dog to pay attention to where you are. If your dog is going straight but you turned left they will deliver a correction to themselves by simply not following you. Also vary the speed. If your dog starts speeding up, slow down. The trick is to ALWAYS do the opposite of what your dog does. If you're walking with the dog and the dog starts veering to the left to sniff something, go to the right. Give them a cue that you're turning right though so that they have the choice to either follow you or disobey and get a correction.
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Your problem is a common one. You need to teach the heel command.
Start by teaching her the heel position. This is her sitting on your left side with her feet behind your heel.
Once she has that start walking her with the pinch collar. Make sure you have it on right. When you give it slack - it should loosen.
When you start walking give the heel command "heel". Keep the lead slack and hold it with the excess lead gathered up in both hands toward the middle of your body. This is important. Use both hands in the middle - like you're holding a pole directly in front of you.
As soon as she walk a little out of the heel position, give a verbal correction "NO" and give a quick strong jerk on the lead with both arms pulling up and over your opposite shoulder - then give the heel command again. When she returns to the position, give her praise and keep giving her praise when she stays in the position.
Once she gets the idea, start changing speed and direction, but keep holding the lead with both hands and in the middle of your body. Always keep slack in the lead - give the correction before she takes up that slack.
This won't hurt her, it's just a pinch on the neck similar to what a mother-dog does to naughty puppies. Letting her pull is very dangerous for numerous reasons. She is also taking the alpha role when she walk out front.
I've fond teaching this to people is much more difficult that teaching it to the dog. So don't get frustrated, take your time and practice. ;)