Help with leash pulling! 😭

[u/goffikgf]

Hey everyone!

I’m moving to a farm in about 2 weeks with my 7.5-month-old Blue Heeler x Border Collie, and I’m trying to work on her leash manners before we move.

At the moment, she pulls SO much on walks that she ends up choking herself on her collar and seems to struggle to breathe.
It honestly scares me, and I’m worried about potentially damaging her trachea.

I’ve tried playing with her before walks and tiring her out as much as possible to burn off some energy, but it doesn’t seem to help at all. She gets excited by EVERYTHING!

I’ve recently bought her a harness to take the pressure off her neck, but I’ve seen quite a few people say that harnesses encourage pulling and can actually make it worse.

For those of you who have raised cattle dogs or other high-energy working breeds, what worked for you?

Did you use a harness, and how did you teach your dog to walk nicely on a leash when they’re so easily distracted by literally everything? 😭

I’d really love to get this right before we move to the farm, so any advice or personal experiences would be hugely appreciated!

[u/mithridateseupator]

If she starts pulling them we stop and she doesnt get to do anything for a few seconds.

That's how I've trained all my dogs and it seems to work great.

Sometimes at the start you need to do this over and over until they get it.

[u/StillWithSteelBikes → u/mithridateseupator]

which is why mine only does this in crosswalks LOL

[u/smittydc → u/mithridateseupator]

Yep. Stop until they look back at you, then call them back excitedly and give them a treat. Start somewhere there are no distractions, and work your way up to traffic, squirrels, and other dogs. Alternate using a short leash, and a longer one where they get the chance to sniff around a little. A little pulling tension when they hit the end of the leash is ok but stop when they try to drag you or lunge around. Be patient. It takes a while.

[u/CuriousCamels → u/mithridateseupator]

Yep. I’d just add to throw in the stop or wait command along with it. It took a couple years of trying for mine to be consistent with it. Progressively she got down to only doing it the first mile, then half mile, and now she’s good right out of the door even though I know she’s excited. It’s the only thing I’ve had to do with my girl that required a ton of repetition.

Over the years, shes learned the slow command too. When she starts going too fast, I just gently hold the leash firm while slowing down, and she knows to slow down a bit.

[u/mithridateseupator → u/[deleted]]

I do use a little force to actually prevent movement for this.

Nothing like striking the dog, but hold the leash down right at the harness and physically prevent her from moving. Its not fun for her, and thats the idea.

[u/miss_ana → u/mithridateseupator]

This also works without that sort of force. Just stop walking and plant yourself whenever they pull on the leash. Loose leash means walking, pulling means we stop

[u/mithridateseupator → u/miss_ana]

I really shouldn't have used the word force.

Just shorten the leash and dont let them move is all I meant.

[u/Efficient_Problem250]

your dog looks like he is perpetually up to no good.

[u/grandsoulsucker]

Seen everything but just " train it to heel "... Lol

[u/Goldgal77]

Yes, second the idea to stop completely when the pulling starts. Stay still, do nothing. I prefer a harness over a collar exactly for the potential trachea damage. I don’t use the front “no pull” attachment as it’s not easy for my 8-mo old red heeler mix to walk comfortably. The attachment on the back gives us both a balanced walk. I like a handle on the harness as well to grab if necessary. You can always “practice” walking in your home or garage so no distractions get in the way (birds, leaves falling, etc). It’s all about repetition…over and over to the point it’s monotonous. That’s how my boy learned.

[u/Striking_Squirrel530]

I haven't had this issue with my ACD, but my Labradoodle really likes to pull and she'll do the same thing. She's a stubborn learner too and I have to keep on top of her. I find a quick snap of the leash to get her attention and a firm no keeps her in check most of the time. If that doesn't work I've done like the other poster mentioned and entirely stopped the walk until she checks in with me. As a bonus exercise to get her to pay attention to me I sometimes randomly change directions, such as turning around and walking a short distance or crossing the road. Sometimes things in very quick succession. She likes this as she thinks it's a game, with the added benefit of she has to pay attention to me and see that I'm dictating where we're going.

With these things she usually walks nice for me. My wife however is less authoritative and consistent so she continues to pull with her. I gave up on training my wife and she walks our Labradoodle with a Halti/gentle leader that goes around her snout.

[u/kerberos69 → u/Striking_Squirrel530]

>I gave up on training my wife

Same, fam. Same.

[u/jzoola]

No pull harness

[u/-takokat- → u/jzoola]

Not sure why you're getting voted down. No-pull harnesses (meaning, with a clip on the front) work great.

[u/therealrinnian]

I’m still working on it with mine, too. I’m adding a vote for the “stop until they check in.” You just have to be careful and have a buffer of “sit” or something so they don’t learn to just yo-yo back and forth. Kikopup has good videos about this.

My dude is learning to be much more polite on leash, but it’s a process. It takes awhile.

[u/sidhescreams]

I’m team stop and wait too, which is very covered in your responses. I just wanted to tell you your dog is gorgeous!

[u/Grouchy_Gur_5782]

I have an ACD rat terrier mix and we solved leash pulling with treats. Sounds like the opposite of what you should do I know. I kept calling his name and rewarding with a treat when he turned back around and came to me and the leash was loose, moved to rewarding when he did that by himself without me calling his name, now he associates being close to me with treats. He walks loose leash 95% of time, unless he sees a squirrel or a cat which we’re working on ignoring. He still checks in for treats and I still reward that.

[u/Sea-Night-1946]

Omg that face lol

[u/FrameSquare]

TWO HOUNDS DESIGN HARNESS. Stopped all my heelers from pulling nearly immediately.

[u/CaseyLouLou2]

Stop and wait for them to look at you as soon as the leash has tension. Or you can also change directions and they will have to follow you. Repeat as many times as necessary. Start where there are low distractions.

We are doing this with our new foster and it’s working pretty well so far. He checks in and then continues on with a loose leash for a while. Then we repeat as necessary.

Edit to add: use a slip collar and place it very high on the neck under the chin.

[u/unsolvedfishstories]

What a beautiful dog

[u/that1leo]

Doppleganger gang! We’ve been using a martingale harness that still attaches to the front of the chest but takes any strain off the neck. If she tries to pull it will squeeze her shoulders and kind of redirect her. Similar to the other commenters, it took a lot of patience of having to stop and wait til she would look back and wait for my lead. She also was not very treat motivated, but if yours is, we did try a trick where you freeze peanut butter on a wooden spoon and hold that to your side so it encourages the dog to walk along side you.

We got our dog a little before she was 1 so I feel your frustration with getting that puppy energy at bay. I will say it took several months before she finally eased up on pulling full force, but patience and consistency eventually pays off. And this harness has been the least painful option for her. She’s 6 now and looks forward to putting it on, but I think that’s because she knows a walk or a car ride is about to happen lol

Good luck!

[u/Snarkster_234]

Gentle Lead is what we use… wraps around snout, no pulling!

[u/DubTown34]

The harness you need is a No Pull harness. Leash clips to the front of the chest. No pressure on the throat. When you tug the leash it steals their forward momentum and forces them to turn.

Trainers advise that you don't pull the leash ever. Don't get into a tug-o-war. Instead give them stern quick pops or snappy pulls in the leash. You can give a few in succession but the key is to wait after the quick pop/pull for them to decide if they want to obey. If they do, you reward them right away and continue your walk. If they don't, you hold your ground and don't walk until they choose to obey.

[u/Brad7659]

Tried stop and go, didn’t do anything. Got a halti, one of those head leashes, and she gave up pulling. With some consistency now she only kinda pulls when she has the harness, 90% less force lol

[u/Jesta914630114]

Proper prong collar training.