What type of lead should I use.

[bkitchen0406]

My dog is a puller. Should I use a gentle leader that ataches to his head and nose, or should I get the lead that ataches to his chest. Thanks.

[Helen]

I love the collar and lead set I picked up from Cesar Millan's site.  The Illusion Collar.  It's very easy to use and works terrific!

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/products/i-collar.php

Helen

[zefi]

Helen I'd never seen that before in my life! How on earth does it work? I can totally understand the halter (I've had all of them starting with haltis to gentle leaders and now to the black dog halter which is the best), but I really cant understand how that collar would work.

[Helen]

Zefi, I don't know if you are familiar with Cesar Millan's dog training techniques.  He's known as "The Dog Whisperer" and has terrific ideas.  With walking the dog, he insists that the dog should never be allowed to pull you along because then the dog is acting as Pack Leader, instead of staying beside or slightly behind, as a good pack member should.  He always says that we should control the dog with a slight upward jerk on the collar (while training), just enough to get their attention.  And that the collar should be right behind the head and the top of the neck.  If it's down on the bottom of the neck, then they can just use their shoulders to drag us along.  The collar is designed to keep the leash clipped up at the top of the neck.  I like the fact that it's rough and tough and there is no way the dog is going to wriggle out of it.  I feel like Poke is really secure in it when we go out.  (I've had dogs slip their collars in the past and it scared the pants off me!)

That said...  Those Black Dog Halters look really cool!  I might have to try one sometime!

Helen

[zefi]

I've heard plenty about him Helen, but dont have cable so I cant watch him. What he says sounds great always. Wish I could see him...

The halter is similar in that the dog cant use his body to pull (which is why a harness is always a bad idea for pullers or anything but the best trained dogs. Its light and easy to hold even a badly behaved dog with a halter, plus its easy to keep it right by your side or slightly behind your leg.

[Helen]

I really am going to get a halter, Zefi.  I think they look really neat and will be fun to try!

You can see a lot of Dog Whisperer clips on YouTube.com  Here's one I just watched.  He's so funny when he imitates the dogs, but it also really shows you what he's talking about. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w2yzRIK8Ls

Helen

[dori47]

  And that the collar should be right behind the head and the top of the neck.  If it's down on the bottom of the neck, then they can just use their shoulders to drag us along.  The collar is designed to keep the leash clipped up at the top of the neck. 
Helen

This is very true, not only do you have better control, with the collar at the top, you cannot harm them either. Regular collars slip down, because of the shape of the neck. Slip collars ( or commonly called choke collars) are usually the wrong size for the dog- people buy them too loose, so they slip down as well. I use a volhard collar ( made by the people who wrote the book Dog Training for Dummies). It is a slip collar, but it comes undone, so you dont have to slip it over the head, and you can buy the correct size, so it doesnt slip down the neck.

Carole Ann

[bkitchen0406]

The Dog Whisperer is not that great. He doesn't take into account that the same technique does not work for all dogs. I have seen a lot of his stuff. I think you could do better by reading a book or asking veteran trainers. I will not give examples of this because of time. His main focus is that your suppose to take charge of your dog and be a pack leader. Is this a new idea? You have to be consistent and firm with your dog. This is really the only thing he teaches. I could have told anyone that. He picks dogs to train or correct from families that could not raise a hamster.

[bkitchen0406]

I wasn't trying to be mean. I really just hate the dog wisper guy. If anyone has any experience on what would work best to keep my standard 4 month old poodle from pulling let me know. I don't have the money right now to try a bunch of products.

[Helen]

I wouldn't depend on the product.  You need to teach the pup not to pull.  My dogs have not pulled me since I was 9 years old and got my first dog.  I won't allow it.  I give a snap of the leash to get their attention if they begin to pull ahead of me.  If they are stubborn and that isn't enough, then I stop and put them into a SIT and then continue on.  I do this as many times as it takes.  They learn not to pull very quickly if you are firm and consistent.

I also don't let the leash out at full length until I'm at a place where I want to stop and give them some freedom to sniff around.  I want the dog to heel right next to me.

Helen

[Lesly]

I'm no fan of Cesar Milan, either.  A lot of hype.  The REAL, and original Dog Whisperer, is Paul Owen.  I use his methods to not only train dogs, but to effectively work with difficult people!  LOL 

I'm familiar with the Illusion collar; a big waste of money, IMO, and Cesar Milan's methods are questionable, at best (and at least 30 years behind the times).  Poodles don't do well being jerked and yanked around, and forced with aversive methods.  Dogs don't pull because they want to be "pack leaders!"  My neighbor, Frank, has an obnoxious (but loveable) Golden mix named Gus, who pulled, barked, lunged, and acted insane on lead.  Frank bought into CM's "dog psychology" and also bought the Illusion collar.  He jerked and yanked that poor dog, and alpha rolled him (to show him who's the boss) once too often - dang near got his face bit off.  I tried to tell him, but . . .

Gus now walks very nicely on lead, and he no longer lunges and barks at anything that moves (especially other dogs).  Helen, Frank's wife, let me work w/Gus, and all it took to get him started was a long handled wooden spoon with peanut butter on it to keep him in position, and not pulling.  I worked on getting his attention, a must if you're going to train, and we began the loose-leash walking sessions at home in the back yard where there were no distractions.  Once he got it there, we moved into the front yard, then down the street, then into the park.  Lots of praise and using a favorite tug toy as a reward for desired behavior really turns his crank!  LOL  He's soooo proud of himself when he hears, "good boy, Gus!  GOOD boy!"  He wears a snazzy new flat buckle collar, and is a lovely boy to walk.  He still gets over excited at times, but all it takes is a reminder (easy, good boy!).  Because of his high energy, I also suggested that they play fetch for 15 minutes out back before attempting a walk, to release some of that pent-up energy.

I used desensitization and counter conditioning to overcome the dog aggression, which was very effective.  Gus isn't really dog aggressive, he was undersocialized and over excited when meeting and greeting.  He didn't know how to walk nicely on a lead, and when Frank took him out where there were lots of distractions, all he did was correct Gus by jerking and yanking him, shouting NO, all of which taught the dog nothing (except that Frank was unpredictable and not to be trusted)!   

I walk Gus, my two Standard Poodles, and Luc, a little Shih Tzu (I fostered for awhile, and ended up with permanently), all at the same time with no problems.  I wouldn't dream of subjecting any of them to harsh corrections.  They learn a lot faster when training is fun, and the human rewards the wanted behavior. 

Lesly
Maddy, Beau, & Luc! 

[Roland]

I wasn't trying to be mean. I really just hate the dog wisper guy. If anyone has any experience on what would work best to keep my standard 4 month old poodle from pulling let me know. I don't have the money right now to try a bunch of products.

Tried the Martingale (gentle choke) nope, tried the "No Pull" harness kinda but not really.  Gentle leader,(head harness) first walk perfect! He doesn't like it, but I don't like trying to walk two Grey's on a splitter, and spending the entire time correcting Oden. Now I can walk all three in one hand. We still need to train but this makes it possiable.
Just watch the DVD for instructions, so that you use it properly. You should not be able to get a finger under the collar, it should be behind the ears, and the nose should be lose, with out being able to slide off. The only hard part is not getting Poodle fluff stuck in the snap closure. I want to see if someone who sews can put a buckle on it for me.

[zefi]

I just love the australian made Black Dog halters. They fit way better than the gentle leaders. But yes, I wouldnt go anywhere without mine!

[Helen]

I wouldn't dream of subjecting any of them to harsh corrections.

He jerked and yanked that poor dog

I never, ever treat my dogs harshly. 
Ever. 

I don't know how a "snap of the collar to get their attention" turned into beating my dog.

[zefi]

Well I'd never seen Cesar Milan till I went to visit a friend and she had him on DVD. And I must say, I was really impressed with the man. I didnt see him jerking or harshly correcting any dog. I saw an extremely confident man who wouldnt take any crap handle dogs firmly and with a wonderful aura of authority and leadership. Stuff I wish I had more of. I'm more like most of his clients who baby their dogs unfortunately.

Lesly, I like the way you train and thats how I try to do it. Desensitizing and rewards. However most people (like me) need to learn to be leaders and have that confidence that tells the dog that you are their leader. Most of us dont have it naturally and let me tell you, you may be one of the people in the world fortunate enough to be born with it.... the rest of us have to learn it and work hard at maintaining it. I know. I have had to work hard to get any of my dogs to think of me as anything other than an equal and playmate!

Sure, I'm great at getting dogs to do what I want on the grooming table cause I'm no-nonsense there. I knew from the day I got a standard poodle that I would need to be the boss on the table or I'd be in trouble. And my standards have been, to date, all wonderful on the table.

On the ground is another matter. It took me till about 2 years ago to show Pagan that I was the pack leader and would take care of her and protection was MY job, not hers. Montana is just now learning that when I say something I mean it and that she is not to go smiling and laughing and ignoring me. Hopefully I'll do better with Bonnard and he'll grow up knowing I'm boss.

Having said that, my dogs usually love me and though they're naughty, they will do things for me. Montana is doing really well at obedience and agility and I'm enjoying it immensely!

Now I just have to put my puppy training skills to work as I start show training Bonnard. I'm sure I've forgotten everything I knew...