Gun Dog Forum

Hi guys, I was hoping to get some advice on how to appproach this situation. I have a 6 month old GSP who weighs about 50 pounds. He has gotten big enough to when I walk him on the lead, he can pull pretty hard, and it doesn't become fun for either of us. I have tried the Wonder Lead, which worked with some success (I had to do the trick with it behind one ear and high on the neck) and flat D ring collar and lead (he will pull so hard he starts breathing heavy and almost choking himself) and I also had a slip lead which I have not tried yet. With it being so muddy out, I am trying to walk him 2-3 miles each day. but it has been a constant struggle to where its neither fun for myself or him to walk. Last night I out of desperation I tried a half hitch around the waist, and it seemed to work well, but I am open to any advice.
Thanks a ton

Eith a wonder lead or a prong collar, like the Herm Sprenger on gundogsupply, worked well for me. I prefer the prong collar though.

The key to both is that they are for quick corrections, they shouldn't be a constant pryessure on the dog. If the dog just constantly pulls it's not enough enough of a deterrent and they don't realize their own action is causing it, they just think that's how it is. When the dog gets in front of you you pop it quickly. The dog should think hey I don't like that and if I stay back here I don't get popped. Keep ramping it up and I think it will work eventually.

My dog was very hard headed and I was too timid to correct him properly at first. You start light but keep getting harder until you get results, you might have to rip it like you're starting a lawnmower but you won't have to do that for long.

I just tried a harness on my new pup at it helped with this exact problem. It has the attachment point in the front. When the dog tries to pull it turns them sideways, which they don't like.

Look into a pinch collar, and train accordingly!

Get a choke chain that is the proper size( long enough to fit over his ears but short enough so it won't fall off when he puts his head down) the wider the better. Put him on your left side. Put the chain on the dog so it comes over his neck toward you. use a fifteen or twenty foot check cord. snap it to the end of the chain coming over the dogs neck. DO NOT SNAP IT TO BOTH RINGS. Never tie the dog with a choke chain or leave him unattended with it on. Put the dog in a crate for a couple hours. Get the dog out put the chain and checkcord on him. Make sure you have it on right. DO NOT TALK TO THE DOG. pick up the cord and start walking. Don't look at the dog or call him just go. Hold the cord coiled in your right hand so it comes across your legs and you can drop the slack. When the dog goes ahead drop the slack, turn around hard to your right and walk fast or run in the other direction. Let the dog hit the end hard. Do Not talk, put him back in place continue your walk on a loose cord every time he charges ahead correct him hard. Don't look at him or say anything just do it. Some times do a right about turn when he is beside you. It will not take long before he will be watching you. Do not ever let him pull against you. If he likes to chase things set up distractions. Let him have a lot of slack and make sure he hits the end hard. He will soon be keeping and eye on you and forget about pulling.........Cj

JASA force collar from Lion Country. Greatest training collar ever made.

What cjhills is referring to is covered extensively (and much else) in a book entitled The Koehler Method of Dog Training by Bill Koehler. You can buy a used copy on Amazon inexpensively. Well-written,interesting and wholly effective. You and your dog will benefit in many ways beyond your current specific difficulty.

Get a choke collar that fit's and enroll in an obedience class!

Just remember that however you train, these dogs are bred and born to be out in front, hunting. So on your walks, stay mindful and remind the pup when you need to. If your mind wanders, he’s likely to forge, lag, or just go into his own mode.
Far be it from me to say that no bird dog ever was taught to stay at heel for the duration with just one command, I suppose some do. But not mine They’re fine as long as I stay focused and make them walk nicely. It takes reminders every now and then.

I learned a long time ago that proper use of a 'prong collar' is a very effective way to teach a dog to heal, sit, laydown, recall, etc. I learned how to train with a prong collar many years ago working with a professional gun dog trainer. Any collar that constricts on a dog, thus choking him/her requires a great deal of pressure to work as a training aid. Prong collars, when used properly only require a quick 'pop' that gives the dog a sound with pressure ('pinches the skin' as the prongs are smooth so they will not stick the dog). An added bonus to using any collar to train, is it makes the transition to an e-collar faster, as the dog already knows that pressure on the neck means you are doing the learned command wrong.

The problems with the older style prong collars is that the latch is difficult to use and are notorious for coming off, and the prongs in circle the collar, thus pinching the skin around the throat of the dog. The new one I started using (When my professional dog trainer showed them to me) a few years ago, does not have prongs around the neck area and has no latch. It simply slips over the dogs head and adjusts to the dogs neck when hooked to a lead. You can see these at http://www.lolalimited.net ...they call them Secret Powers Training Collar. Check them out!

Good Luck

One other small point. My own dogs are never train to walk on a leash. they are trained to heel from the start without a leash. They do walk on a leash if need be later in life.
As Shags said they are bred to go to the front but it does not inhibit them if you want them to walk at heel on command.
Also as RG stated training systems that work for one person may not for another because your system is part of your personality..........Cj

Wow thanks this is a huge help. I’m military and I work 10’s so I don’t have a lot of time with him except in the evening, so I try and run him hard when we go. Usually I can take him to the dog park which is fenced in, and he can run all he wants, but we’ve gotten so much rain that he come back a muddy mess. He does well with obedience I think for his age, he just gets distracted a lot and all new sights and smells out every trip. Fortunately here soon I am purchasing a Garmin Astro and T15 combo, so we can do more off leash work and I will feel comfortable letting him roam. This is my first dog, so I am very green around the ears to say the least Haha. Going to look at the prong collars and possibly a harness tonight!

Harnesses enable pulling.

My daughter has a dog that cannot wear a collar, and she uses a Halti or whatever they call those contraptions that go on the dog’s face. No choking, no pulling.

What's this 50 pounder like when you stand in front of him with the lead on and walk towards him ?

Good advice on here, there is an $80 ecollar that stims when the dog pulls from gundogsupply, this will be my next go at this.

But basically....

Good luck.

This has been one of the tougher things I have had to work on.

Not sure what you mean by the standing in front of the pup and walking towards him, but usually he will sit down, and or walk ahead of me

hears what has worked for me .use a reg lead snap it to the dogs collar start walking as soon as the dog tightens on the lead give it a jerk more of a pop you dont have to jerk it to hard and change direction the dog will run to the front when he dose pop again and change direction it dont take long you will see the dog start to pay att. to you to see when you are going to change direction keep an eye on the dog as soon as you think the dog is not paying att. change direction again .he may walk good for awhile then start to pay no att repeat the pop change direction .iv had dogs that start out pulling by the time i got to the end of the block the dog was walking with me without pulling some may take a little longer but they catch on fast try this i think you will see pretty fast results

I have a related question with a one year old Brittany pup who I have trained to heal with an e collar. It’s pretty solid unless there is a lot of distraction. I don’t expect the dog to heal the entire walk. I don’t mind if when the dog is not on heal if he walks in front of me. But he will pull occasionally when not told to heal. Not real bad but he is trying to go where he wants to go and the leash is not loose. This is not the entire walk but often. Ay advice?

When he gets the leash tight--change direction, if he gets it tight again, change direction--that way he'll start watching you more to see which direction you are going. It will get him to pay more attention to you. It worked for me, maybe it will work for you.
Good luck.

I was hiking with my dogs in the Boise Foothills the other day and ran into a guy with 3 English Pointers. We started talking about our dogs and where we got them. He got two of his from Brad Higgins in Nevada and all three of his dogs were trained by Brad Higgins. He had so many positive things to say about the guys that I looked him up once I got home. I noticed this video he made on dog walking and found it to be quite interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3FEQcC ... e=youtu.be

I have not tried it yet, but plan on trying it with my Brittany - note the corrections are very subtle as you could hurt the dog is you really wrench on the leash with it set up this way. Obviously you would have to do it quite routinely for it to translate to a polite walker with a normal leash setup, but I am intrigued by it either way. I think he is actually a member on here and his handle is - Higgins .

Hello Warrior 372,

If you like, give me a call. I can give you some pointers that might be helpful for you and your dog. I’m in Nevada.

Brad Higgins
Http://HigginsGundogs.com
775-267-7240

As others have stated you need to pop the training collar. I use a piggin' string...similar to wonder lead . If dog is being extremely stubborn I will turn into them and drive my knees (not to hurt to get their attention) then they start to realize they need to focus on you.

Obedience class. Every dog should be taught to come, sit, heel, and stay. Stopping on command is also good. Most of us get out to hunt during a few months, but the dog is a pet full time. Polite behavior is a good thing in dogs and kids.