First of all, I want to thank everyone here for all the help I have received in the past. This website is a valuable resource, I don't know what I would do without it. I have an adult Doberman that I rescued about a year and a half ago and we have made great strides together since then.

He is doing much better with his dog reactivity, especially with small dogs. I have learned to control my own emotions first, as that seems to have the most influence over him. We are still, however, having trouble with loose leash walking. It was going well for a while, and now it seems like we have taken two steps back.

I have been using a prong collar with a DDC as a backup. His level of excitement is extremely high when we leave the yard. Should I try using just the DDC on walks? I ask this because I have been looking through the new Q&A section and found this:
http://leerburg.com/qa/qna.php?id=1547

What would I do when he starts to pull though? Should I just stop walking until we have a loose leash and then continue? From what I understand, the only type of correction that should be given using the DDC is for aggressive behavior. Using it like a regular choke collar can cause injury, correct? http://leerburg.com/qa/qna.php?id=1566

Does he calm down sometime after you leave the yard, or is he jacked the whole walk?

Doesn't sound like a collar problem, and more a distraction problem. Maybe work on calm walking at the edge of the yard, eventually moving to just outside of the yard and so on.

Turbo is all hopped up on life at the beginning of our walks, but calms quickly once we get movin'.:smile: Usually he just needs to poop.

He is jacked up the whole time. The farther we get from home, the worse it gets.

My 5 month old pup pretty much ignores the prong collar until it hurts him, and then 2 seconds later ignores it again. It's a constant game of pop pop pop pop as we walk down the road. He's just too excited to really give a flying F about me, the collar, or the leash.

So I started using a flirt pole on him. It's a horse lunge whip with a orange rag tied to the end. I tease him with it, get him worked up, have him chase the rag and flick it around just like 'prey' would behave, and every now and then during the game I tug with him, let him win the rag, then out him and get him excited over it again. A good 15-20 minutes of it and he's somewhat capable of relaxing on a walk.

Just an idea.

It's funny that you say that because I was just thinking about doing that! Did you buy yours or did you make it?

 Quote: SamanthaTopper

My 5 month old pup pretty much ignores the prong collar until it hurts him, and then 2 seconds later ignores it again. It's a constant game of pop pop pop pop as we walk down the road. He's just too excited to really give a flying F about me, the collar, or the leash.

So I started using a flirt pole on him. It's a horse lunge whip with a orange rag tied to the end. I tease him with it, get him worked up, have him chase the rag and flick it around just like 'prey' would behave, and every now and then during the game I tug with him, let him win the rag, then out him and get him excited over it again. A good 15-20 minutes of it and he's somewhat capable of relaxing on a walk.

Just an idea.

Samantha, that's a great idea. I find that if I can get the zoomies out before the walk starts, it's much easier to get a loose-leash walk.

And just to clarify, if you are using a prong collar you need a back-up collar that is attached to the leash, just in case the prong comes apart. This could be a DDC linked to the leash, or a coupler attached to the leash and the dog's regular flat collar.

When Chula was about 9 months old I got fed up with the constant pulling (even with a prong), so I took a treat bag with me one day, and when she was pulling I just stopped walking. She continued to pull and sniff around for a minute, but eventually realized that we weren't going anywhere. When she finally made eye contact with me, I marked and rewarded.

I continued this process and eventually had a pretty nice loose-leash walk (and great eye contact!)

This has been my method too. I use treats to reward any behavior that is a turn back or check in. At first I clicked and treated everything, now I can wiggle my finger and he comes in nice and close and walks with me. My other trick is to hold the treat low and at my side. He sidles in to pick up the treat and then continues in that position. I've been playing with both dogs in the yard before we go out and now I've started going out the gate and circling back into the yard to get bethel to stick with me as we move out into a more distracting environment.

Great suggestions from Samantha, Lynne and Jenny. I have a leash-puller and have used similar methods. For him, it's chasing a tennis ball in the yard first to take the edge off. Then on the walk, if your dog is food-motivated, the bait bag is your best friend! I've found it's helpful to do lots of changes of direction: about turns, backing up, circle right, circle left, all the while encouraging him to keep his attention on me and rewarding when he checks in. (Though I don't expect or require 100 percent focus and perfect position as I would for formal heeling.) And of course you may have to work in a lower-distraction environment for a while.

My window for editing my post has passed, so I guess I have to make a second post. First, when I said Samantha, Lynne and Jenny gave great suggestions, I didn't mean to overlook Michael. I agree with him that it doesn't sound like a collar issue. I think the solution is to be found in working on engagement with this dog, getting him to be more interested in you than the environment. I do realize how tough that can be, though!

But to answer one of your questions in your original post, I would not be using just the DD collar, but I would continue to use it as a backup for your prong. I did that for a long time, but now I have been able to reach a point where I can walk my dog with a buckle collar. He is a work in progress, though. I have to be vigilant, or he will revert back to pulling if I let him.

Thank you for all of the great replies everyone. Now I just need to make sure my husband follows the rules when he wants to take the dog out, lol.