I have a 15 week malinois bitch, i was walking her in a slip lead but after reading and being told on here i have now got her a harness, but how do i stop her from pulling , at the moment when she does walk next to me i use the word close but she doesnt seen to be picking it up, she pulls more if she sees somthing or someone even if its in the distance, i do try to get her to focus on me but that can be a bit hit and miss. Any help would be great .

Lauren, are you marker training?

What is your goal for this pup? Competition?

Are you talking about a harness or a head halter? (I was looking at your slip-lead thread.)

IMO, I would teach leach pressure before going to a harness.

I think the O.P. might be talking about the use of a harness basically to move the pup around until the dog is ready to start leash-pressure work. *

But I'm not sure at all, because I don't know if the O.P. is talking about a no-pull harness, which might still mean anticipation of leash-pressure work but not drive-building restraint stuff.

I don't know if Lauren is aiming for competition.

In the slip-lead thread, I thought the pup was not going to be competition-trained, and I recommended a regular flat collar and leash. Someone else recommended a Martingale.

Now in this thread I'm thinking maybe I was wrong and Lauren got a harness in anticipation of leash-pressure work later.

I'm hoping we can get a clearer picture of what the plan is for this pup.


*
http://leerburg.com/flix/player.php/801/Should_I_Use_a_Harness_for_a_Puppy_Until_I_Begin_Leash_Pressure_Work_in_Heeling/

Lauren, are you marker training? (If you're not sure what that means, marker training is the umbrella term under which clicker training falls. Not everyone uses a clicker for the marker.)

Are you planning a competition heel?

Or maybe looking mainly for loose-leash walking?

What kind of halter did you get?

I use a clicker for training heel and also for loose leash walking. For heeling I click when my dogs are in position and then treat. The click gives my dogs the knowledge of where exactly I like them when we heel. I begin slowly and first click for finding heel, then for staying with me a couple of steps, then for more steps, and then I move the training from inside-different rooms, to outside
back yard, then front yard, then parking lot early in morning when no one is around, to when the parking lot is more and more crowded.
For loose leash walking I begin like this; as soon as the leash goes taunt, I stop, (you have to have patience when using this method, but it pays off) I do not move until my dog turns back toward me. even the slightest turn back toward me, I click and treat, then we move on. When I treat I drop the treat at the side of my leg. I want my dog to know where the goodies are. I keep doing this until the dog walks pretty loosely on the leash. Then when it is near me, I click and treat and drop the treat at my side. Either side I want the dog to walk in. I usually do the left because that is where I want my dog. We work for about 5 minutes and have a big party when we are done. That is about it. My bindi girl is an excellent heeler. So is my cody man, terra is a work in progress. So this has worked for me. With cody I did not use the clicker because he is sound sensitive. hope this helps.

bump

Sorry for the late replies. I dont want her for competition but do want her to have manners while out. I am walking her out in a martingale type harness . Is this wrong? I have seen the method of keep turning when the dog pulls. Should I try this and should I put her on a metal choker ?

bump

Lauren, here's a thread about pulling:

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=32002&page=1#357264

It's not particularly about puppies, but there are still some pointers.



When you are walking, do you stop frequently and stand still and give the pup the opportunity to sniff, pee, etc. (at your discretion, not the dog's)?

Are you marker training? I know ... I keep asking that. You see that Sharon's answer is based on marker training, and I too would have answered similarly, but we don't know if you are using (or maybe are planning to use) markers. (Markers can be clickers or specific words.)