I just finished watching the puppy 8-8months video but saw nothing about collar or harness. I seem to remember something on here saying that you should use a harness. Ed in the video used a collar. Will/can that make leash pressure for heel harder later? (should I already be working on that with a puppy that is going to be hard to handle at 6 months when I should start? )When is it better to use a collar vs harness?

 Quote: elizabeth anderson

"...with a puppy that is going to be hard to handle at 6 months..."

Elizabeth, I've not used a harness so I'll let others who have done so address that with you, but this jumped out at me.

I'd recommend stopping this thought process ASAP - you WILL have a pup who is hard to handle at six months if you program yourself to expect that while he is a young pup.

Most every six month old pup is a handful, but I'd be telling myself "by the time this pup is six months old, my training/handling skills are going to be such that I can handle anything he throws at me". It might sound crazy, but we have a way of bringing to fruition that which we expect in cases like this! JMHO.

Can't wait to see more pup pics!

Use a collar.
Do not allow the puppy to pull, use treats etc to encourage a loose lead. If you don't let it zig-zag or pull - there will be no problem at 6 months.

I always use a collar...hate harness, but that's a personal preference thing.

By six months, I am usually using a prong collar on walks and allow the pup to self-correct. At home, I am working diligently on loose leash walking in a low distraction setting, gradually adding distractions until the leash stays loose under many distractions and I can phase out the prong.

And yes, all six month old pups are a pain but not necessarily hard to handle...just requires a lot of patience and continually teaching them how to live in the world.

Have you got the Heeling DVD Elizabeth? If not and it’s in the plans, I would get it as soon as possible. The imprinting exercises of leash pressure work can start well before six months. In fact by six months, you could have a great little heeler.

When they are wee little, I use the small body harness. They’re eager to explore and run to the end of the leash quickly. I like the more spread out pressure for the first few months. Once they start to gain some size and understanding, I change to the flat collar.

With the harness, when he starts to pull, stand still and call him to you with rewards. Any time he adds pressure, show him how to turn it off by coming to you. The second he moves one step in your direction, reward, reward, reward.

Again, if you don’t have the DVD and are planning on getting it, I’d of ordered it yesterday. I raised my youngest one this way and have never had any forging/pulling problem with him. He wears an e-collar on our off leash mountain hikes but he’s never felt a prong. Never been necessary with him and he’s a big strong boy. He learned early how to turn off the slightest bit of pressure.

I credit this to the ME DVD. It turned on a lot of light bulbs in my brain and I’ll never teach leash work any other way.

ETA – I also agree 100% with Barbara. Watch the self-talk about what you’re expecting in 6 months. He may be big but nothing says he won’t be well behaved. That’s up to you and what you “expect” (train).

 Quote: Tanith Wheeler

Use a collar.
Do not allow the puppy to pull, use treats etc to encourage a loose lead. If you don't let it zig-zag or pull - there will be no problem at 6 months.

Good advice. Also, if you use a collar with a long line, you can keep the puppy near you at times, but then give a release and let the line reel out so that he can explore a bit. (I'm not talking about a flexi-lead. Using one of those was probably one of the bigger mistakes I made with Chula when she was a pup, because there is always tension on the lead, and the pup gets used to feeling tension on the lead while moving. IMO, this made it much harder to teach her loose leash walking)

Barbra: I supose I am comparing him to Zuki to much... She was VERY hard to train for heel and I am still having problems with it. I just bought an E-collar but not used it yet cause I am waiting for the DVD (I forgot to put it on the same order). So far I have just used the prong but I have to really correct hard before she will mind, she always wants to be 2 steps ahead of me.

CJ: I can't afford more $ on training for the moment... If I could I sure would but I just did an order close to 500... Now I my B-day is close so maybe I can hint
When I bought this pup I had looked at several others one of which was 3-4 months old and an absolute nut! I think that was due to no training what so ever. Keiko is really quite well behaved so far. He is not pulling at all really right now, I just got him to where he will walk on anything.

Lynne: I also did this with Zuki so maybe that was my problem. I like the flexi-lead because it does not leave excess to chew on when walking but I can see where that might feel like pressure all the time.

 Quote: Elizabeth Anderson

I supose I am comparing him to Zuki to much...

This is a common mistake and soo easy to do. I've done it with mine. Kipp has to try to live up to Missy, Poor Kenzi gets compared to both Missy and Kipp

But they are individuals, they have their own strengths and weaknesses and it's doing them a disservice to compare them to another dog(s). One of the biggest hurdles that owners face - especailly those who are just beginning in the whole dog training thing - is to take each dog at face value, figure out who they are and train them - not the other dog.