[UnderDog]

A strange question, but "how" do you all walk your dogs? As in do you walk on-leash, off-leash apart from by roads, cycle, weight pull, hunt etc? What breed/s of dogs are you walking? for how long? etc.
Just curious.

I walk gizzy(chihuahua) loose leash but she is 9 yrs old. and was trained when I got her 3 yrs ago. she walks about 2 miles a day. small harness.

timber (siberian husky) walks 5 to 6 miles divided up to twice a day with training in between. he is 2 1/2 yrs old and use to be a sled racer. he walks on leash as he is a runner off leash. he uses a halti as he is use to pulling sleds. halti works for him very well. no pull harness is ok but he don't like it.

[DoggieVogue]

My puppy (Boston Terrier) is almost 6 months old. I have a hard time walking him on a leash. Anytime he sees another person he goes nuts. He also pulss on the leash really hard. What is a good technique to get dogs to behave while walking them?

[UnderDog]

Originally Posted by DoggieVogue

My puppy (Boston Terrier) is almost 6 months old. I have a hard time walking him on a leash. Anytime he sees another person he goes nuts. He also pulss on the leash really hard. What is a good technique to get dogs to behave while walking them?

Funnily enough, we have had quite a few Boston's do this that we have rescued! They are like mini Staffordshire bull terriers and get excited very easily/quickly, what we used to do was get 2-4 adults, 2+ kids, and as many dogs as possible. We took them out into a big field and had the adults walk the dogs towards us whilst we had the Boston's on the leash, as soon as they started pulling we used a sharp "AAAAAT!" and walked the other way, some took this easily, with some it took 2+ hours of training daily for a week, these were usually the older dogs who had learnt thats how they get what they want. Then we had the kids playing with frisbee's, footballs, basket balls etc and did the same, "AAAAT!" and walk the opposite way, they soon learnt that pulling got them nowhere and infact did the opposite of what they hoped. Now I can walk past people, dogs, kids, ponds etc without the dogs taking a second look until I tell them they can go play or let them offleash.

[DoggieVogue]

Originally Posted by UnderDog

Funnily enough, we have had quite a few Boston's do this that we have rescued! They are like mini Staffordshire bull terriers and get excited very easily/quickly, what we used to do was get 2-4 adults, 2+ kids, and as many dogs as possible. We took them out into a big field and had the adults walk the dogs towards us whilst we had the Boston's on the leash, as soon as they started pulling we used a sharp "AAAAAT!" and walked the other way, some took this easily, with some it took 2+ hours of training daily for a week, these were usually the older dogs who had learnt thats how they get what they want. Then we had the kids playing with frisbee's, footballs, basket balls etc and did the same, "AAAAT!" and walk the opposite way, they soon learnt that pulling got them nowhere and infact did the opposite of what they hoped. Now I can walk past people, dogs, kids, ponds etc without the dogs taking a second look until I tell them they can go play or let them offleash.

hey that's excellent advice!! thanks! I think I'll try that out this weekend. Luca is a really good dog, he just gets soooo excited. That's a Boston thing though. I just have to work with him.

I think underdog's suggestion is great one. Actually,I have seen the technic on one of my favorite show "Its me or the dog" on animal planet channel. If you do this consistent and with patient,I think the training would work.

As for good harness,I hear good review on harness from "Sporn". Anybody here has used this with your dog? Some swear by it and I was told it runs about $20.

[UnderDog]

To be 100% honest, there is no reason for a harness with dogs when walking. With alot they dont "sit right", they allow the dog to pull harder/faster and they irritate alot of dogs because of steryotypical (sp?!!) designs. I could list alot more! Obviously there is exceptions to this. When ever I do weight pulling my dogs always have the suited harness (X-back, V chested etc), same goes with running. For just normal walking a well fitted collar suited to the dog will do best.

[AuntieDale]

Hi - I have a 9 year old golden retriever and I'm lucky to live in an area with lots of forests where he can run off-leash. One thing I did when he was a puppy (this may sound strange, but it worked) was: I played hide-and-seek with him! This way, he learned at an early age to keep an eye on me and not to stray too far - I might be hiding! I'm really glad I did that when he was young, it really worked for me. :-)

You can walk your dog off leash unless you have trained him so that you won't have a hard time chasing your dog. But a leash is needed most of the time in order to secure your dog and other people around the area. Walk your dog in parks.

Originally Posted by UnderDog

Funnily enough, we have had quite a few Boston's do this that we have rescued! They are like mini Staffordshire bull terriers and get excited very easily/quickly, what we used to do was get 2-4 adults, 2+ kids, and as many dogs as possible. We took them out into a big field and had the adults walk the dogs towards us whilst we had the Boston's on the leash, as soon as they started pulling we used a sharp "AAAAAT!" and walked the other way, some took this easily, with some it took 2+ hours of training daily for a week, these were usually the older dogs who had learnt thats how they get what they want. Then we had the kids playing with frisbee's, footballs, basket balls etc and did the same, "AAAAT!" and walk the opposite way, they soon learnt that pulling got them nowhere and infact did the opposite of what they hoped. Now I can walk past people, dogs, kids, ponds etc without the dogs taking a second look until I tell them they can go play or let them offleash.

I've seen a similar technique on DogTown involving simply freezing in place until the dog settles down and the leash becomes loose. It gives a similar kind of message, that the breaks go on if he tries to move ahead too quickly. This isn't a way for solving aggressive lunges, but consistently works with my dog who generally likes to pull forward.