am I on the right track?

can not use the halti anymore. it doesn't set on timber's face right and likes to ride to his eye. vet recommended the no pull harness.

now when he starts to pull. I should stop and get him to wait. then turn directions. do this as many times as necessary until he stops pulling correct?

how about getting him to stay behind or no further than my hip in front of me? do I do the same thing as the pulling?

he was walking pretty good, but the halti just didn't fit right now and the vet said we had the right size but due to the few pounds he gained the next size would be too big and the size smaller would be too small( I tried the smaller size and can't clip it on his neck).

so back to basics. I have never leash trained a dog in a harness before. gizzy girl came already in a harness. which she got a new one too. can't forget her.

he is not much food oriented outside. any suggestions? am I thinking right? I know I will be back to square one with the harness and walking. good thing we have all week. every day. I am sure once he gets use to it , it will be better.

had the harness on him for a short few minutes today and he wouldn't stay where I worked so hard to get him. he also pulled some. remember , he was a racing dog? yeah, back to square one but I am up to the challenge. I am as calm and assertive as I can be. I am as positive as I can be. i have tons of patience. ask me again next week and we will see if I still have them or not. I should every dog is worth your time.

thanks for the help.

he did ok today. we worked for about an hour. if I jogged he stayed behind me more. but with my asthma I can't do that for a long period of time. We trained in my driveway and yard. he gets it and then pulls. but thats ok. it has only been once and only for an hour. after lunch we will try it again.

I figure the more we practice the better we get. i do love the fact there is nothing rubbing his eyes.

when he did good a few laps he got free time to get all calmed down and a reward. then we went back to training. sat on the steps and talked. then back to training. that helped alot. but he also would forget what we worked on until the next trip down the driveway and then he settled in some. alot more work to do but I have lots of hope.

You're on the right track. Just remember, any time she starts pulling on the leash too much - just stop and wait till shes calmed down - then continue. Reward good behavior with a treat once you arrive home - i find this helps a lot.

Good luck!

[Kingsbridge Cav]

If your dog is not motivated by a treat reward, try a toy reward! Some dogs respond to either, some neither. A tennis ball may be your answer. Sometimes a verbal reward is all you need (yes!) coupled with a pat on the head or back. You know your dog best, so watch for what motivates him and use it!

Gizzy,

I think you are doing good. I remember my puppy class trainer told us that we need to train dogs consistent and lots of repetitive for one trick or behavior training.Doing training consistently is the key,she said.

With dog,just a tiny difference makes whole different thing.If your dog leaned "Sit" inside the house and respond very well,but once you go out to yard and try to do "Sit",whole thing changes and you need to train the same thing at yard again.Plus outside has lots of distraction stuffther dogs,squirrels,smells,people.. so for dogs,outside and inside are complete different scenario.

With my dog,I did changing direction thing when dog starts pulling. My puppy class trainer told us to put peanut butter on tip of stick or spoon and place it next to your side(heel position area) and walk along.I tried to do this but with my dog being stumpy and I had to walk very funny so,I did walking training with different method. Changing direction when dog pulled worked for my dog.

Good luck! Oh,have you seen tv show "Its me or the dog" on animal planet?
One episode featured dog that pull very much and trainer in the show used harness that I heard from other people guessing it as "Sporn" harness.I have never used this harness so I cannot say it is good or bad but it might be interesting for you to watch this show.

yes, I have watched Victoria Stilwell's shows. she is amazing.

we are making progress. he is doing super well.