Does neutering male dog stop him pulling on lead?

zaksmum

I'm wondering if the use of a harness might be worth suggesting to the dog's owner.

Seems like a few people on here have had good results when using harnesses in trying to stop the pulling.

krlyr

catkins wrote: »

I put a harness on my dog at 10 weeks old - no problems at all. I know a lot of dog owners that use harnesses and don't know any that have had problems. I do however know a lot that had problems with haltis and so stopped using them.




Why do they have to "get used to it and accept it". How about not using a halti? It's not very nice for the dogs who have rubbed their muzzles raw is it?

I don't understand why so many people use haltis as though they were some magic solution. I know that most trainers and behaviourists don't like them.

A harness with a double ended lead is much nicer for the dog and works just as well if not better than a halti.

I hate seeing dogs with haltis on. Would you like a band round your nose?

I've seen dogs rubbed raw with harnesses too. It's about getting the appropriate equipment to suit your dog, and to introduce it correctly. Mine get just as excited to see their Dogmatic headcollars as they do their harnesses, and will push their noses into them to get ready for a walk. No rubbed noses, no unhappy dogs.

zaksmum

krlyr wrote: »

I've seen dogs rubbed raw with harnesses too. It's about getting the appropriate equipment to suit your dog, and to introduce it correctly. Mine get just as excited to see their Dogmatic headcollars as they do their harnesses, and will push their noses into them to get ready for a walk. No rubbed noses, no unhappy dogs.

I really do not like haltis at all. I hate seeing the dog pawing at it and having it make his eyes water.

Fortunately I never had to use one for any of my own dogs but in this case it does make the dog slightly more manageable.

As many have said though - there really is a need for some serious training so the dog can avoid becoming a liability through no fault of his own.

Raksha

zaksmum wrote: »

I really do not like haltis at all. I hate seeing the dog pawing at it and having it make his eyes water.

Fortunately I never had to use one for any of my own dogs but in this case it does make the dog slightly more manageable.

As many have said though - there really is a need for some serious training so the dog can avoid becoming a liability through no fault of his own.

I'd bet most dogs you see like that a) haven't been properly introduced to the headcollar and/or b) have an owner on the other end of the lead whose a total control freak and it's the OWNER that's pulling on the lead....

Hintza

Leaving a dog (especially a strong dog) until it is 9 months old to sort out bad behaviour and training is always going to be a recipe for trouble and an up hill battle.

I presume the dog has no concept of NO!!

krlyr

zaksmum wrote: »

I really do not like haltis at all. I hate seeing the dog pawing at it and having it make his eyes water.

I don't either, which is why mine were introduced to their Dogmatic headcollars properly and therefore don't paw at them. And it's why I always recommend people do the same - there's some good videos on Youtube I often point people towards.

I recently saw someone asking for advice on puppies and collars because the puppy was scratching at the collar. Does that make collars a bad thing? Any new piece of equipment is going to be an alien sensation that the dog needs to adjust to.

I agree that Haltis have the potential to be misused. But so do collars - and even leads (the amount of people I've seen giving their dog a quick whack with the handle end of the lead - I'd say I've seen that more than I've seen dogs pawing at headcollars to be honest!). But equally, they improve the welfare of many dog's lives, who may not be walked without them, reduce the dog's risk of being rehomed or dumped, and can be a great training aid.

Not a quick or lazy fix for pulling, though - I find that most dogs respond quickly enough to loose lead training if you're consistant enough, but it does get frustrating to have a dog that constantly pulls (I had a serial puller myself) so if it takes some of the stress out of the situation so the owner can then address the issue with training, they're a good thing (when used correctly) in my books. And for safety reasons, I find them fab - pulling isn't really the reason I use headcollars, but the fact that my dogs weigh more than me combined and both have prey drive issues, and as of this/last year, both have reactivity issues too (fortunately Casper improved massively before Kiki's thyroid issues started her reactivity - him at his worst with her would have been a nightmare), and also both being of breeds that many people feel intimidated for, I feel that I would be putting too many people at risk to walk without headcollars - the risk of being pulled into a road and causing a car accident, for example, is enough to make me feel the headcollars are an essential piece of dog walking kit for me. Combined with a harness and double ended collar, and all the equipment having been introduced properly, my dogs aren't bothered and I know we're all safe should a squirrel dart across the road in front of us, or we bump into another dog around a corner (no worries about giving the breeds a bad reputation by not having them under control..hand slides down to the headcollar end of the lead and I can simply lead my two away)

zaksmum

Hintza wrote: »

Leaving a dog (especially a strong dog) until it is 9 months old to sort out bad behaviour and training is always going to be a recipe for trouble and an up hill battle.

I presume the dog has no concept of NO!!

The dog is 19 months, not 9!

Raksha

http://http://canineconfidence.com/onlinecourse/

this may be of interest to owners of lunging, pulling. reactive dogs.

HTH

Celli

I wouldn't decry all Head collar type things, although I do think there are better designs than Halti, which always seems to be too close to the dogs eyes.
What I do hate is seeing owners who haven't a clue how to use them and have the poor dog strung up, it's head held at an uncomfortable angle and barely able to open it's eyes .
Some harnesses are quite awful, the one that has thin rope that runs under the dogs armpits for instance, instrument of torture if you ask me.I especially hate seeing them on thin haired dogs.
It's really a matter of finding what works for your dog, be it harness or head collar, and learning how to use it properly.

Hintza

zaksmum wrote: »

The dog is 19 months, not 9!

:eek: An even bigger uphill battle!

My Springer is now 6 years old and was fairly typical of the breed and goes everywhere with me and is not on the lead very often nowadays but it has taken us a long time.

Big male labradors are quite rumbustious dogs and really need a firm hand.

Interestingly one on our shoot tried to fight with every (non neutered male) and was a general pain in the butt, and it got to the stage where the owner was told to get his nuts off or he wasn't welcome. The dog was revelation the next season and just mucks in with the rest of the dogs now without any aggression.