What Lead/collar Should I Use

[Airedaler]

I have a 3.5 month old puppy who is learning to walk on the lead rather slowly as she becomes distracted by smells and objects on the ground. At the moment I only have her on a flat collar and leash but would like suggestions for equipment to use that will keep her head up. Treats or toys interest her for a short time but are nowhere as interesting as smells etc.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

you could use some sort of head halter to control where she can put her head and then reward her when her head is where you want it.

Peanut paste on a wooden spoon can help (especially while the dog is low to the ground).

Otherwise search youtube for "re-inforcement zone RZ" and "Loose lead walking kikopup".

[The Spotted Devil]

I would keep her on the flat collar now - reward for keeping her head up for a few steps (with amazing treats when she is really hungry) and then release to SNIFF. Double whammy rewards can work really well.....so well, in fact, that sniffing, peeing, scraping and flirting are huge rewards for my Dally after running in an obedience or agility ring :)

ETA: Be sure to reward the head up rather than lure the head up. Surprisingly big difference! Also practice in a low distraction environment first...,hallway etc so she learns the cues in an easy setting.

Edited December 29, 2014 by The Spotted Devil

[persephone]

she is a baby .

keep her on a flat collar & lead - TRAINING is what will get her to focus more on you .Very short sessions - 5 minutes or so , repeated often to start with will help her learn without frustration :)

Dogs learn thru their sense of smell .She is learning about her world .It is unfair to stop this without offering a reward of sorts .A tiny food treat may be used when she has her head up

A lot of collar/lead training can be done at home .. up & down the corridor- in teh yard .. up & down the driveway ..until it becomes a very normal and accepted thing.THEN move on out - when you both are understanding each other better :)

you might enjoy watching these videos:)

and treading this .

CLICK

[Airedaler]

Thanks all for your tips. I'll stick with the flat collar for now and make an effort to find something really awesome as a treat.

I'm well aware she is still a baby Persephone and am very much treating her as one who as such need to learn all sorts of things. It is many years since I had a puppy and it is a whole new learning curve for both of us. This pup is very clever, probably to clever for me in many ways. Her smelling is very much a part of her learning and she will sniff out all sorts of things and indeed go back to them, or where they were, days later . Thanks for the video links, I had seen some of them but do find the quite frustrating for a couple of reasons, 1, the dogs all seem to have had some training and more importantly the handlers are trained. I guess what I need is someone to train me.

My ultimate aim at the moment is to get her into the show ring.

[persephone]

perhaps contact cosmolo , or erny - they are both melb. based DOLers who are professional in the dog/human training field :)

[Airedaler]

perhaps contact cosmolo , or erny - they are both melb. based DOLers who are professional in the dog/human training field :)

That could be well worthwhile, thanks for the suggestion. I know Erny trains not too far from me so it could well be doable.

[Nekhbet]

Never put a head collar on a pup that young you risk damaging the neck and eyes. A flat collar and lead is plenty.

If her head is down you need to work on engaging the pup, not buying more equipment. Dont stop walking, call the pup and keep it moving with you. Airdales may be stubborn but they were very good military working dogs. Treats and toys dont interest because they're too easy to get. Make sure the pup is super hungry and if pup doesnt want to walk, well, tough titties principle :laugh:

[Erny]

I like to use a lead of minimum 6' length - leads shorter than this (I find) don't permit much in the way of 'training space'. With a bit of lead-handling practice, the lead can easily and smoothly looped to accord with any moments where the lead length needs to be shorter to accord with the 'training moment'.

Scenting is a natural instinct and something dogs find enjoyable. Think about things like this. Rather than excluding this, USE it as the dog's reward for a job well done and blend that with what you are trying to train.

I agree - stick to flat collar. Work on focusing on your handling skills - how you hold the lead; how you manipulate the lead; your timing; and the messages from your hand THROUGH the lead to your dog. Ideally these are the skills anyone should have BEFORE they look at training restraints/collars of any kind (although exceptions do apply to the rule) and subject to the dog, its history and what the person is trying to achieve, may work out that they may not need training restraints/collars at all.

I see a Great Dane pup (now a youngster heading into adolescence) being walked around the neighbourhood by its family (sometimes Mum, sometimes Dad and sometimes young children) in a head collar. I groan. I've seen the head collar fitted badly and the straps twisting up into the dog's eye (worse than even when a head collar is fitted correctly) and I've seen the head collar being used without the empathy and understanding it must have. It is easy to tell the people think the 'tool' is doing the job and they don't have to think about what they are doing at all.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Erny

[Airedaler]

Thanks Nekhbet and Erny for your input.

Personally I am not a fan of head collars so your thoughts re that is pleasing. So any people seem to advocate head collars as being the be all to end all in training.

I accept that the problem is mainly with me, I need to learn how to communicate better what I want the pup to do. Therein lies the biggest issue.

Nekhbet, I've owned (and bred for 35 years) Airedales for over 40 years and know just how well they can be trained to fill just about any role required. As a breed they have a long and distinguished history of service dogs. I don't necessarily see them as stubborn but they are independent thinkers and need to see a reason for doing anything. The key is, in many cases, identifying the key/encouragement/reward to give them that reason.

I'm not proud to say that my early Airedales were much better trained than my recent ones, although those have done as I requested of them - that was not a lot in terms of their ability.

As it is now 9 years since I trained a pup in any manner at all I'm sure there are new methods to be tried.

[Nekhbet]

If it worked for you before theres no need to go confusing yourself with the internet rabble. Theres more crap these days in dog training then there is substance a lot of the time.