Best leash or *method for dog pulling

[stepside454]

Originally Posted by Racelady88

Gentle Leader Product Description - Premier Pet

This is what we use

[groar]

i had really good results with the sense-ible harness. it's one that attaches in the front and turns the dog around if she pulls.

the only thing is, it chafed my dog under her legs, so i stopped using it.

but she still walks well with a flat collar! go figure! she was a huge puller before. when she does pull now (doesn't happen often), i do just stop and she's learned that that means go a few steps backwards and then she can go forward again.

regarding pinch/prong collars, they are less dangerous than choke chains or slip collars, but there's just no reason to correct your dog that way. you are hurting them, that's why it works.

speaking of pat miller, this is her take on prong collars:

Myth #9:
The prong collar works by mimicking a mother dog’s teeth and her corrections.

It’s a little daunting to think that people actually believe this. It would be silly if it
weren’t so potentially damaging to the relationship, and potentially dangerous as
well. The prong collar works because the prongs pressing into the dog’s neck are
uncomfortable at best, painful at worst. Because dogs will work to avoid pain and
discomfort, the prong collar does work to stop a dog from pulling on the leash, and
can shut down other undesirable behaviors as well, at least temporarily. However,
like all training tools and techniques that are based on pain and intimidation, there
is a significant risk of unintended consequences.

In the case of the prong collar, the primary risk is that the dog will associate the
pain with something in his environment at the time he feels it, and this can lead to
aggression toward the mistakenly identified cause. A dog’s unmannerly, “I want
to greet you” lunge toward another dog or person can turn into, “I want to eat you,”
if he decides that the object of his attentions is hurting him."

some more info on dog training from pat miller:

http://www.urbananimal.net/pdf/issue...ythbusting.pdf

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by groar

In the case of the prong collar, the primary risk is that the dog will associate the
pain with something in his environment at the time he feels it, and this can lead to
aggression toward the mistakenly identified cause. A dog’s unmannerly, “I want
to greet you” lunge toward another dog or person can turn into, “I want to eat you,”
if he decides that the object of his attentions is hurting him."

some more info on dog training from pat miller:

http://www.urbananimal.net/pdf/issue...ythbusting.pdf

Maybe just a bit of a streeeeeeeeeeetch.

[groar]

why is it a stretch?

when something good happens to a dog, the dog associates it with whatever's going on at the time.

when something bad happens to a dog, the dog associates it with whatever's going on at the time.

if your timing is not spot on perfect with a "correction", you risk the dog associating the pain with the wrong thing. a dog could easily end up thinking "hey, when i see another dog/a stranger/a little kid, i hurt! i hate those things!" eventually, they may catch on to the fact that the one common factor when pain happens is *you*.

you can also mis-time positive reinforcement and end up reinforcing a behavior you don't want, but this is a lot less harmful than the potential fallout from using punishment incorrectly.

never mind that yanking an animal around by the neck just isn't good for them physically.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by groar

why is it a stretch?

when something good happens to a dog, the dog associates it with whatever's going on at the time.

when something bad happens to a dog, the dog associates it with whatever's going on at the time.

if your timing is not spot on perfect with a "correction", you risk the dog associating the pain with the wrong thing. a dog could easily end up thinking "hey, when i see another dog/a stranger/a little kid, i hurt! i hate those things!" eventually, they may catch on to the fact that the one common factor when pain happens is *you*.

you can also mis-time positive reinforcement and end up reinforcing a behavior you don't want, but this is a lot less harmful than the potential fallout from using punishment incorrectly.

never mind that yanking an animal around by the neck just isn't good for them physically.

No, no... I agree that poor timing is bad regardless of the training method, I'm a little iffy on the idea that a poorly timed correction can turn "I want to greet you" into "I want to eat you". Just a tad dramatic, wouldn't you agree?

[groar]

i guess "eat" might be a little extreme; i'm sure it was just used for the rhyme. but "i see jimbo, i pull towards him, and it makes my neck hurt" could easily turn into "i hate jimbo and i'm going to bite him" rather than "i'm not going to pull toward jimbo when i see him anymore".