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Comment by CaptainCorgi on April 24, 2008 at 8:56pm

Lol! Charlie, your comment made me laugh out loud! I to admit I felt sort of silly standing and stopping with Eowyn for 45 mins while my sis and her dog marched on ahead. Welcome to the life of a Corgi owner right? =P

Comment by Charlie on April 24, 2008 at 8:41pm

The older you get, the less you worry about looking like a nut to the neighbors. Or maybe, we just all turn into nuts as we age. LOL I did feel kind of silly standing in my front yard with Charlie one day when the neighbor came home. We weren't moving. Just standing there like statues. Charlie had the leash pulled tight, so I wasn't going to budge until he did. We were: "A Woman and Her Dog" Lawn Art. The next day, the same neighbor saw us walking in a repetitive very small circle in the front yard. Maybe he thought I lost my contact lens. : - )

Comment by NoClaws4Alarm on April 24, 2008 at 8:22pm

I've had to opt for the "stop and wait" technique with Rolo. If I changed direction every time he pulled (like TV trainers recommend) my neighbors would think I've gone off my nut.

"Hey, look at that weird corgi lady across the street! Her dog's taught her to walk in circles!"

I swear it was easier teaching my Doberman and my Belgian Shepherd to walk at heel. Something about having their head at hip height lets you keep the dog under control better. With my Dobe, I'd have him on lead, but my hand was also looped in this collar. It was like leading a horse!

Because Corgi's are so short, you have to give them more of the leash and BOY do they take advantage if you let them!

Comment by CaptainCorgi on April 24, 2008 at 7:00pm

I had the same exact problem with Eowyn. She use to pull on the leash so hard, she'd gag. Or she use to hop a lot on her back legs, totally embarrassed me. But, with consistant training, everyday walking, she's gotten a lot better. Everytime she pulled on the lead, I stopped and made her sit there until she calmed down. Then start walking again, and when she pulled I stopped again and made her sit. When she got older, I introduced to her a slight tug on the leash upwards everytime she pulled. Not hard, just firm and quick. (The leash was always up on her neck. Never on the strongest part of her neck which is the bottom) She responded very well to that and started pulling less and less. And I gave her a verbal warning to. I said 'No!' or 'Stop!' in a firm tone, not to scare her, but to warn her. Now she walks very good on a leash, she still pulls when excited, but once I correct her, she behaves well. But mind, It's taken a very long time of daily training, a year and a half of daily training. Now she walks very good on and off leash. She waits at every curb and I make sure the coast is clear then tell her 'over' and she walks across the road nicely. She's not perfect and still needs some work, but patience and consistency is definetaly the key.

But, she is a lot better. Just the other day I took her down to Town Square where it is PACKED with people walking about and doing their business. She did very well! I was proud of her. She wanted to see other people, but I just said 'no.' and she kept walking. She even sat patiently outside the AppleMac store with my twin while people walked back and forth in front of her like a parade!

Just keep working at it and don't get down or angry with him and I'm sure he'll do good! Good luck!

Comment by Karen & Bailey on April 24, 2008 at 5:45pm

and i should add yes Bailey acts the same way towards people in public. he just wants to greet and say hi to everyone and expects everyone to stop and pet him. im working on getting him to sit before anyone can pet him, so he knows he must sit before he gets to meet anyone. its hard. he just gets so excited and i see the nub going crazy! =)

Comment by Karen & Bailey on April 24, 2008 at 5:42pm

Bailey currently doesn't pull (hard) - but he bites on his leash like its a game of tug of war! I've asked friends and they've advised that it works just to stop. when they stop and sit then you start walking again -repeat and repeat. Right now - I'm leash training him in the house before we go out and give him treats for sitting when i stop, and walking on my left without pulling. then we go outside, if he starts to bite his leash, pull hard, etc, then i pick him up (hes still small enough to do this) and bring him back insidde. i did this two days straight. yesterday i took him into the front yard to go potty, and just walked a couple houses up and back down. he was so good. he tried to weave a couple of times - but i can tell hes getting it.anyone have any tips on the leash biting??????

Comment by Charlie on April 24, 2008 at 5:13pm

You're doing the right things except for ever letting him pull you one step in the direction that he wants to go. Stopping and making him sit and wait, or turning and walking the opposite direction from him are effective techniques. Giving up and letting him pull you one step forward tells him that if he pulls hard enough or long enough, you will give in and let him pull. So the bad habit gets worse every time.

Think about your walk in terms of "time for the walk", not "distance for the walk" until he learns. In fact make it "time for leash training" and take the word "walk" out of the equation until he doesn't pull. If you have one hour set aside to "walk", put the leash on and stand steady in one spot if he pulls. Don't move until the leash is slack. Yes, even if you have to stand in one spot for the entire hour. When Lance comes toward you, creating slack in the leash, say "Good!", start walking and keep on unless he pulls the leash tight. You may only get one single step, and then have to wait several more minutes. (Same thing if you prefer walking in a different direction. Walk the other way until he catches up to you with slack in the lead, and not pulling ahead.)

Once a dog has been taught "to pull", it takes a lot longer to teach them not to pull. Trust me, I know. I lost focus and slowly "taught" Charlie to pull over about two months, and it took almost two months after that to get him walking right. We didn't get out of the backyard for two weeks, out the front yard for another week, and off the block for another week. Just when I thought I had "ruined him for life", a lightbulb went off in his head and he figured out that we moved when the leash was loose, and that we did not move with it tight. We are back to walking about 3.5 miles a day now. It's always darkest before the dawn, right?

Anyway, don't feel bad or give up. If loose leash walking were easy, there wouldn't be 50 million gadgets and gizmos manufactured as training aids. You don't need any of those gadgets...just determination not to ever let Lance take a step if the leash is tight. Also expect it to take a considerable number of weeks. The more consistent you are, the faster he will learn. The more you let him pull, the more time.

Good luck! You can do it!

Comment by Stephen on April 24, 2008 at 4:52pm

I've tried everything with Tiki...little luck..sometimes she is fine...other times she just constantly pulls. Pet training class told us the stand still trick...in other words, stop moving when the dog pulls. When the leash goes slack, then start moving again...problem is, the walks turn into very long events. I tried one of the head halters but I need to choose a different brand...the one I got had a strap that went near her mouth...with 2 walks she was able to get the strap in her mouth and chew it until it was destroyed...she is a powerful chewer. From what I understand, a harness is good in that the dog's neck is not injured, but harnesses were designed for animalsto pull more weight...they do not stop pulling. Also, I do not believe a retractable leash does much. In my case I think the real issue is 2 things...1 - Tiki is much better at walking if she is calm first..if excited then she pulls...wanting to see another person or dog. 2 - Tiki is a real smart Corgi...so she only sometimes sees me as the boss. Proper training has the dog focused on its master so it stops when you stop...in my case, we started with good intentions on the training but real life gets in the way...needing to walk her before I go to work means sometimes the walk just needs to get done...and, as long as I keep walking her regardless of the pulling I am only rewarding her for pulling. So it is a real tough thing...it can be corrected but I think with a lot of training. Initially a head halter may work becuase when they pull their head turns and it does not hurt the dog like a choker collar...but even head halters are meant to be training tools...so again...training seems to be the key

Comment by Geri & Sidney on April 24, 2008 at 4:51pm

I think that nylon/chain hybrid collar is called a Martingale collar.

Comment by Geri & Sidney on April 24, 2008 at 4:50pm

Have you taken an obedience class? They are really good at teaching "walk nice" if you are not keen on having them walk at heel. Sid used to be like a kite on a string when we first got him, but now he walks really well. My daughter is his primary trainer and she had to very firm with him and correct him often, and also use favorite treats when he did walk well.

They recommend against a harness, saying it just encourages them to pull harder since they will then lead with their chest and shoulders. We do use a harness on our old man corgi mix because he has a very thick neck and narrow head and can pull out of his collar with ease, but he does not pull on the leash.
You might have to try different types of collars to see which one he responds to. For SId we use a nylon collar that has a partial choke chain.

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