Martingale Collar

I bought a martingale collar today because I've had about enough of Finn's constant pulling on walks (especially now that he's 9 months, 36 lbs and pulls me around) and I used it a few times and I think I'm ready to return it. Many people recommended the collar for pullers but it had zero effect on Finnigan. He'd sooner pass out from lack of oxygen than stop pulling. The snapping sound of the chain doesn't phase him either which is part of the reason trainers recommend the martingale. I think the next thing to try would be one of the head harnesses (Halti or Gentle Leader). I didn't want to have to use one but nothing else has worked so far and he's so strong the pulling just has to stop!

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Alice on June 27, 2009 at 6:22pm

I hear you on that. There are times when I'm in a big hurry (like when I'm on my lunch break racing home to take him out) and I get very frustrated with his pulling. Sometimes he'll be right about to go potty then a person will walk by and he'll get so excited he'll forget about pottying and pull nonstop towards the person, whining. Once he gets worked up like that he totally ignores me and the fact that he needed to go potty and I have to wait a good 5-10 minutes to calm him back down. It's hard sometimes to be patient and not let yourself get worked up but I do my best. :)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on June 27, 2009 at 6:55pm

Exactly! I was not in any position to always enforce "don't pull" and enforcing a rule some of the time is never good. I would rush home at lunch, take him out to potty and play and eat my own lunch and rush back to work, all within an hour. I could not very well be late back to work and use the excuse "but my dog was pulling."

I actually had done research online and found a trainer who said she always teaches "heel" off-lead because almost always, by the time pup is ready for serious training, it has already developed bad leash habits and simply associates the leash with pulling.

I'm also of the old-school belief that much before a year, serious training won't get you very far. I know that has gone out of fashion a little bit, but before a year we always kept training short and fun. Stays were short, training was mostly in areas with few distractions, and I tolerated a lot of attention-wandering. Jack's desire to pull my arm off and greet all and sundry naturally faded as he moved out of puppy-hood.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Wolff on June 27, 2009 at 10:02pm

See my modified martingale in the FAQ> collar FAQ
Won't do anything about pulling, but lightweight and I like the pullover convenience because our dogs don't wear collars in the house.
Cheetah's advice is sound; watching somebody leash-train a puppy this way is hilarious; they take all day to get nowhere. :-)