Help! My sheepie is pulling me on the leash!
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| Enroll her in obedience class (positive reinforcement) ASAP! She's at the age where she will really need it - especially with a young child in the family!
In terms of walking better on a leash - you can try a Halti collar and/or a Gentle Leader - they seem to work well with dogs that pull. They need to fit right - so be sure to have someone fit it properly. I wouldn't resort to the Prong collar until all other options have been exhausted. Good Luck! Kristen |
| Boo is now in level 2 obedience school. He is great about coming/sitting..., but when we are out and he wants to go, we are having a really hard time. So the trainer asked about a prong collar, but wondered about it tangling the fur. She said he needs something. We will see!!! |
| nobody here will suggest a prong collar, but in some cases they have fast results, i wouldnt worry about fur tangling, it shouldnt be too bad since the sheepie fur is pretty fine.
i'd say check other resources for unbiased info on prong collars. |
| http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=1285&highlight=prong+collar
There was a detailed discussion on the prong collar. There is some research needed to use it properly, but a lot of people have had great success with it. Stormi and co. |
ed wrote: nobody here will suggest a prong collar, but in some cases they have fast results, i wouldnt worry about fur tangling, it shouldnt be too bad since the sheepie fur is pretty fine.
i'd say check other resources for unbiased info on prong collars. That's not true Ed! Alot of people use the prong collar and would recommend it - and I'm not saying anything against it! I would just try something less drastic first - like the Halti or Gentle Leader. |
| Hi- We used a prong/pinch collar on our sheepie-mix with very good results... she had a very dominant, alpha personality. Our vet recommened it when she dragged us in for an appointment years ago. It can be a very dangerous thing not being able to control a 70+ pound dog... it's dangerous for the dog, the handler and the public. Unbelievably, all it took were a few of corrections and a few reminders before she was walking nicely at our side. Do some research on prong collars to see what the professionals say before you use it. Personally, I would only use it as a last resort. Never use it for punishment... only as a correction if he pulls on his leash. Only put it on when you will be walking him... do not leave it on him.
We now have to full sheepies and are using the Halti. We don't want to go back to the prong collar unless there are absolutely no other options. The Halti directs their heads so they pull much less. It can be a little irritating to them at first (my 4 tried to paw it off) but be persistant. Please let us know how you do. |
| Hi Boo, I have used the prong collar with great success on all 3 of my sheepie dogs. I read that you are in obedience class, having a trainer that knows how to use this collar is excellent. It is not mean and cruel to use. It is not meant for a puppy or a dog with a buzz cut. We are now using a regular flat collar for walks and to hold Oreo's ID. |
| I trained my Bosse with a simple but quite effective trick - every time he pulled I stood still and started moving only when he had calmed down. It was very tiring at first and the walks took a lot more time than they usually did, but in a couple of weeks the pulling problem was almost history. I say almost, because there are still some critical moments (mainly cats, seagulls or other dogs) when he wants to pull, but I try to foresee them and tell him to quiet down BEFORE he starts pulling. If he does, he'll get a treat. The collar we have is a regular one. Of course this trick is more difficult to teach if you have a toddler pulling you to another direction. And, of course it is only effective when all the people who walk with Boo use the same method. |
| I have an almost 95 pound mass of muscle OES and I tried all of the other options-gentle leader etc., but I fell on my butt so many times I decided to try the prong collar. It works really well. He still tries to pull, but I use the heal command and the prong reinforces if he tries to drag me. It can get caught a bit in the fur, but I would rather lose some fur than break my leg. The most important thing is to know how to use it properly and never leave your pup unattended with it on. |
| Chelsea is a big time puller- we just started obedience class and the instructor is recommending a new harness that is on the market, but only sold in limited places, I'll find out what it's called and then let you know how it works, we are going to purchase one and check it out. According to the trainer he recommends it because it is designed based on dog physics. According to him there is no place for the dog to go but up or down when you hold the dog in place using this halter, becuse they can't go up (gravity) they simply stay in place-
SOUNDS A LITTLE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE....... But for $15 worth a try- also on the prong collar- if you are nervous about using it - just remember, it's a tool, it is supposed to be used and then 'graduated' out of. Also - I have an 'awful' story I feel I should share becuse I am GUILTY. We were discussing collars at training class and the trainer told a story of a dog who strangled himself becuse his owner used a 'choke' collar as a regular collar. The poor animal jumped at a bird or something in the back yard and ended up hooking the collar on the fence. He died before his owner could get to him. Maybe I am the only one who didn't know, but I used to leave the choke collar on Penelope (sheepie #1) all the time, even with her regular collar, mercifully nothing ever happened. So, just passing it along, eww, sorry kind of a downer. ANYWAY - I will let you know how this halter/harness gizmo works -IF it works. Up. |
| I would also say to leave the prong collar as a very last resource.
We used the gentle leader with Lennon and it worked great, but it had a few disadvantages, like the little dangling thing it has... Lennon chewed on it and later found a way out of the harness. We trainded him first with one of those retractable leashes and it works great, he feels less restricted and you have more control over him, with a longer leash he tends to pull less. A trainer reccomended us a choke collar and taught us the correct way to use. It's done wonders for Lennon and Sofi and now they can go out for a walk and will not pull at all. The problem comes when we take them out together, but we're working on that. The idea of stop and go has worked well for other people, but for us, the gentle leader and the choke collar were the best, just make shure you learn the proper way to use them so they become tools and not punisment.... And NEVER, EVER Leave it on unsupervised. Good Luck! |
| So we bought the new harness gizmo recommended by our trainer. It is called a "SENSE-ation" harness, and I have no idea how to get one, aside form my trainer, but I will find out. The good news is that it DOES work.
We have 100% more control over Chelsea, we went to "Sheepiefest" today here in Illinois, and we had very little trouble with her 'pulling' on the leash, she was absolutely grounded. She didn't seem to mind it either, we left it on all day at the park and she was great on the leash, we had so much more leverage. We took it off when time on the leash was done, the trainer said she could easily chew through it left to her own devices. But so far on the walks it's GREAT. It's a leverage issue and we are no longer 'choking' her to get her attention. Let me know if you need more info and I will start asking more questions. Up. p.s. - it was $25 not $15- but still worth it! |
| Hi Uppetybup,
I have a sense-ation too, and am finding it does help--see my post on general chit chat, i was wondering how many oes ..., page 3. I have listed the website there. Good luck and let me know how it is working for you. While its not cheap, $25 is nothing compared to the skinned knees, hands, and brusied bum i have suffered ....  |
| My 5 month old pulls like crazy. I've tried the stop, until he calms down trick. It doesn't help when we're out in public. I found that the only way to get him not to pull during our walk was to jog right along with him. lol
anyway, I was hoping he would grow out of this, that the pulling came with his "puppy curiosity" but from what I've been reading, I don't think he'll outgrow it. anyway Can you tell me where I could get that $25 leash you mentioned? I'd like to try it THANK YOU!! |
| http://www.softouchconcepts.com/products.html |
| Henry's Mom-
Thanks for listing the link - I've had no time to help like I promised  - I really like the harness for Chelsea, sorry I misquoted $15 earlier- we did pay $25, the trainer 'fitted' it for us, we went with a medium.
Update on the leash pulling - WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD on leash pulling as I have a bad back, and we are begining to see some progress- marginal - but progress. I've been using positive reinforcement- treats and praise. I hold the treat at my knee to get her attention and we only move forward when she allows slack on the leash. We do a lot of starting and stopping, A LOT, and we even go back to the begining and start over. I'm happy to report on the walk yesterday we actually went almost 25 feet with consistent loose leash- and then it was over. 
Up. |
| The trainer at Benny's obedience classes suggested putting the dog on a long lead (10 ft or more). Start to walk leaving slack on the lead. When the dog starts to walk away from you give a tug to get their attention. When they start to walk towards you, you then change your direction. If they don't follow, give another tug. Continue doing this until they follow you when you change your direction. It seems to work well, at least on the dogs in our class, including a very large mastiff pup. |
| Thanks for all of your insight. I decided to go with the prong collar, only during training, and it worked instantly. I am so pumped! |
| Hello! All! I have done OES RSQ for over twenty years, and I guess that I am just too used to getting into Rescue the 10 year olds who can barely move...not to mention my old 15 year old who I took from the Miami Pound in '95, "Kermit"...then lo and behold, last week I Rescued and placed (Thankfully!) 2 very young OES's: 1 = 11 mons and 1 = 2 year old. Boy were they ever REALLY Strong! Whew!...'Bout yanked my arm off! LOL! What is it they say...Youth...too bad that it is wasted on the young! LOL! But, the two year old has issues...He has been in over 8 homes in his brief two years and he seems to have had SO many issues...No motorcycles, no children ( unfortunately has a bite record with childrene...ugg) Has anyone had an experience like this one with this 2 year old with all of the issues? Oh but the Sheepies are SO wonderully sweet! Real cupcakes! Luv, Worden Willis 954-821-SAVE = 7283 |
| Worden,
Welcome! There have been quite a few problem youngins' in NEOESR - and they require alot of rehab and patience! Aggression has become increasingly common - most likely due to poor breeding practices. 8 homes in 2 years - the poor dog! No wonder why he has so many problems! The best thing you can do is try and build his confidence. I'm sure you've been involved with Grannie Annie before - maybe she can offer some guidance and advice. Kristen |
Welcome worden... 
I noticed your sig makes mention of italian spinones as well... such an interesting breed they are! Similar a little to sheepies in appearance, but I have heard there are some serious cerebral issues, genetic health problems like cerebellar ataxia etc... do you know much about this? |
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