lurcher won't stop pulling

[Bullhunter 1]

I've just got a new bull cross I'm piling the muscle onto him but he won't stop pulling and when he's coursed he takes his time roaming the hedge rows before coming back

[woz 260]

The dogs more interested in the hedge than you....need to do " drive and focus" work with him..if he's into food use that.if he like toys do it that way....again with the pulling go back to basic training..look on youtube for reward or marker training.it works well..coimpulsion training does work but you'll get better faster results with reward based

[Dan McDonough 560]

When your in the field you make do with what you have. One thing that has always worked for me is to break off a thin branch with some very small branches near the end (kind of like a big fly-swatter). When the dog gets ahead of your legs give him a swat across the muzzle. Keep on him and make sure you always win. It may be on the first day, it may be on the thrid, it may take longer than that but that dog of yours will eventually give in and accept that he's not going to be doing the leading. Be patient and don't get mad, eventually it will go the way you want. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[woz 260]

When your in the field you make do with what you have. One thing that has always worked for me is to break off a thin branch with some very small branches near the end (kind of like a big fly-swatter). When the dog gets ahead of your legs give him a swat across the muzzle. Keep on him and make sure you always win. It may be on the first day, it may be on the thrid, it may take longer than that but that dog of yours will eventually give in and accept that he's not going to be doing the leading. Be patient and don't get mad, eventually it will go the way you want. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Cool system....would you demo that on my dogs think they would learn aloto

[scothunter 12,609]

oh i dont think mine would tolerate getting swatted over the face.

i found the bull x to be a bit of a c**t for pulling aswell.all i did was stop its walk dead in its tracks.suppose you have to keep stopping every five mins.worked for mine,as for not coming back to you,back to basicson his recall.this is the first bullx i have owned,and yes i see a vast diffrence in that cross from what im used to.great dog btw,just need to be put that wee bit more into them,headstrong in my expierence.i wouldnt go swatting it on the face though mate no need it will come right if you put in the time. bestof luck

[skycat 6,173]

The dog has to learn that it must walk to heel on the lead: not easy with a very driven dog at all. Practice walking the dog to heel on the lead before you ever go anywhere where there is stuff to chase or loads of scent. Start off down your road: and walk backwards and forwards, turning every 100 metres or so. The dog will get so bored with going nowhere that it will start to listen to you: he'll be saying to himself: hey, what is happening? Why are we going nowhere? He'll start to look to you to see what you are going to do next.

But you must teach him 'heel'. Before you start walking, say 'heel', give a little jerk on the lead. If he wears a wide collar, put a slip lead over his head as well: a thin rope slip lead is ideal: dogs like him feel comfortable pulling into a wide collar, but not so comfortable pulling against a think rope lead. Keep his attention on you! Remind him to 'heel' every time he pulls. Horse riders learn to keep their horses under control by 'feeling' the bit in the horse's mouth all the time. Don't ever let the lead go tight. Each time it goes tight, stop dead, little jerk on the lead: say HEEL again. Never let the dog start pulling in one continuous pull. Flex your wrist as you walk the dog, keep 'feeling' the dog on the end of the lead. I'll say it again: each time he pulls, stop dead, say 'HEEL', then march on. Walk fast, keep talking to the dog, keep his interest. Make him focus on you: either with a biscuit, or a toy. Don't forget to praise him when he looks at you.

 

NOTE: this will take weeks to master. If the dog has gotten into the habit of pulling expect it to take much longer for him to learn not to pull than it did for him to learn to pull, if you see what I mean. Takes longer to put a good habit in place once a bad habit has taken hold.

 

If this method doesn't work try a Halti; headcollar for dogs. Of course you won't be able to use this when working him but it could well help to break the habit whilst you are training him. Spend at least 15 minutes every day on training: every day! And keep it up for months and months and months. You don't say how old the dog is, but from the sounds of it he is under or around a year old? And don't forget, you can't expect him to walk without pulling until you have his interest and attention: you have to be the most important thing around, which is why it is pointless trying to make him walk nicely if there are more exciting thing around to hunt.

[hutch6 550]

Your dog pulls for one reason and one reason only - it wants to get to something as quickly as possible.

 

If you allow the pulling and go along with the dog pulling, the dogs gets to what it wants on it's own terms so is rewarded for pulling. This makes the dog pull harder.

 

There is a £20 note nailed to a fence 50yards away from you. You can't get to it because you are tied to a heavy tire unless you pull. You pull that tyre with all of your mite and get the reward of the £20.

Now you are tied to something that will not move unless you are at the side of it, the £20 note is 400yards away and you have 20mins to get to it - plenty of time. If you pull on the lead or get too far in front the object locks down and will not move no matter how much you pull.

Once you stop pulling and go back to the contraption it delivers a £1 coin to you and allows you to move towards the £20 note.

 

Now the £20 note is 400yards away, you are tied to the same contraption but you only have 8mins to get to it. The contraption will lock down completely unless you are at the side of it at all times.

 

Now you have been trained to walk to heel to get your reward. That is what you do with your dog.

 

IF they pull then stop. Lock the lead down - don't pull them back, and wait. You may get stuck like that for a while to begin with as the dog is used to pulling to get it's reward. The lead will be tight because the dog is pulling against you. After a while the dog will work out "Well my neck is hurting, I am not getting to where I want to get to so what's the point in pulling?" It will either take a few steps back, sit or lay down. "Good dog!" - throw it a treat and verbally praise. It has worked out that it will get no where by pulling.

 

Do this a few times but then start to withhold the treat until the dog expectantly wonders why it hasn't got a treat so makes it way back to you after stopping pulling. "Good dog! - treat and praise verbally or physically if the dog is close to you.

 

You can start with a full lead out, half your lead length or hardly any lead at all but every time the dog has pulled and you have stopped you must wait for the dog to work out it isn't going anywhere or it won't get what you are trying to achieve as fast. Every time you want to set off walking again then work your way up the lead to the dog until you are beside it. Then give your instruction to walk on whatever you want.

 

Only use your "Heel" (choose whatever word you want. I use "Slowly") command when the dog is in the position you want it to be. No point saying heel only for the dog to belt to the end of the leash and start pulling again.

 

You may find that your dog will pull towards the target for a bit but then come back to you instead of just taking the tension off the line. If so then that is a bonus as it eliminates a few steps and a fare bit of time.

 

Only reward a slack lead and any lead tension means you stop and ignore.

 

Takes a few sessions but you have a dog that realises there is no point pulling for anything as it won't get the reward it wants on it's own terms.

[baw 4,360]

I've just got a new bull cross I'm piling the muscle onto him but he won't stop pulling and when he's coursed he takes his time roaming the hedge rows before coming back

 

Skycat has gave you good advice mate. Something I've noted is you say it's a new dog. The dog hasn't bonded with you yet. Spend as much time with it as possible and do what skycat said. Once you've mastered walking it, get it out as much as possible, you'll find it'll stop hunting up for itself. You got to put a lot of time into dogs to get them right. The more they get walked the better they are. The more they are out hunting the better they are. Reap what you sow.

[paulus 26]

i had a 3/8 5/8 bitch that was very well behaved would walk to heal the lot, however when out lamping she turned into banshee on the end of the slip as soon as the lamp was on she would be pulling your arm off doing sumersaults untill you released the slip, not good when it weighed 80lb`s welcome to the world of the bull cross

[trigger2 3,137]

I've just got a new bull cross I'm piling the muscle onto him but he won't stop pulling and when he's coursed he takes his time roaming the hedge rows before coming back

work it hard. should stop it pulling

[gnipper 6,426]

i had a 3/8 5/8 bitch that was very well behaved would walk to heal the lot, however when out lamping she turned into banshee on the end of the slip as soon as the lamp was on she would be pulling your arm off doing sumersaults untill you released the slip, not good when it weighed 80lb`s welcome to the world of the bull cross

As soon as my dog hears the filter coming off he wants to go wether he's attached to me or not

[Bosun11 537]

i had a 3/8 5/8 bitch that was very well behaved would walk to heal the lot, however when out lamping she turned into banshee on the end of the slip as soon as the lamp was on she would be pulling your arm off doing sumersaults untill you released the slip, not good when it weighed 80lb`s welcome to the world of the bull cross

As soon as my dog hears the filter coming off he wants to go wether he's attached to me or not

Mine too...

[whippet 99 2,613]

shoot it and get another one.............

[Chid 6,495]

i had a 3/8 5/8 bitch that was very well behaved would walk to heal the lot, however when out lamping she turned into banshee on the end of the slip as soon as the lamp was on she would be pulling your arm off doing sumersaults untill you released the slip, not good when it weighed 80lb`s welcome to the world of the bull cross

As soon as my dog hears the filter coming off he wants to go wether he's attached to me or not

Mine too...

mine aswell

[Bullhunter 1]

Never realised I would get as much help on this subject. Can I add that this only seems to happen when he's walking with other dogs.when its just me and him he's fine. And asoon as I put the lamp on. His ears are he pulls and then focuses. But if I'm behind some one with the lamp. He pulls to get up in front.