Okay to Pull?

[MandyPug]

Rant...

So this is one of my pet peeves in general, but mostly with Pug people.

Since when is it okay to have your dog pull your arm socket out just because it's on a harness?

I get slaughtered by die hard pug people (and a lot of small dog owners in general) because i walk Izzie on a collar. Somehow just by attaching a leash to her collar her trachea is going to collapse despite the fact she NEVER pulls and is a master at loose leash walking.

But that's the thing... She's TRAINED to walk nicely, just like i believe all dogs should be... But a lot of Pug people i meet and even some small dog owners in general use the excuse of pulling collapsing the trachea to use a harness and not bother training "because they can't collapse their trachea in a harness".

Is it that they don't know how to train them?
Do they just think it's cute because the "tiny dog wants to be a sled dog!"?
Do they just not care enough to bother training their dog at all?

It bothers me to have a member of the breed that's highly trained (and two that at least have manners) and then having reputations tarnished by other members of the breed that just don't give a crap enough to train their dog to even walk properly "coz it's cute and they can't do anything".

... End Rant.

 

[Laurelin]

I don't even own a harness, which we've discussed before here. I walk mine on flat buckle collars and leashes. Both mine walk on a loose lead just fine.

 

[~Jessie~]

I use harnesses with my chis, but I won't stand for pulling. They all loose leash walk.

 

[2pups622]

I use harnesses with my chis, but I won't stand for pulling. They all loose leash walk.

Same here.

 

[LilahRoot]

Root pulls like a-you know what. I can get him to loose leash walk when there are no distractions, but put another dog in the mix and he would hang himself. He is leash reactive. If we were just walking along with no leash on he would be fine. SO I use a harness since I have no desire to see him hang himself on a collar.

I'm not trying to make excuses for everyone out there, but this is my excuse with Root. It is really hard to get him out of it. He just goes nuts when he is attached to a leash.

 

[smkie]

Not in my book. Ever.

 

[milos_mommy]

It's because if it's not causing a huge problem for the owner (even if the dog is dragging itself up into the face of a leashed, well behaved, highly DA dog), then they don't want to be bothered. The same reason they don't teach their dogs not to jump on people or growl if you try and move them off the couch. They're little, therefore they don't need to be trained or follow rules.

 

[Fran101]

I have a harness for Romeo. that sure as heck doesn't mean he is allowed to pull. He walks nicely and was trained just like any other dog I've had, collar or no.

 

[colliewog]

I think there are 2 factors involved here. (1) they think their dogs are too fragile to even have a collar TOUCH their neck and (2) they don't bother to train them. You can walk nicely on a harness without pulling just like you do on a collar.

I've trained small dogs for many years, but just recently am a small dog owner (15 lbs dogs). I switch between collars and harnesses, depending upon my mood (and even the collars are both buckle and martingale, so I must REALLY be evil). But they are trained not to pull, so it doesn't matter what the leash is attached to.

 

[Maxy24]

I don't think a lot of people bother training small dogs not to pull because they don't need to. The dog is not strong enough to actually move the human so they don't care. To be honest I don't see the problem with it, if the person doesn't care and it doesn't affect me (dog can't pull owner to others or their dogs) then what's the big deal? Would I train my small dog not to pull? Yes! but that is because I adore training and would love to have my future dog be a therapy dog so pulling would not look great. But I don't plan on owning a small dog anyways.

As far as collar vs. Harness, if the dog doesn't pull then there is nothing wrong with the collar. Phoebe doesn't really pull but she does already have a collapsing trachea and any pressure causes her to gag, so when she is at the end of the leash sniffing a telephone poll if she does strain at the leash at all she gags. Plus I do like that with a harness I can pull the dog (say to drag him away from something) without feeling bad about yanking on their neck. I also like how with a harness I have control over the dog's entire core, not just his head/neck. So I personally like harnesses but couldn't possibly care less whether or not other people's dogs wear collars or harnesses.

 

[elegy]

i try to make the distinction with my own dogs that collar = no pulling, harness = ok to pull. but mostly they're just morons on leashes in general. i am lazy and don't care that much and am therefore not consistent enough in requiring a loose leash to get it reliably.

there are times when i want my dogs to pull in harness.

 

[Deathcricket]

Rant...

So this is one of my pet peeves in general, but mostly with Pug people.

Since when is it okay to have your dog pull your arm socket out just because it's on a harness?

I get slaughtered by die hard pug people (and a lot of small dog owners in general) because i walk Izzie on a collar. Somehow just by attaching a leash to her collar her trachea is going to collapse despite the fact she NEVER pulls and is a master at loose leash walking.

But that's the thing... She's TRAINED to walk nicely, just like i believe all dogs should be... But a lot of Pug people i meet and even some small dog owners in general use the excuse of pulling collapsing the trachea to use a harness and not bother training "because they can't collapse their trachea in a harness".

Is it that they don't know how to train them?
Do they just think it's cute because the "tiny dog wants to be a sled dog!"?
Do they just not care enough to bother training their dog at all?

It bothers me to have a member of the breed that's highly trained (and two that at least have manners) and then having reputations tarnished by other members of the breed that just don't give a crap enough to train their dog to even walk properly "coz it's cute and they can't do anything".

... End Rant.

Good rant! Not specifically for Pugs but small dogs in general would be my rant also. The worst trained dogs I ever see are Chiawawa'a (spelled wrong I'm sure) and it seems people think this little tiny dog wanting to bite your face off is "cute"... Makes me sick! Just because your dog is small and can't do damage doesn't mean you should let it be a little monster. The incessant barking also bothers me.. Grrrrrr...

All dogs should be well trained and respectful regardless of size. It's the owners responsibility.

 

[Blue_Dog]

Not training your small breed dogs seems popular. Not people on here I mean, but just about everybody else. :/

 

[Fran101]

as for pulling.

I dont see training chis (or other small/tiny dogs) not to pull as the biggest deal in the world. they cant pull the person anywhere... sooo its the owners problem if they don't mind a little tension on the leash. which is basically what it feels like when most chis pull lol I dont see how it affects anybody else enough to really bother anybody all that much.
barking/lunging.. ya I get that. thats a pain to be around

but I could care less if someones small dog is pulling them, that is entirely their problem. I dont feel like that dog is gonna pull the person over to me or my dog.. so whatever lol

and it is..
C H I H U A H U A

 

[Southpaw]

I can actually kind of understand it. Certain behaviors are just not that big of a deal when it is a small dog. It has taken a LONG time and a LOT of effort to get Juno's LLW to where it is now (and it's certainly still not where I want it to be). If she were smaller and having her pull was not uncomfortable, and not difficult to handle? I probably would have quit the training a long time ago. Lucy has always been perfect at heeling but if she would have been a puller I probably wouldn't have fixed it.

IMO if the owner is okay with the behavior and it's not harming anyone else, then they shouldn't have to modify it. It's like jumping up too. I don't care if Lucy jumps, she's small enough you barely notice it. With Juno, jumping up was nipped in the bud as soon as she came through these doors.

 

[MandyPug]

It's more of the fact that i've been yelled at on other forums for walking a pug on a collar, and i've had people stop me at the park and scream at me for "abusing my dog by walking it on a collar" as they either complain about their dogs that pull on the forums or have their dog at the end of the flexi lead jumping against the end of the leash.

So basically i just have to stand there and go "okaaaay, her trachea is just going to deflate because she doesn't pull on a collar... riiiiight"

 

[Saeleofu]

My dogs are trained to pull when they're in harness...or rather, when I'm holding the harness. However, that doesn't mean to pull as hard as they want - a gently pull is what I want, anything more is not tolerated. Their collars are for loose leash walking.

 

[corgipower]

My dogs are trained to not pull, and trained to LLW and formal heel when asked to.

When not under command, they are allowed out to the end of the leash. Not to where they're pulling, but there is enough pressure on their neck that if they had collapsing trachea it could be a problem.

As for pugs, most of the ones I see have a neck wider than their head and need a harness for that reason.

 

[Deathcricket]

as for pulling.

I dont see training chis (or other small/tiny dogs) not to pull as the biggest deal in the world. they cant pull the person anywhere... sooo its the owners problem if they don't mind a little tension on the leash. which is basically what it feels like when most chis pull lol I dont see how it affects anybody else enough to really bother anybody all that much.
barking/lunging.. ya I get that. thats a pain to be around

but I could care less if someones small dog is pulling them, that is entirely their problem. I dont feel like that dog is gonna pull the person over to me or my dog.. so whatever lol

and it is..
C H I H U A H U A

If I cared enough to spell check I would have, thanks.

A dog pulling on the leash means it's taking you where it wants to go. It may not be a big deal to you, but it's a big deal to them (the dog). It means that you (the leash holder) are submissive to your dog and subject to it's whims. Letting a dog have this kind of attitude causes lots of other problems. Whether the dog is large or small is irrelevant. But small dogs get away with it because they are " so cute" and this is not immediately obvious to a lot of people. You need to be the boss, you need to take your dog for a walk, not let it take you for a walk. watch the dog whisperer (Cesar Millan) and the crap he fixes just by teaching people how to properly walk their pets.

Someone letting their dog pull them says "Hi I'm a weak, lazy, submissive person and this dog owns me" IMO. :rofl1:

Edit: No offense to the person who "trains" their dog to pull in a harness. Completely different situation and NOT to be confused with my point of "letting" their dog pull them around. Some of the best trained hunting dogs do the exact same thing. But IMO it's very easy to spot the difference. Hopefully I'm not misquoted, hehe.

 

[AllieMackie]

watch the dog whisperer (Cesar Millan) and the crap he fixes just by teaching people how to properly walk their pets.

Someone letting their dog pull them says "Hi I'm a weak, lazy, submissive person and this dog owns me" IMO. :rofl1:

There goes any respect anyone on this board will have for your opinion, TBH.

I highly, highly suggest you research Cesar Milan in more depth and realize the archaic, punishing methods he uses on dogs do not work.