Pulling puppy...

[Sher]

I never realized a 10lb puppy could pull so hard on a leash! She is 5months old and I have had her for about 3 weeks. I have been trying to walk her, but it is really hard. I have COPD and her pulling makes it doubly hard to try to walk her. I have been holding the leash short and right by my side and stopping whenever she starts to pull, but I am stopping every foot or two. Is there anything else I can do to get her to stop pulling? I even thought about one of those "Halti collars" (collar with strap over the nose of dog that stops pulling), but didn't know if they were recommended for small dogs or not. "Lily" is a Yorkie/Maltese mix (Morkie). Any suggestions would be very welcome... Thank you so much!

Lily

 

[Sher]

Geez, no one has any ideas on how to get a 10lb puppy from pulling on his leash??...

 

[Taylor&Me]

If you know she doesn't have to relieve herself, increase your pace and pull gently. But also remember that dogs like to explore. So, if she is done with pee/poop, give her time to explore. My puppy likes to pull because he gets interested in rocks, sticks, anything on the ground. I don't let him explore/play until he is done peeing/pooping. Then, I let him go his way for a while (on a leash, of course). If I'm taking him on a long walk or running, I increase my pace and this eliminates him getting distracted...for most part.

 

[Cheza]

Every time she pulls, stop and do not move until she stops pulling.
Repeat every time she pulls.
It may take you 10 minutes to get somewhere, but it will work. My 7mo puppy is 95lbs, and it works with her.

When she pulls, getting where she wants to go is the reinforcer. By only reinforcing her when she -doesn't- pull, she'll eventually realize that she will get where she wants to go much faster by not pulling.

I wouldn't recommend a halti for a dog that small, but a body harness might be a good idea.

 

[Sher]

Thank you very much. I guess stopping every foot is what I have to do...she seems to be a very strong-willed puppy. Gonna take some strong-willed training.

 

[paterson3713]

You can also change directions. If she goes ahead of you and start pulling quickly turn and walk the other way. She will get a nice yank of the leash and realize she needs to go where you go. If you do this enough, she should start focusing more attention on you so she knows where you are going and won't get that awful yank.

 

[girlbuffalo1]

Changing directions or stopping often can work. Also with Wrigley it seemed to help a lot when we got him a harness and not just a collar--that way if we pull him back first off it doesn't hurt him like it may on the neck and also we have my control over him--after a few times of getting nowhere--he now does fine as long as he has his harness on