How do I get him to walk politely on a leash?

[KELLIC]

My 5-month old Siberian Husky puppy does walk on a leash.

He doesn't go for walks often, since walks will not satisfy his exercise needs. We have a very large backyard that he enjoys doing laps around. We bring him to this wooded park sometimes on the weekends, and I have walked him around the neighborhood a few times.

Only this last time through the woods was he able to walk without plopping his fuzzy little butt down on the ground to take a break his companions were not in on. However, he does not walk 'politely.'

By politely, I mean loose leash, walking either at my side or slightly behind me. He enjoys playing the leader, so I shorten the leash and hold him to my side - but oh, how he pulls. But I make him stay at my side, because that is where I want him. My dad always reprimands me for having him on a 'tight leash' and so he takes the leash. We usually use a regular 6' chain leash with a chain choker that is a good 10" too long for him, but we got a retractable leash so he can play in the river, since.. I think he's part fish. But anyway, yeah. He lets my puppy walk about five feet to the side and out front. That is as close as my puppy will get without pulling like a mad beast.

How exactly can I make him stay NEAR me without being pissy about it? I'd rather like to show my dad that my puppy does not need to keep the choker on when he is walked. Huskies have sensitive throats, I have read, and I'd personally like to buy my puppy a harness instead, but.. My dad will not buy one. My old guy, also a husky, chewed through three, so my dad thinks harnesses must be a terrible option.

He doesn't listen when I say Cy is not our old guy and will likely behave differently.

What do I do? ><
My aunt uses the Gentle Leader on her monster Lab (or is he a horse? nobody knows) and I was interested since when my aunt explained it, it sounded like a halter. Sure enough, they were just little horse halters for dogs. I thought they were cool, I was totally for getting one. My dad thought they were silly. Then again, I also liked the martingale collar, but my dad thought that was stupid as well.

As you can see, the only thing preventing me from getting away from the damn choker is my dad. I hate using it on a 5 month old puppy when it's completely unnecessary. Mind you, he sees no problem with the pulling, as long as he's walking forward. ...
He is our only dog, and we don't walk with friends that have dogs. He just feels he needs to get in front of us, the humans.

[nellephant_1]

there is no reason you can't use a harness to "check" your dog in the same manner you use a choker. I walk my boy on a harness and he has learnt quite quickly to deal with the loose leash through this method.

Also, if pup continuously pulls in one direction it is a good idea to turn and walk him in the opposite direction - then he will learn that by pulling he does not get to where he wants to go...

[letterstoheather]

Hi.. there are halters designed to help with your problem. They are called Sensi-ble halters, and i have listed the website below. You can buy them at retailers or directly from the website.

Choke collars only hurt the dog and from my experience, don't do much when it comes to leash training... however the harness i'm suggesting has really helped me with my own dog, and with my friend's 7 month old husky pup, too!

The leash hooks to these halters in the front, so when you tug on the dog, the halter causes you to pull the dog's entire upper body section, not his neck. So, you have more control, even with a strong dog.

You might also try group obedience classes for your dog. Sometimes the local SPCA has them available.

It's something to look into. I know huskies are strong-willed dogs and need a lot of activity. but they are adorable too! Good luck with yours.

[pgnprincess1212]

You don't need a choker or a shock collar. I am going to recommend to you a thing called "The Gentle Leader" You can buy it at Petsmart.

I have a 5 y/o Golden that pulls our 12 y/o across the yard on his stomache and with this he can walk him with ease. Read below for how it works. If you have any questions email me and I will help. This is the best way to walk a puller....I kid you not it worked with in minutes on our 5 y/o Golden and his 17 wk old pup.

[DM]

First loose the choker, that's not not going to do anything but choke the dog and loose the retractable leash, thoughs are the worst things ever invented and should never be used on dogs not trained on a regular leash first. They encourage the dog to lead the walk and pull you down the street. Get yourself a regular inexpensive leash and collar.

You might want to try walking him by himself not with the other dogs until he learns hes not to pull. Hes always gonna try to get ahead of the other dogs if he doesn't learn he suppose to follow you.

Keep his leash loose but very short and when you walk, walk tall with your hands behind you. This way you can keep him behind you and he cant get in front of you or to your side even. When he sticks his nose or head out from behind you block him, by stopping and moving in front of him.

Eventually he'll learn that if he want to see in front of you or be next to you he has to not pull and walk at your pace.

When he does finally settle down after a few blocks "or in a huskys case a mile" you can reward him with a treat when hes walking nicely.

Also stop occasionally and tell him to sit when he does reward him. You can keep a treat in your hand when trying to keep him behindcyou as he'll focus on the treat and not so much on trying to lead the walk. If he starts to get out of control you can tap him gently on his butt with your foot, this will make him stop as he wont be expecting it and eventually he'll learn from your body language to stop without you making contact. Once he has slowed down with the pulling, you should introduce a command like "slow". When he comes to the end of the leash and it gets tight to were hes pulling now stop and say "slow". Then let him go agian till he gets to the end again. Then stop and say "slow". Repeat until he realizes that if he wants to keep walking he has to slow down when he feels the slack in the leash tightening. If hes not getting it, reel in the leash and start over with him behind you.

My dog I can walk with a 30 ft leash and when he comes to the end of the leash, I don't have to say anything anymore, he just stops and waits for me to get to him or for me to give the command to go on. Just takes lots of practice. Goodluck