When someone submits an appointment there are several questions for them to answer. By far, about 90% say that their primary issue is that their dog pulls on the leash. Often to the point where they are other family members have been injured. When asked about what they have been using to walk their dog it is usually about 50/50 flat collar or harness. There are a few choke/prong collars thrown in. When it comes to prong collars often people don’t want to admit to using them.
Your dog cannot pull you unless you are pulling them. It’s all about yours and the dog’s anatomy. The only difference between the harness and the other collars is that the harness does not choke the dog, what it does do however is “harness” all the dogs pulling power. When they walk in front of you on a collar and you pull back you are putting pressure on their throat. Not only does can this injure them it causes them to look and pull directly away from you and towards whatever has their attention. The same thing is true with a harness but it is not in a position to injure the throat. The foundation of all dog training is getting the dog to focus on you, using a flat collar or harness does the exact opposite. Until you get a dog walking on a loose leash there is no sense in working on anything else. A teacher is not very effective in the back of the room.
Clients always say that their dog is too strong for them, and so are horses. That is why both animals have to be handled with technique and strength. Within minutes they go from their dog pulling them down the street to the smallest person walking the biggest dogs on a loose leash using one finger. That is the level of control you need to have. You can look at our site and Facebook and see people walking two to three dogs at one time on loose leashes that were unable to walk even one beforehand. What allows us to do this with any dog in just minutes is a combination of our no look/talk technique and the Immediate Correction Collars which corrects the dog only on the side of the neck which is like tapping them on the shoulder to get their focus back on you no matter the distraction. An Immediate Correction Lead is included in every Love & Leadership In-Home training session. The Silent Loose Lead Walk changes the entire relationship between dog and handler. It teaches you to speak dog. The number one-way dogs communicate with each other is movement. Relaxed, fluid movement, not tension and pulling.