Walks are stressing me out!

[russ-g]

Hi,

Walking Stanley is really stressing me out. I've spent weeks trying to train him to walk nicely, and I just don't feel like Im getting anywhere. Some walks are better than others, but even the good ones consist of me constantly trying to keep his attention on me, or more specifically the handful of treats I have to keep feeding him.

What worked for you? I'm currently using a slip lead which seems to have made zero difference to his appetite for pulling like mad. I can get him to heel momentarily, but then he's off again the moment we start moving. I can sometimes get him to focus on me for 5-10 steps, but it never lasts. I've tried repeatedly stopping and waiting, tried walking backwards, tried randomly changing directions, nothing seems to work unless we're in a confined space with no distractions. The moment we're on the pavement, it's a nightmare. I'm starting to worry he's going to hurt his neck or throat.

Since everyone here is a cocker owner, I'd love to hear what worked for you. At my wits end!

Russ

[vixen]

I do think you are expecting too much of young Stanley.  I think you are doing well getting him to walk 10 steps at heel.
I feel the thing that worked for me was relaxing and not expecting my young dog to walk to heel like an obedience dog. You said you are getting stressed and Stanley is probably picking up on that.  I don’t mind if Maisie or Ned walk in front of me as long as they don’t pull and the leads are loose.
My girl is 15 months and my boy near 7 months.  I just stop when the lead goes taunt.  Yes, it is really really tedious and means you can’t be in a hurry to go anywhere     I don’t use treats, their reward is continuing the walk. When I am walking them together I just use ordinary collars and leads but occasionally if walking them separately i will use a slip lead.  The slip lead works better on Maisie than Ned.  It was difficult at first walking them together both on the left of me, but we are getting better. 
I told myself not to get inpatient and just give a year to it.  Yes, a year may seem a long time at the moment, but if you can give them the time, hopefully you will get another 12 plus years of nice lead walking.  You have to be consistent too.  I never let them get away with pulling cos if I do, its like a step backwards.
Dogs are like children, you can’t compare them with others.  You may see another dog of Stanley’s age walking beautifully on the lead and you may despair but they are all different and it’s natural for a working dog to want to follow his nose.  You have probably seen the trainers on YouTube who can get a dog to walk to heel in ten minutes 
I am sure you will get lots of advice from other owners who may do things differently to me, we all have our own methods and what works well for one dog, may not for another.  Just be consistent, don’t stress, don’t expect too much too soon and you will get there.

[bizzylizzy]

I‘m 100 percent with Vixen!!!
Since I joined the group here nearly seven years ago, I think pulling has probably been the most discussed topic because its an issue that ALL cocker owners will have faced at some time or other.
There are loads of youtube videos and training guides  (very rarely featuring cockers I would point out, :lol2 ) and all sorts of training methods and I don’t think there’s anything I didn‘t try.
One day the penny dropped however and I realized that if I changed my expectations and accepted that cockers just aren’t  like a lot of other breeds and stopped trying to fight him, I was more relaxed and Humphrey was less stressed and walks became much less of a struggle.
I‘m not suggesting you don‘t aim to train a relaxed walk but do try and avoid making it an ongoing battle like I did. Keep the training sessions short and be consistent and so you’re setting Stanley up for success rather than frustration. If possible, train for short periods in a low distraction environment and build it up.
But it does take time, - when my first trainer suggested it‘d be 3 years before Humphrey started to calm down, I did think she was joking - she wasn’t! 

[ejp]

Agree with all that has been said previously.  He is just a baby, enjoy the walks and build up a good rapport while doing bits of training.  Walks are for him to enjoy, they are not one big long training class.  that's no fun for either of you.

[sophie.ivy]

Hi Russ, teaching loose lead/heelwork with cockers is certainly a journey...! I walk a pack of 4 and have a working cocker myself and they all have their own little 'quirks' with lead walking!! One of the pack is a very well trained working dog and she's the worst puller of all! Off lead heelwalking is fantastic though.

With my girl, I tried being very strict with walking to heel on a slip lead when she was young, but it wasn't fun for either of us really and it didn't seem to 'click' for her. Then I did the stop/start method and had a bit more success, but no success at all with changing directions as it just seemed to slingshot her round!

The thing that worked in the end was a combination of stopping dead every time she pulled and only moving off again if she was in a heel. We trained heelwalking with really high value treats (that's sausages and cheese for my girl) starting in the house and garden, then short walks, then longer ones. I would get her to walk to heel with a tasty treat placed low and just in front of her nose repeating the word 'heel' and giving her the treat every so often paired with a 'yes' so now she just needs the 'yes' as a reward (although, I do have to get the cheese back out if there's a really good scent around or if she can see one of her friends in the park!)

Now, she loose lead walks (which is absoutely fine for me) and I'll ask her to get back into a heel if she's getting a bit pull-y. It's still a work in progress but I'm pretty happy with her walking on lead and it should get better as she gets older. 

Something else we started doing that helped was asking her to wait when we open the front door, we walk through first then she can follow. We found it helped bring her excitement down a bit and get her to focus on us from the very start of the walk.

I think I put too much pressure on her (and myself) to get her to heelwalk perfectly when she was a pup, but it's really tough for them. I did find a perfect fit harness and 2m lead helped take the edge off the pulling when she was young and helped with her training.

Good luck with your boy - loose lead walking is a tough one, but you're not alone in the struggle!

[phoenix]

Yes , they can pull like a tractor!
I find that all dogs are different. But also WHERE you walk them makes a difference .  On a country lane , just grass verges, they think they are in a field, so they want to wander and sniff. That’s ok with me.
 On a pavement with traffic and people, mine instinctively  stay near me, they are scared.
In a park, on the lead,  they don’t like off lead dogs coming up to them because they cant run, so they won’t walk to heel.   
I find the best way is to walk briskly at a trotting dog speed, to keep them busy enough to not be distracted.  Keep in touch with their brains and talk to them. Eye contact every couple of minutes is excellent and is food reward. If they pull ahead, say their name brightly, and they look round, then say Come, and as soon as they they put a foot towards you say Good Boy, and get them happy for another treat.  A trainer taught me that .
My OH doesn’t connect with my dogs on walks, and wanders along in a dream,two being a pain.   With me , they are ok until other dogs approach, so I turn round and find more passing space drip feeed them treats till it’s all clear.

Are you taking him to training classes?   After a shaky start,  my cocker loved it and being cleverer than the other breeds was the superstar of the Tricks class. They love working their little brains for fun.
My big tip for any training  is eye contact . (Unless you have a foster guide dog, which means  it will fail it’s course).   And have fun!

[russ-g]

Thanks everyone. We have been to training classes and things are heading in the right direction, but it's still a battle. I think I've discovered that taking him for walk before mealtimes is a big no-no. I think mid-morning are mid-afternoon seem to work best.

How many of you are using harnesses vs collars? I've not tried a harness yet because it seems like a faff, but I hear they can help. I wanted to persist with the slip lead until he was a better walker, but I'm open to trying anything which might make the whole thing more enjoyable.

[vixen]

I just use a collar and lead when I take both dogs out together.  Never used a harness.
Occasionally when I take them out on their own I may use a slip lead but prefer the collar and lead for both.
It can be tempting to try lots of different things as they all confess to work miracles but I am far too mean to spend money on trying new devices and the collar and lead work for me.
I have seen plenty of dogs in harnesses who still pull like trains 

[Finvarra]

Dylan pulls like a train if on a collar and lead. I went to classes and finally got,him to,walk to heel, but as we live in the country he is mostly off lead, and very good at recall, so no worries there. But of course he forgets how to,walk,properly on the lead and collar. When I have to,walk him in a street I use a Walk your Dog with Love harness (videos on YouTube). The lead clip is at the front on the chest, so if he pulls forward it turns him round to face me, and he can't progress. Works like a dream. Much prefer it to a collar and lead as it is much kinder. He is a big lad, and could easily pull me over if he's on a collar and lead.
Lesley

[bizzylizzy]

Our trainer suggests using both, - when the harness is on, they learn to walk properly and  when the collar is on, they‘re allowed to relax (or vice versa ) There is logic behind it and theoretically it isn’t a bad idea and  I did try it but I  found it very hard to be consistent, - perhaps for someone more disciplined than me  it may well work.
I can’t say I’ve found a harness  is better or worse than a collar as far as pulling is concerned, but I just hated it when Humphrey’d pulled so hard on his collar he’d be gasping and I expected his eyes to pop at some point so if we‘re in the town, which is where he tends to be over excited by all the smells etc, probably because its such a rare occurence, I use the harness.
Since his surgery last year though, he hasn’t got the power to really pull as most of the time he‘s hopping on three legs and I find myself wishing he still could

[sophie.ivy]

I do mid-morning walks too! If it's too early, the scents from the nighttime creatures are too strong - the 'red mist' descends and I'll have a heck of a time trying to get her to listen to anything I say.

Sounds like you're going in the right direction with everything and battling on!

I was against a harness at first as I always heard it encourages them to pull, but our trainer insisted on her wearing one for recall training so we could attach a long line. Then, she got kennel cough and went into season shortly after so ended up wearing a harness for a good 3/4 months whilst we couldn't let her run without the long line or put pressure on her neck, and I found she pulled less in it. She still pulled, but the edge was taken off. I found the double clip on the neck and back perfect for short heel walking training sessions too. She's in a flat collar now, but I'll still use the harness every now and then when she seems a bit wound up and I predict trouble!

I see dogs pulling like crazy in flat collars, slip leads and harnesses so I think it's all a bit of trail and error and finding what works best for your dog.

[MIN]

it took 3 years at least before gemma decided to toe the line and walk nicely. Even now sometimes she will get into train mode and she is almost 12 now.  We cracked it using a Canny Collar.
   Time and patience is the key, even when you want to smack your head against the wall because the little demon at the end of the lead is just not getting the vibe. it will come together one day

[PennyB]

Am afraid for 2 of mine I resorted to dogmatic collars as they are comfortable, don't ride up or squeeze on the nose or anywhere else if well fitted

[russ-g]

I went and got a harness at the weekend. I think the pulling may have reduced very slightly, but the main thing is I no longer have to worry about his little neck and listening to him nearly choke himself. Walks are much less stressful as a result, and I can always slip on the old slip-lead if I need to exert more control.

Thanks all, we'll stick at it!

[Mudmagnets]

I went and got a harness at the weekend. I think the pulling may have reduced very slightly, but the main thing is I no longer have to worry about his little neck and listening to him nearly choke himself. Walks are much less stressful as a result, and I can always slip on the old slip-lead if I need to exert more control.

Thanks all, we'll stick at it!

Glad you have found a solution, here's to many happy walkies - for both of you.