My 9 year old German Shepherd?

Have you tried any training collars?

You could try a "gentle leader" head collar. A head collar works just like a halter on a horse. Makes it so if the dog pulls, it turns him around.

Keep in mind though, be GENTLE when using this product. There have been cases of dogs having their necks broken by owners pulling hard on the leash when wearing this collar.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productI...

A pinch/prong collar may also be an option for you. Some people think they're awful and hurt the dog, they really don't. When I show these to clients, I have them put it around their bare arm and give it a good tug, no pain, just causes some discomfort for the dog when they pull.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productI...

A gentle leader helps but wont solve the problem, just band aid it. Also, using a harness only adds to the dogs natural need to pull and work so unless hes already behaved thats no good either. Training collars only work on dogs that are bothered by the tightening, not all dogs are. Get a leash that is long enough that you can tie it around your waist and it can still be attached to him and hang loose. Then YOU walk. Change directions, go around obstacles, run one way and suddenly go the other. It will force him to pay attention to you and will reinforce that its YOUR walk, not his. Dont wait for him to follow, expect him to. If you want to delve deeper, dont let him go through doors first, make him do something (sit for example) and wait for food or treats or to come out a door. Hes pulling because he doesnt know you are in charge, he thinks he is. If you do this stuff daily you will start to notice him paying more attention to you and less to everything else. Also, if you are walking a straight line and he pulls pull him back to you in one quick move, when the leash slackens praise him. This stuff will work, it wont hurt him and will give you both excercise and time to bond. But it will take consistancy just like with a kid and you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Good luck!

First of all, you are not a bad owner because you are asking for help and you are walking him 3 times a day ( I wish more people would exercise their dogs like you do). These tricks will make your walking experience more enjoyable.

When he is pulling, hold the leash firmly with both hands close to your center and keep your hands there while you are turning abruptly around, and start walking briskly in the other direction (gaining leverage). This sudden quick thrust will get him of balance and he will lose his pull and will be now following you. When he catches up with you and starts pulling again,repeat the procedure. Soon he will wait for you to walk first and will he stay close to you to avoid this pressure on his neck. Now, you will be leading him. The beginning of this exercise will be probably hard for you because he has developed very strong neck muscles by pulling. This is why you don't focus on your strength but on your quick turn and keeping both hands on the leash close to your center, to get him out of his momentum.

Good luck!

It's a rank order problem with your dog.

He's pulling on the leash because he thinks he is the leader of the pack, so he has the right to walk before you.

A properly trained dog will walk besides you, not in front of you, and especially not pulling on the leash.

So what you should do is take over control of your household. Let your dog know that you're the leader, the Alpha dog of the pack.

What kind of leash do you use? Many dog trainer recommends using a short leash with a chain on the end. But if your dog is pulling so hard, you could try a flexi-leash. It will at least give you some buffer if he pulls.

if you want to training your dog on your own, I'd suggest you http://onlinedogtraining.enle.info/?aD4z

I would say that positive training is going to become even more popular than it is now!

For me, (in a perfect world) I would love to see a middle ground! I would like for dog training to become “settled” once and for all!

Purely positive training and dominance/alpha training are BOTH extremes. Neither side gets along well with the other. I can tell you right now that BOTH sides are not going to go away without a fight. There’ll ALWAYS be people standing by their chosen side no matter what.

Here is how I categorize dog training.

There are the alpha/dominance old school/traditional dog training people and the positive reinforcement dog training people.

I’ve found that the alpha/dominance old school/traditional dog training people are extremely close minded and set in their ways. They scoff at ANY and ALL positive reinforcement training. They believe that corrections all the time with a quick pat on the head as praise is the way to train a dog. They tend to be OBSESSED to the point of just borderline crazy (just my opinion) with corrections and being the pack leader. Now, I’m not saying ALL traditional trainers do this, but some of them use physical abuse as “training.” Some trainers, hit, slap, punch, spank, alpha roll, pinch, strangle, and the most popular hang their dogs as discipline. This is considered animal abuse to me and I WILL NEVER do that to my dog. To be blunt, these people are very hard to be around (I personally despise them) and I definitely would not want to associate myself with them. The end.

I much prefer the positive reinforcement people. These people really care about building a relationship with their dogs and training them in a humane way. Positive reinforcement includes training with clickers (clicker training) treats, praise and toys. The only thing that most positive reinforcement trainers DO NOT advocate are the use of tools like choke collars and prong collars. This bothers me a bit because I've seen with my own eyes that these tools do not cause pain or harm to the dog when used properly. Notice how I didn’t mention shock collars because in my opinion, this tool does NOT go under positive reinforcement. How can it? You can’t change the fact that you’re still issuing an electric current to your dog.

My dog has a prong collar and I do issue corrections when necessary but those corrections do not hurt her in any way. This is the only place where I differ from the positive reinforcement dog trainers.

I’ve found a middle ground between the two methods. I LOVE all aspects of positive reinforcement training and that’s how I mostly train by but I also use corrections.

I hope this all makes sense lol!

In order to find a middle ground or balance in the dog training world, PEOPLE will have to open their minds and change. People definitely don't take to change kindly, so it will take years for the perfect balance to be found. That's sad because I know a couple of people have already found it including me. We'll just have to wait for the other slow pokes to catch up and swallow their prides.

"he has done it since he was a pup" - because you never taught hi it wasn't the right thing to do.

You need to be more firm with correction when he does something you do not like. He pulls you, b.c he seems himself as being the one in charge, not you.

Well I would first invest in a gentle leader. They are amazing, and have some one show you how to put it on properly and use it. In the long run start working with heal with the gentle leader. Over time you should not need the gentle leader anymore and your dog will heal with a regular collar.

Prong collar.

They're not as mean as they look, just a slight pinch.

I find it to be a very helpful tool.

You can find them at your local pet store, or petsmart.

the best way to leash train your dog is to get a harness. and if that doesn't work a last resort is to use a mussel leash which will work no matter what, but it can be streesing for a dog

let him know that you're the boss and you need to yank on the leash when he does this, when you yank, it should make him stop. bring a couple treats so when he stops u can try to train that way