Problem

[shawn1982]

I have a 14 month gsp. Hes a great dog and has almost all the obediance training down. BUT, when i take him out in the field he just goes.. before I know it hes 200 yds in front of me. Even when we take him on walks with a leash on he literally will pull my arm right off. I CANNOT get him to heel. Obviously this will be a big problem when we go hunting. Any suggestions???

[Ufatz]

Well Shawn, he clearly does NOT have "all the obedience down" as you suggest, if you cannot even control him on a leash!! Sounds like he's going to be a great dog but you GOTTA get control! Go to basics: sit and stay. Have him sit at heel next to you. Take a couple steps with him on the leash but keep the leash tight etc. If you don't solve this now it's gonna be a nightmare first time you take the dog hunting and you are gonna lose some friends.

Go back to basics. Break out the books if you have some. Get some personal guidance but get control. Now.

What would life be without dogs eh??

[jeffreyd]

one thing that helped me with my lab is when i was walking on lease with him if he started to pull i would change directions. So as soon as he started to walk ahead turn around, also having a pinch collar helped as it slips and makes a noise but does not choke him out. after a few times of changing direction he got the idea that we are going to do it my way.

[hanson]

Yeah... back to Basic Obedience 101.

My Lab pup constantly pulling on the leash is what got me into obedience school when he was little. I then learned I had a lot to learn.

Anyway, choke chain or a prong collar will now be your friend. Guess I'd go with the prong collar as it has more "bite", or it will give a better correction. I used the choke chain a long time with my Lab but the results were pretty incredible after switching to the prong collar, he learned to tolerate the choke chain.

When your dog gets out of the heel position, command heel and give the leash a yank. The change direction approach works well but its the same approach; dog gets out of the heel position, you head the other way, command heel, and give the leash a yank. He'll figure out that being next to your side is the safe place to be. You should also practice figure 8s, 180 degree turns, etc to get the dog watching you for direction.

You gotta get control of him on leash before taking the next steps.