Looking for dog training books or video. Mainly I want him to walk on leash without pulling a lot.
You don’t necessarily need a book for one training issue. Here is the commonly recommended method for teaching good leash walking:
Caveat: as with any dog training, your patience is mandatory, but as the dog learns, it will get better.
Start out with a few training sessions before you set out for a walk, just to help yourself maintain patience with this and not feel compelled to actually be walking somewhere. Because the first few sessions are repetitions of this:
- Start with a sit or stand calmly at your side, slack leash.
- Move forward. The instant the dog pulls forward to put tension on the leash, stop. Bring him back to a calm heel by your side if he doesn’t do it by himself.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 several times but keep the first few sessions relatively short in duration so you both don’t get frustrated or irritated. Praise and treat him at the end of the sessions because he’s a good boy who is learning things.
For the next few sessions, you move forward and if the dog puts tension on the leash, you stop, turn around and walk in the opposite direction. When he starts pulling you in that direction, stop and turn around and go back again. This teaches him that you are the one who decides when and were you go. Again, keep the sessions short to avoid frustration. Praise and treat him at the end of the sessions because he’s a good, patient boy. Always end training sessions on a positive note.
Another good technique is to have a pocketful of treats. Start walking and when the dog starts to pull, call his name and give him a treat when he stops to look at you. This teaches him to always have his attention on you and not be distracted by everything else. I recommend doing this one after he’s already fairly good at the other two things.
A training class can be invaluable, even for an experienced dog owner.
The best overall dog-raising books I know are those by the New Skete monks that raise German Shepherds. How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend, and the more specific The Art of Raising a Puppy.
But even a community class with a good teacher is better.
Treats, treats, treats. But just pulling the dog back into heel can be counterproductive.
I use “walk with me” and use my left hand to hold the leash close while treating the dog with my right. The idea is to do it copiously at first, then slower and slower until you are only occasionally reaching over to feed another treat. (Use small ones!)
A key technique is the “walk around” - if the dog goes ahead, circle around to the right until you are back to where s/he started to pull, then continue. The idea is that the dog can’t get anywhere while pulling or going ahead. It can take many minutes to get across a yard this way at first - but it reinforces the idea of “heel” or “walk with me” in a way the dog can understand.
http://leerburg.com/ is a good resource.
If you need help at the beginning, get a head halter-style collar. Then, once the dog is listening and walking well, treat, treat, treat.