# Springer spaniel heel training.



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

Hi everyone 

I have the most adorable springer spaniel called Ollie and he's just over 1 yr old now- he's good as gold in the house I've clicker trained him not to jump, toilet training, sitting, lay down you name it he can probably do it! Now my problem lies whenever we step foot out door I've managed to train him so he keeps calm while popping on his harness and lead etc but the moment he goes out for a walk the rule book seems to go out the window! I can't keep him calm to walk sensible on lead he pays no attention to me at all just goes bonkers! My other dog is trained up on a lead and works perfect by my side but Ollie isn't food motivated all he wants to do is go play ball- I've tried to use that to help me train him but nothing I need some advice! Fed up of getting blisters on my hands from a crazy pulling dog 
Thanks x


----------



## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

You could play ball with him in the house to tire him out first, or stop taking a ball on your walks. Once he realises that what he most wants to happen isn't going to, he should be more sensible. Or, as soon as he starts getting wound up, turn round and take him home, then ignore him for a while.


----------



## Cassyj (Sep 26, 2015)

We Googled lead training and tried one that says to turn the other way when they pull on the lead and just keep going it. Treat when they do walk nicely and so far so good we use the word walk to let him know what we want.


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

Cassyj said:


> We Googled lead training and tried one that says to turn the other way when they pull on the lead and just keep going it. Treat when they do walk nicely and so far so good we use the word walk to let him know what we want.


I might have to give this a go he just goes into a complete frenzy when on a lead and pays no attention to anything we say as soon as we get to the field and let him off he's great comes straight back to recall and generally only walks a few paces in front of us x x


----------



## AceOfSpades113 (Dec 1, 2015)

I trained my dog by stopping everytime he started pulling, he would eventually stop and come to stand beside me to start again. At the start it was literally one step stop, one step start, but eventually he learnt that if he walked nice he got to the field faster to get the run he wanted! Another technique is to carry food in your hand and grate it between your fingers (cringe) to give the dog while walking, this is how I was taught to teach Ace at a kennel club training course, I found it very effective but it only worked when I had treats to constantly give him on walks so wasn't good in the long run for the casual walks  Ollie looks stunning by the way, One very beautiful dog you have yourself!


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

AceOfSpades113 said:


> I trained my dog by stopping everytime he started pulling, he would eventually stop and come to stand beside me to start again. At the start it was literally one step stop, one step start, but eventually he learnt that if he walked nice he got to the field faster to get the run he wanted! Another technique is to carry food in your hand and grate it between your fingers (cringe) to give the dog while walking, this is how I was taught to teach Ace at a kennel club training course, I found it very effective but it only worked when I had treats to constantly give him on walks so wasn't good in the long run for the casual walks  Ollie looks stunning by the way, One very beautiful dog you have yourself!


This is exactly how I trained my little puggy but I just can't get Ollie to grasp it- problem is treats don't interest him when he's out on a walk the only thing he cares about is getting to a field so he can run around or play ball (I've tried various ways of using the ball of an incentive but as soon as he sees it he goes wild so it's no use) I've brought a 5ft training lead so hopefully that option works- if not back to square one But thank you he is such a wonderful dog I love him to bits just not loving the aching arms and blisters aha x x


----------



## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Yet again we have methods being dissed due to failure of being taught how to build up duration, how and when to remove food from the hand and failure of execution.

These methods do work, unfotunately it requires skills, knowledge, ability, training and experience by both trainer and trainee. 

The same applies with a toy, it is perfectly feasible to train a dog with a toy.

An ESS is unlikely to be interested in food when out as for them scent is far more important to them than food. They were bred for the purpose.

I would suggest methods but they are unlikely to gain favour with the reader but bear in mind that thousands of ESS are walked successfully to heel every day as pets and also as shooting companions.

Perhaps finding a good trainer might be an option?


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

smokeybear said:


> Yet again we have methods being dissed due to failure of being taught how to build up duration, how and when to remove food from the hand and failure of execution.
> 
> These methods do work, unfotunately it requires skills, knowledge, ability, training and experience by both trainer and trainee.
> 
> ...


Not dissing any method... I've perfectly executed these training methods with my other dog!!!! But thank you for your wonderful input I'll have you know I have some knowledge I am studying a animal training course at the moment so I'm not completely oblivious
I recommend you don't judge all ESS the same Ollie is a very unsociable dog when out on a walk takes no interest in other dogs or animals and doesn't once put his nose down on the ground he's NOT interested in any kind of scent!! So l don't have your typical ESS 
I came in here for advice if your unwilling to give any helpful input I recommend you leave your comments else where I assure you if I had the money available to hire some more help I would but I don't so thanks for that


----------



## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Have you thought about joining a decent local dog training class as they are usually not expensive? A decent instructor would be able to help you with these issues.

In defence of Smokeybear, and other trainers on this site, it's almost impossible to offer useful advice without actually seeing the dog and owner in the flesh. Nobody owns a magic wand I'm afraid.


----------



## Guest (Dec 12, 2015)

Going off what you have posted, it sounds like it's getting to the field and being let off that makes him crazy excited, and you have rewarded him for pulling every single time by taking him to the field and letting him off 

Rewarded behaviors are much harder to undo, and you'll have extinction bursts to deal with, but it is possible.
Honestly? I would teach some impulse control exercises at home and get him to where he understands the rules of "doggy zen". Once he is routinely successful at home, take him to the field, park your butt down (bring a chair if needed) and wait him out. Here is where your extinction bursts might get bad, but just wait him out and see if he can stop long enough to get rewarded. If he can't, pack it up and go back home. The reward of the field becomes contingent on behavior.
This is a *very* simplified version of a much more involved protocol. To do it right and not freak your dog out more, I really recommend working with someone knowledgeable in person who can watch the dog and make sure you're approaching things in a humane and effective way.

The other thing I would work on is teaching him what to do instead of pulling when he hits the end of the leash. Remember dogs have oppositional reflex, and it's not going to occur to him to do anything but pull when the leash gets tight unless you explicitly teach him an alternative. 
Giving in to leash pressure is very easy to teach via clicker training, Emily Larlham (Kikopup) has a good video on it on her youtube channel.


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

Twiggy said:


> Have you thought about joining a decent local dog training class as they are usually not expensive? A decent instructor would be able to help you with these issues.
> 
> In defence of Smokeybear, and other trainers on this site, it's almost impossible to offer useful advice without actually seeing the dog and owner in the flesh. Nobody owns a magic wand I'm afraid.


We attended training classes when he was a young pup think he was about 20 weeks when we started them and went for 3 months solid on his first class a collie bounded right over to him and jumped right into him, he spend the rest of the training sessions hiding behind chairs or cowaring away from the other dogs- this is where his disapproval of other dogs has come from! I don't really know if I feel comfortable reintroducing him to these classes because of how scared he gets. 
I understand trainers need to see the dog and owner to help with any kind of training but there's no help in saying that I lack skill, knowledge, ability, training and experience is just rude when I've perfectly trained 3 other dogs- I'm just struggling with Ollie because I can't find a way of getting his attention when on a walk


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

ouesi said:


> Going off what you have posted, it sounds like it's getting to the field and being let off that makes him crazy excited, and you have rewarded him for pulling every single time by taking him to the field and letting him off
> 
> Rewarded behaviors are much harder to undo, and you'll have extinction bursts to deal with, but it is possible.
> Honestly? I would teach some impulse control exercises at home and get him to where he understands the rules of "doggy zen". Once he is routinely successful at home, take him to the field, park your butt down (bring a chair if needed) and wait him out. Here is where your extinction bursts might get bad, but just wait him out and see if he can stop long enough to get rewarded. If he can't, pack it up and go back home. The reward of the field becomes contingent on behavior.
> ...


I think this is exactly where I've gone wrong I've been walking my dogs separate now for a month to give both of them full attention while he is still learning. My 5ft lead has helped tremendously I've done some training in my garden too with changing direction when he starts to pull this seems to be helping a lot so hopefully and the ball is staying at home for the time being so he knows now that he's not always going to be going to the field to play ball- I've chose different routes to take to the field as well as just walking him around the paths if we go to the field he's still going a little loopy but hopefully the persistance will pay off.


----------



## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Oh dear. That's is why I suggested a 'decent' dog training class; that one clearly wasn't. It always pays to go and observe a class for at least a couple of sessions before deciding whether or not to join.

As Ouesi has already said there is a lot of impulse control exercises you can do with him at home (including using the ball) but you really need an experienced trainer/handler to show you.


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

Twiggy said:


> Oh dear. That's is why I suggested a 'decent' dog training class; that one clearly wasn't. It always pays to go and observe a class for at least a couple of sessions before deciding whether or not to join.
> 
> As Ouesi has already said there is a lot of impulse control exercises you can do with him at home (including using the ball) but you really need an experienced trainer/handler to show you.


To be fair the trainers there were really good and very patient it was the fault of the collie owner who unclipped their leash in recall rather then using the training lead like everyone else was! Just couldn't get this poor dogs attention and it ran riot 
I'll have to have a research on some impulse techniques suitable for him and try them out- if worst comes to worse I'll have to try and save some money for a private trainer I just wanted some advice which didn't result in paying a fortune for decent trainers


----------



## Dogloverlou (Dec 8, 2013)

Have you considered a 1:1 at your home with a reputable trainer if you're not comfortable having him in a class setting? Not all are crazy expensive.

Do you use a harness on him? Might be an idea to look into a no-pull harness in the mean time to help make walking more comfortable for you both.


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

Dogloverlou said:


> Have you considered a 1:1 at your home with a reputable trainer if you're not comfortable having him in a class setting? Not all are crazy expensive.
> 
> Do you use a harness on him? Might be an idea to look into a no-pull harness in the mean time to help make walking more comfortable for you both.


I've had a google but couldn't find any which weren't a crazy price but I will keep looking! Maybe try looking for one just outside where I live see if I have any more luck! He does have a harness I've tried 2 different types on him- when I use my 5ft training lead I only use it on collar because they are generally short sessions in the garden or down my street where there little distraction x


----------



## Guest (Dec 12, 2015)

Rebecca Millington said:


> I've had a google but couldn't find any which weren't a crazy price but I will keep looking! Maybe try looking for one just outside where I live see if I have any more luck! He does have a harness I've tried 2 different types on him- when I use my 5ft training lead I only use it on collar because they are generally short sessions in the garden or down my street where there little distraction x


What type of harness have you tried?
If he's as bad a puller as you say, you really shouldn't be clipping any leash to a collar. There are all sorts of delicate structures in the neck that are easily damaged and can lead to chronic conditions.


----------



## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Rebecca Millington said:


> Not dissing any method... I've perfectly executed these training methods with my other dog!!!! But thank you for your wonderful input I'll have you know I have some knowledge I am studying a animal training course at the moment so I'm not completely oblivious
> I recommend you don't judge all ESS the same Ollie is a very unsociable dog when out on a walk takes no interest in other dogs or animals and doesn't once put his nose down on the ground he's NOT interested in any kind of scent!! So l don't have your typical ESS
> I came in here for advice if your unwilling to give any helpful input I recommend you leave your comments else where I assure you if I had the money available to hire some more help I would but I don't so thanks for that


I suggest you read the thread carefully and note that, unlike here, I did not quote YOUR post in my original one and thus you might have deduced that not all my remarks were aimed at you.

Sigh.

Unlike here.

Congratulations on studying an animal training course however.


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

smokeybear said:


> I suggest you read the thread carefully and note that, unlike here, I did not quote YOUR post in my original one and thus you might have deduced that not all my remarks were aimed at you.
> 
> Sigh.
> 
> ...


You didn't need to quote to come across rude and condescending


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

ouesi said:


> What type of harness have you tried?
> If he's as bad a puller as you say, you really shouldn't be clipping any leash to a collar. There are all sorts of delicate structures in the neck that are easily damaged and can lead to chronic conditions.


His leash only clips onto his collar when I'm training him in the garden which for about 5min bursts and I have his attention very little pulling goes on when he's being trained in the garden only out on walks! 
They are just various types of "anti-pulling" harnesses don't seem to help though


----------



## Guest (Dec 13, 2015)

Rebecca Millington said:


> They are just various types of "anti-pulling" harnesses don't seem to help though


You said you had tried two harnesses, which two did you try?


----------



## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Rebecca Millington said:


> You didn't need to quote to come across rude and condescending


No, I know, it just comes natually to me..................


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

ouesi said:


> You said you had tried two harnesses, which two did you try?


Yes 2 different anti-pull harness' one was just from pets at home that supports the chest and clips to the back and the other was quite similar but has a better chest fitting for him


----------



## Siskin (Nov 13, 2012)

Have you tried a harness that fastens the lead onto the front, on the chest?


----------



## Guest (Dec 13, 2015)

Okay, so I would start with better equipment so that he can’t as easily practice the behavior of pulling (and your arms can get a break). There are many, many different harness designs out there, usually one that clips to the front of the chest is a good option along with training (before he has a chance to habituate to the new harness and pull on that one too). 

Then definitely work on impulse control, not rewarding him for pulling, and an alternative behavior to pulling (giving in to leash pressure).


----------



## Rebecca Millington (Aug 3, 2015)

Siskin said:


> Have you tried a harness that fastens the lead onto the front, on the chest?


No but I was talking to someone earlier and they recommended the halti harness which as far as I know clips to the front so i might have to invest in one of those


----------

