# Is 3 months to young?



## thatsrich85 (Jun 30, 2012)

Just wondered if 3 months is too young for prong collar training?

The issue is pulling when on walks/potty breaks. Or when he sees a stranger. Sometimes hes fine, doesnt even care theres a person. He walks beside me. Other times we will be walking along and he will just dart at nothing full speed ahead. 

Or be constantly pulling to get to a stranger. Never does it for another dog or squirrel. For them he just sits beside me like trained. 

People are impossible to avoid as we live in a building with. Tons of dogs. And everyone wants a pet.

So is this to early to prong train. I used this on Sierra and it was extremely effective.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Yes.. too young. Wait until at least 6 months before you even think about using a prong. 

Try a no pull harness if you need something, but you really need to work on his training. Work on focus and heeling.


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## thatsrich85 (Jun 30, 2012)

Thank you. A no pull harness is the ones that control the head, correct?

And I am working on those aspects. But as I mentioned with so many distractions its quite difficult.


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

thatsrich85 said:


> Thank you. A no pull harness is the ones that control the head, correct?
> 
> And I am working on those aspects. But as I mentioned with so many distractions its quite difficult.


A no pull harness is a harness that goes on the dog and has the ring in the front (not on top). It will prevent your pup from pulling.
There are a couple of brands, The Sensation Harness and the Freedom harness. I like the Sensation harness.
The gentle leader is the head halter It will alslo work, but is not my preference.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

A no pull harness has a clip on the front chest area. You're thinking of a Halti, that's the one that goes on the head. I'd never use one myself, and I waited until my puppy was 5 months old before I started with the prong. Your puppy is too young, IMO.


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## thatsrich85 (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks guys. Ill look for a no pull harness. 

I'm great at training dogs, I've just never had a puppy before. I usually adopt. And they including Sierra have all been at least 6 months old. So a baby is a whole new ball game.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Your pup is just a baby. Everything in it's world is new and exciting. Don't expect perfection. Allow him to explore & learn. A prong is a correctional tool. If your pup doesn't know how to behave, you certainly can't correct him for a behavior. 

I highly suggest getting into a puppy class. They really are a great tool for you as well as the pup. Expecially with socialization.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

thatsrich85 said:


> Thank you. A no pull harness is the ones that control the head, correct?


That's a halti or gentle leader. Not a fan of those, but they work for some people. I'd try the no pull harness first.


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## thatsrich85 (Jun 30, 2012)

Went to Petsmart® tonight and got a no pull harness. He doesn't seem to see a difference between it and his old one just being on him. So we'll see later tonight how he walks with it.

Thanks everyone¡


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## Vettahof (Oct 17, 2012)

Agree with the others, 3 months is too young for a prong collar. Wait until at least 6 months.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

This is the perfect time to teach him what you DO want, so why don't you start training polite leash skills? Corrections for doing what you DON'T want can come later.


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

You have a 3 month old pup (so this pup has been on this earth 12 weeks) and you're wanting to use correction already? I think the main issue is, the pup doesn't know what you want. You can't expect behavior that you haven't taught. Use the flat collar and leash. Use treats and LOTS of verbal praise. TEACH what you want to see. REWARD for what you want to see. Get as much focus on you as you can with a 3 month old.. which, honestly, is going to be fleeting. Catch that, reward it! What does your pup really really like? Grim has a thing for sticks. I can get him anywhere I want him to be with a lure of a stick. No leash..flat collar. When he comes along, I PRAISE! :wild: I can get his attention back to me simply by showing him a stick. Find out what YOUR pup will work for. Use praise LIBERALLY and OFTEN! Reward, reward, reward! If you want to correct, use a word... like "ah, ah!" It should get the attention back to you. Tonight Grim was all excited to get his biscuit to go to his kennel. I started NILF today. I asked him to sit. He sat. I used verbal praise. I told him to 'down' and he started looking for the cookie. I said "ah, ah!" which I have NEVER said to him before, and his head shot up and he looked at me. "What do you want?" was the look. I told him "down" and he did. He got BIG verbal praise AND praise for looking to me for direction. He got his cookie and his kennel. This is the age that you shape, and you mold, and you TEACH. You cannot correct what you haven't taught. It's confusing to the pup, and it's not needed. I recommend seeing a trainer. That trainer can help you to train your dog. Any trainer that wants to use correction for things not yet taught (especially on a pup that age) you should get rid of. This is the 'easy' age. The rough stuff is yet to come, so you need to find what your pup will work for and use that to your advantage to lay a foundation.


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

As Jag explained your pup is still a baby - take her advice on how to train your pup. With the harness, use a regular long leash not an exender leash. When your pup pulls, just stop. Don't pull, don't jerk. When the pup turns to you, quick go in the other direction - make it a game for the pup to chase you - give a treat when the pup approaches you. Keep the walks short - some of the pulling is because the pup gets overtired. When my Sting was a pup,(I used a flat collar and a long leash) I would carry sticks, balls, and when he would pull - I would toss a ball in another direction - just a little ahead - he would go after it, and break that pulling cycle. I didn't know about the harness then, but he was a big pup, and I wished I had. I use one on him now, the WalkInSync. There website does have some puppy training tips. Also just take time to sit on a bench and let your pup explore and enjoy watching him. Everything is so new to puppies, and they are fun to watch.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i don't believe in usuing a device where training
is needed.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I think puppies are perplexing to many people. Generally, if you work on gaining her attention with great rewards BEFORE she keys in on the other target, you will get past this. The youngster really wanted to bite moving tires as an 8 to 16 week old pup. Now a fire engine can race past with scarcely any notice. I did it by having her sit and look at me to earn a pretty high quality snack.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> i don't believe in usuing a device where training
> is needed.


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Head halters, no-pull harnesses, prong collars, choke chains and e-collars are management tools and do not teach. 
I use a martingale collar from regular nylon web material, a six foot leather leash along with clicker training and intense socialization.This has always worked well as the motivation to do it right comes from inside the dog not because we impose our will on them.
I can hear the Alpha and leadership issues being questioned here but that happens throughout the dog's daily life as I control his most valuable resources like food, access to toys, freedom, playtime etc.
If you have problems with a 3 month old pup regarding the pulling you would greatly benefit from a good obedience class. Check out APDT.com for a positive training class in your area.


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

This getting really interesting and educational. The OP has the difficulty that his pup lunges/pulls when seeing someone. I can understand the difficulty. My pup at 3 months weighed 40 lbs. (well, I did ask for the friendliest pup in the litter - that he was, and twice as big as his littermates, which I didn't find out after he arrived and I fell in love with him). I have a fenced in backyard, so potty breaks, were no problem. The socialization walks with my bold, friendly pup who didn't want that treat no matter how yummy when he spotted what he did want to go after were something else. He wore a flat collar and attached to a 12ft. leash and when he would lunge, it was hard to hold him. That's why I would distract him - with a ball or sticks tossed in the other direction which he would chase after. When I look back, I don't think when he would hit the end of that leash - that it was good for his neck. Yes, it would have been ideal to use a plain harness - but I would have still had the difficutly in holding him. So, that why, I would have wanted to use the walkinsync harness with the training method for puppies. That type of harness doesn't hurt him - but if he had pulled that leash out of my hand and dashed into the street - a car would have.


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## pkhoury (Jun 4, 2011)

thatsrich85 said:


> Thanks guys. Ill look for a no pull harness.
> 
> I'm great at training dogs, I've just never had a puppy before. I usually adopt. And they including Sierra have all been at least 6 months old. So a baby is a whole new ball game.


I'm glad this is a recent thread. I'm skimming through, because I'm in the same boat as thatsrich85. Aero is 7.5 yo, and the new puppy, Maximilian, is only 3 mo. His problem is tangling the lead around my legs sometimes, but Aero gets excited and doesn't help either.

What does everyone think about leads designed for two dogs?


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Train focus and attention and engage him. I have a 13 week old pup that will pull occasionally and be stubborn, but I always have treats/toys on me and I call him back with a come and treat, we start over. It should NOT be so bad that young that it warrants a prong collar, just train him NOW.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I agree with people saying use some type of no-pull harness WHILE you are working on training.... for a puppy it's better to manage with the harness while working on the training.

Plus, I REALLY recommend you find some great puppy classes to start up with. Best way to start and continue training in an appropriate manner during the first year.

aw:


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## pkhoury (Jun 4, 2011)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> I agree with people saying use some type of no-pull harness WHILE you are working on training.... for a puppy it's better to manage with the harness while working on the training.
> 
> Plus, I REALLY recommend you find some great puppy classes to start up with. Best way to start and continue training in an appropriate manner during the first year.
> 
> aw:


Any suggestion on where to get puppy classes? I know the chain stores like Petsmart and Petco have classes, but they're too generic, and I've already seen the results - you have puppies that can do cute tricks, but still think they're the pack leader at home.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

You can do a trainer search here: Dog Trainer Search

There should be lots of place to take classes in your area!


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## pkhoury (Jun 4, 2011)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> You can do a trainer search here: Dog Trainer Search
> 
> There should be lots of place to take classes in your area!


Thanks. Only one trainer in my area actually, but I sent them an email. Now you're going to call me a hypocrite, because I didn't factor in the cost of classes, but I hope it's affordable; I'm already in debt paying for my own classes.


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