I did exactly what you described and it worked like a charm for our Berner pup. Huge improvements after only one session, she stopped pulling and paid attention to me after just 3 or 4 repetitions. We'll keep practicing but this is already very encouraging progress. EDIT: On our second training session she didn't pull even once, she stayed right with me the entire walk. These videos are so helpful, thank you so much!
Our Berner is 10 months old now. At 7.5 months, she yanked me off my feet and it took several weeks to heal. So I just took her outside after watching your video a couple times. She always starts our walk by grabbing the leash and pulling and bouncing. Following your tutorial, that behavior stopped quickly and so did the pulling. We still have a lot of work to do, but I am thrilled with the results so quickly. She is a happy, outgoing dog that loves to meet new people and dogs. We have a long way to go before we can expect this behavior in public, but thank you, thank you, thank you for this video!
You are most welcome. It does take time and patience but teaching this behavior, and adding a word to it (get in, or here, or place) allows your dog to understand what you are asking of them on a walk. If we don't train them what we want, they do what works, which is usually pulling.
Thank you so much for this video! I have a 16mo old male Berner. We went out the same day I watched this and it works like a charm. I was really struggling on how to teach this to him. Still working on it but its enjoyable now ! Next is free stacking!
This is fabulous! It goes inline with how we have been training our Taigo to “leave it”. Just worked with him out back and he is picking up on it immediately! He is 65+ lbs and only 4 1/2 months so learning not to pull is vital!!
Thank you this is helpful. We have our first Berner who is 7 months old and over 70 pounds. He’s been pulling as we walk, definitely will try your suggestions.
It is a super common issue. It is good to work with them in the house or backyard first to get them understanding what you are asking then slowly work on more stimulating environments.
Thanks for this Stacy, starting to see improvements with our Agnes at 8 months. We are tending to find that everything is going smoothly walking in the park or along the pavement (UK!), but then something happens and she flips and starts charging around and jumping around at us, sometimes when we reach a gradient. We try to use a firm "No", but this sometimes seems to encourage her more! Distractions work most of the time, but it's so random when this happens, it's hard to identify a trigger. We sometimes refer to them as the "pre-poo-zoomies", but it's not always before toilet time!
Is she fearful? A reprimand will drive her away from you as you have found if she is worried as you are not helping to make her feel safe. Food and communicating that you have it all under control and she will be fine with confidence, will help her move away from the issue. It could also be a sound too.
Hi Stacy, great videos. I'm in Moldova and have a beautiful 18-mo.-old girl from Ukraine. She is wonderful in the house and yard but extremely fearful to leave the yard and will physically not walk on the lead unless I heavily coax her to get her started. I am using a harness because I'm afraid to lose control of her (she bucked out of one once and ran home). She is fine off the lead if I drive her to a nearby greenbelt. I like your point about not setting them up for failure but I hope one day I could take her for walks in town. Can you do a video on tips for working with the fears Berners sometimes exhibit?
I am sorry your girl is fearful. It is really hard when dealing with fear, you never was to perpetuate it and drive them further into their fear. With maturity she should get a bit better and I recommend a martingale collar she can't slip out of, but if the harness is working, do that. She likely feels trapped and lacks control of her environment int he neighborhood. I would spend time sitting with her in your front yard with treats watching the world go by. After a few months, try to move to the road and stay there until she is comfortable. She may never enjoy it, but you can try. Just don't force, you won't get anywhere.
Hi Stacy, these tips have worked really well to train our 3yo Bernese to stop pulling while on the leash. Can you provide any insight or videos into how you were able to train Chase to basically walk at your hip and continually give you visual attention during while waking? Keep up the good work!
I am glad this works! Chase is 5 years old and has many obedience and draft titles. She knows what I want when we are walking, however don't be fooled, she can also pull me to something she wants too! It's a life long commitment to training and communicating with your dog. :)
Hi Stacy, how do you fit the Mes Amis limited slip collar? I just got one for my 11 month old and it sounds like it cuts off his airway if he pulls hard on a walk.... Do I have it on wrong??
Yes, you have it on wrong if it is the limited slip. Feel free to email me a pic and I can help you. You likely need to move how you put it over his head.
Hi Stacy! Great video love your channel. Just curious what your opinion is when it comes to the gentle leader? My friend has a bernedoodle and she uses a gentle leader to prevent her dog from pulling.
I think it depends on the dog. As long as it isn't hurting their neck and straining the muscles too much one way. I have found that my dogs can't sniff and enjoy our walks with the gentle leader.
Love this session! Our boy is 8 months old and about 40kgs/89 pounds. I have been looking at the MesAmis limited slip collar online, but Im having difficulty in deciding what correct size collar to purchase. The measurements are in inches, we in Australia use Centimetres. Are you able to help me please?
My family just got a bern from Ohio. I like your videos very much, but my question is, doesn't this teach the dog to always be looking for treats and get annoying? thanks for any feedback. we love our bern.
Would you rather your dog pull and not give a care about you, or always looking to you for direction and a reward. When they are older, you don't have to reward them every time, verbal rewards work well, but only after you have established that you reward for good behavior, every time. It is not annoying to have your dog try to please you to get a treat, what is annoying is having a dog who doesn't listen and ignores you. :)
Hi Stacey, another great video! A couple of questions. Firstly, how do you feel about letting them sniff and pee on trees etc as we go? At the moment I don't mind as he enjoys it so much, and unless he pulls me to it I let him go right ahead. (If he pulls, I stop him and make sure we move past it without a sniff.) Secondly, any tips on walking two dogs together? (Or another video? :) :) ) My boys are 90% good on their own, but together they are 90% bad! They pull and compete with each other to be in front, sniff things, etc.! I'd love some advice on this.
Yes! I let them enjoy the environment as long as I don't get pulled to it :) My theory is if two dogs together can't be appropriate then it is best to walk them separate and not give them a chance to practice bad behavior.
@@SitStaywithStacySlade Thanks :) I've been a lot stricter with them the last couple of days and this morning they were really good together. Your methods definitely work, thank you again. :D
I am north of Seattle. I recommend going to the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Seattle website for their list of reputable breeders. Feel free to email me as well. There are many non-reputable breeders and scams here right now, so it is worth being very careful.
Hi Stacy! ı'm following all your videos excitedly; thank you for these valuable infos! My female bernese is 4m1w old and she attacks me as well as the leash every time we attempt to walk outside. What do you recommend? thanks in advance for your reply. Best wishes!
I would start moving and get her attention going forward and not to you. She has a lot of energy and excitement and needs to GOOOOO! :) Have treats to focus her on those and not the leash. You can work on heeling, so she is focuses on the food (use as a lure). I will be doing a video on this soon.
What size of collar do you use from that website for your adult dogs? My Bernese pups neck is 16 inches at 4 months. I'd like to get one but don't want her out growing it in a month!
Hi Stacy, Our 10 month old Berner has started lying down in the middle of walks. Up until a few weeks ago he was comfortably walking 45 minutes with no stopping. I feel like the weather warming up has something to do with it. Do you have any tips on preventing him lying down? I cannot tell if he is genuinely tired, or if he just wants to do his own thing! Thank you
So, a few questions, do you walk every day? Does he like going on walks? Does he limp or exhibit any pain? Do you change up your route? Do you have treats on you?
@@SitStaywithStacySlade Thanks Stacy for your response -Yes, we do walk every day. We do a morning and evening walk, usually for 40-45 minutes. He always gets excited for walks too -No, he is perfectly healthy and does not show any sign of injury -We have 4 or 5 different routes -We do have treats. We have also used high-value treats which sometimes helps but not all the time
@@samwood1604 To be honest, I would take what they are doing as communication that they don't like the walks for some reason. Maybe too long? Try making them shorter to start. Listen to your dog, make some changes one at a time and see if that helps.
@@SitStaywithStacySlade Thank you Stacy, I did a shorter & less frequent route this morning and it worked well. We will keep working on this approach. Appreciate your help & your wonderful channel!
I did exactly what you described and it worked like a charm for our Berner pup. Huge improvements after only one session, she stopped pulling and paid attention to me after just 3 or 4 repetitions. We'll keep practicing but this is already very encouraging progress. EDIT: On our second training session she didn't pull even once, she stayed right with me the entire walk. These videos are so helpful, thank you so much!
That’s great news!
Our Berner is 10 months old now. At 7.5 months, she yanked me off my feet and it took several weeks to heal. So I just took her outside after watching your video a couple times. She always starts our walk by grabbing the leash and pulling and bouncing. Following your tutorial, that behavior stopped quickly and so did the pulling. We still have a lot of work to do, but I am thrilled with the results so quickly. She is a happy, outgoing dog that loves to meet new people and dogs. We have a long way to go before we can expect this behavior in public, but thank you, thank you, thank you for this video!
You are most welcome. It does take time and patience but teaching this behavior, and adding a word to it (get in, or here, or place) allows your dog to understand what you are asking of them on a walk. If we don't train them what we want, they do what works, which is usually pulling.
Thank you so much for this video! I have a 16mo old male Berner. We went out the same day I watched this and it works like a charm. I was really struggling on how to teach this to him. Still working on it but its enjoyable now ! Next is free stacking!
That is great! Yes, the more consistent you are the better! Hoping the free stacking videos help, holler if you have any questions!
This is fabulous! It goes inline with how we have been training our Taigo to “leave it”. Just worked with him out back and he is picking up on it immediately!
He is 65+ lbs and only 4 1/2 months so learning not to pull is vital!!
That is fantastic!!
That is fantastic!!
Thank you this is helpful. We have our first Berner who is 7 months old and over 70 pounds. He’s been pulling as we walk, definitely will try your suggestions.
It is a super common issue. It is good to work with them in the house or backyard first to get them understanding what you are asking then slowly work on more stimulating environments.
Good Info!
Thanks for this Stacy, starting to see improvements with our Agnes at 8 months. We are tending to find that everything is going smoothly walking in the park or along the pavement (UK!), but then something happens and she flips and starts charging around and jumping around at us, sometimes when we reach a gradient. We try to use a firm "No", but this sometimes seems to encourage her more! Distractions work most of the time, but it's so random when this happens, it's hard to identify a trigger. We sometimes refer to them as the "pre-poo-zoomies", but it's not always before toilet time!
Is she fearful? A reprimand will drive her away from you as you have found if she is worried as you are not helping to make her feel safe. Food and communicating that you have it all under control and she will be fine with confidence, will help her move away from the issue. It could also be a sound too.
Really great video so informative and great that you showed the exercise to actually see what you explained. Thank you so much 😊
You are welcome!
Hi Stacy, great videos. I'm in Moldova and have a beautiful 18-mo.-old girl from Ukraine. She is wonderful in the house and yard but extremely fearful to leave the yard and will physically not walk on the lead unless I heavily coax her to get her started. I am using a harness because I'm afraid to lose control of her (she bucked out of one once and ran home). She is fine off the lead if I drive her to a nearby greenbelt. I like your point about not setting them up for failure but I hope one day I could take her for walks in town. Can you do a video on tips for working with the fears Berners sometimes exhibit?
I am sorry your girl is fearful. It is really hard when dealing with fear, you never was to perpetuate it and drive them further into their fear. With maturity she should get a bit better and I recommend a martingale collar she can't slip out of, but if the harness is working, do that. She likely feels trapped and lacks control of her environment int he neighborhood. I would spend time sitting with her in your front yard with treats watching the world go by. After a few months, try to move to the road and stay there until she is comfortable. She may never enjoy it, but you can try. Just don't force, you won't get anywhere.
Hi Stacy, these tips have worked really well to train our 3yo Bernese to stop pulling while on the leash. Can you provide any insight or videos into how you were able to train Chase to basically walk at your hip and continually give you visual attention during while waking? Keep up the good work!
I am glad this works! Chase is 5 years old and has many obedience and draft titles. She knows what I want when we are walking, however don't be fooled, she can also pull me to something she wants too! It's a life long commitment to training and communicating with your dog. :)
Hi Stacy, how do you fit the Mes Amis limited slip collar? I just got one for my 11 month old and it sounds like it cuts off his airway if he pulls hard on a walk.... Do I have it on wrong??
Yes, you have it on wrong if it is the limited slip. Feel free to email me a pic and I can help you. You likely need to move how you put it over his head.
Hi Stacy! Great video love your channel. Just curious what your opinion is when it comes to the gentle leader? My friend has a bernedoodle and she uses a gentle leader to prevent her dog from pulling.
I think it depends on the dog. As long as it isn't hurting their neck and straining the muscles too much one way. I have found that my dogs can't sniff and enjoy our walks with the gentle leader.
Love this session! Our boy is 8 months old and about 40kgs/89 pounds. I have been looking at the MesAmis limited slip collar online, but Im having difficulty in deciding what correct size collar to purchase. The measurements are in inches, we in Australia use Centimetres. Are you able to help me please?
I start with a medium and then move to a large. But for your big boy I would start with a .75 large.
@@SitStaywithStacySlade Thankyou so much for your advice, ordering one now!!
Picking up my BMD puppy in March :) What MesAmis collar size would you recommend for a puppy and when she's adult? Thanks!
I would start with the medium size for limited slip collars.
My family just got a bern from Ohio. I like your videos very much, but my question is, doesn't this teach the dog to always be looking for treats and get annoying? thanks for any feedback. we love our bern.
Would you rather your dog pull and not give a care about you, or always looking to you for direction and a reward. When they are older, you don't have to reward them every time, verbal rewards work well, but only after you have established that you reward for good behavior, every time. It is not annoying to have your dog try to please you to get a treat, what is annoying is having a dog who doesn't listen and ignores you. :)
Hi Stacey, another great video! A couple of questions. Firstly, how do you feel about letting them sniff and pee on trees etc as we go? At the moment I don't mind as he enjoys it so much, and unless he pulls me to it I let him go right ahead. (If he pulls, I stop him and make sure we move past it without a sniff.)
Secondly, any tips on walking two dogs together? (Or another video? :) :) ) My boys are 90% good on their own, but together they are 90% bad! They pull and compete with each other to be in front, sniff things, etc.! I'd love some advice on this.
Yes! I let them enjoy the environment as long as I don't get pulled to it :) My theory is if two dogs together can't be appropriate then it is best to walk them separate and not give them a chance to practice bad behavior.
@@SitStaywithStacySlade Thanks :) I've been a lot stricter with them the last couple of days and this morning they were really good together. Your methods definitely work, thank you again. :D
I like ur videos. Are you from the Seattle area?? Is there good quality breeders that u recommend around here..iam from marysville.
I am north of Seattle. I recommend going to the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Seattle website for their list of reputable breeders. Feel free to email me as well. There are many non-reputable breeders and scams here right now, so it is worth being very careful.
Hi Stacey! I am learning a lot from your videos, thank you! Is it too young to start this at 3.5 months old?
I start this training at 6-7 weeks old with my litters. There is a video of this training with puppies here too. It is NEVER too early to train!!!
Hi
Do you recommend the soft choke collar or the limited choke collar from Mesamis?
I used the limited choke and combo leads.
Hi Stacy! ı'm following all your videos excitedly; thank you for these valuable infos! My female bernese is 4m1w old and she attacks me as well as the leash every time we attempt to walk outside. What do you recommend? thanks in advance for your reply. Best wishes!
I would start moving and get her attention going forward and not to you. She has a lot of energy and excitement and needs to GOOOOO! :) Have treats to focus her on those and not the leash. You can work on heeling, so she is focuses on the food (use as a lure). I will be doing a video on this soon.
@@SitStaywithStacySlade appreciated for the response! Looking forward to watch the video. Thanks a million!
What size of collar do you use from that website for your adult dogs? My Bernese pups neck is 16 inches at 4 months. I'd like to get one but don't want her out growing it in a month!
I start with a medium and keep it fairly snug and let it out as needed. Chase and Hazy are both on the medium size.
Thank you!
We will be getting a Bernese puppy next month…a female. For potty training a puppy what size of limited slip collar should i buy?
Start with a medium!
🌺✳️🌺✳️🌺✳️
Hi Stacy,
Our 10 month old Berner has started lying down in the middle of walks. Up until a few weeks ago he was comfortably walking 45 minutes with no stopping. I feel like the weather warming up has something to do with it.
Do you have any tips on preventing him lying down? I cannot tell if he is genuinely tired, or if he just wants to do his own thing!
Thank you
So, a few questions, do you walk every day? Does he like going on walks? Does he limp or exhibit any pain? Do you change up your route? Do you have treats on you?
@@SitStaywithStacySlade
Thanks Stacy for your response
-Yes, we do walk every day. We do a morning and evening walk, usually for 40-45 minutes. He always gets excited for walks too
-No, he is perfectly healthy and does not show any sign of injury
-We have 4 or 5 different routes
-We do have treats. We have also used high-value treats which sometimes helps but not all the time
@@samwood1604 To be honest, I would take what they are doing as communication that they don't like the walks for some reason. Maybe too long? Try making them shorter to start. Listen to your dog, make some changes one at a time and see if that helps.
@@SitStaywithStacySlade Thank you Stacy, I did a shorter & less frequent route this morning and it worked well. We will keep working on this approach. Appreciate your help & your wonderful channel!
@@samwood1604 You are welcome! And glad you had success!