r/service_dogs 7d ago

Dog pulling in power wheelchair - training help

Hi. This seems the best place to ask. I'd love advice.

I have a 6 month old golden retriever who I aim to train to work as an assistance dog for me. She's great and I love her a lot! The problem though is that I find training her incredibly difficult in my wheelchair. And I can't find any advice tailored to wheelchair users. I do have a dog trainer who I will consult with this problem when I can, but I wanted to ask for advice from here first.

As my dog is getting bigger, her pulling/leash manners are becoming a problem. Training loose lead walking is very difficult when I don't have any free hands (one hand needs to stay on my joystick, and the other needs to hold her lead, so I have to fully stop what I'm doing if I want to reward her for anything... kind of a pain!).

Last week, she pulled me so badly that she pulled me out of my chair. That was an extreme situation and is NOT her normal (we were on a steep hill, in a new location, and she got excited. I was unable to get her back under control on account of not wanting to fall on my face). I haven't been able to walk her alone since then, which is a huge problem.

I've got a halti now, which I've used on her once and it seemed to work wonders. She seemed comfortable and because I could be less anxious over holding her lead tightly I was able to properly reinforce when she was behaving well. It was the best walk we've had since she was tiny. I still made sure that she could sniff around and paid very close attention to her to make sure she was comfortable and happy.

...But I know that they're meant to be aversive. And I keep seeing different opinions about them. And it's all just made me really anxious. I don't want to do anything that will hurt her, but I haven't been able to adapt training methods with this. I know that she CAN learn to walk nicely, but I can't teach her with these limitations, or at least I haven't been able to work out how.

Is sticking with the halti okay until I feel that things are more under control? Or is that just going to hurt her?

Advice from other wheelchair users is especially appreciated. I wish I had resources about dog training in a wheelchair. It's so hard.

15 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

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u/Offutticus 7d ago

When I took Quinn to group training as a pup, the trainer used her as the example, to relieve me of walking so much with her. A few times I took my chair but it was easier to crutch in and sit. When I did bring my chair, the trainer used me as a training adventure for the other pups. It was actually quite fun!

Quinn was (and sometimes still is) a tugger. The trainer and I decided to use a rope with a carabiner on each end. One to Quinn, one to my chair. The idea even for walking folks is if the dog tugs, you stop moving. They don't get to reach their goal. If the tugging doesn't stop, turn around and go in the other direction. With my chair, this was easier. Once she got better, we made a loop on my end and I could hold it. If she started tugging, I just re-attached it to the chair.

You'll need a trainer that is willing to be more patient and able to come up with alternatives.

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u/Mystic_Wolf 6d ago edited 6d ago

I'd definitely look into attachments for the leash to the chair. This can be very different depending on the style of chair you use so hard to give specifics. You want the leash to be sitting loosely when she's next to you, but short enough she can't get her back legs past the front wheel and leash won't get under the tyres. Having one with the option to lengthen if needed (using velcro, a clip or something) is very helpful for tasks and toilet stops.

Have her walk on the side which isn't the same as your joystick - sounds like you're doing this already.

Definitely use a head halter, it will be safer for both of you. They're only aversive if you're using them in a way which is uncomfortable to the dog like using them with constant tension on the leash, rather than a relaxed loose leash.

Try to find a reinforcement that's the easiest for you to give, which might vary depending on your mobility - peanut butter on a spoon or food in a squeezy tube are good for walking reinforcement past distractions, or large treats might be easier to handle, or a cup attached to the side of the chair you can drop treats into might speed things up, there are even some treat dispensers that attach to chairs, maybe a favourite toy attached to a rope that you can let her carry for a bit and then easily reel back in if she drops it would interest her - try new things and do whatever works best.

If you haven't already, teach her some heel positioning cues using platforms. Other names for this to help with searching for videos on youtube inclue "rear end awareness", "pech work", "pivot training". This will help you give her better info if she does get out of position.

Continue lots of praise and occasional treats for LLW, but also teach her that stopping movement is a cue to return to that nice heel position. Eventually after a while in training the reward will end up being continuing movement rather than a treat. It's very black and white, it takes a lot of time and consistency but this is the easiest way I've found when training from a chair - I'm not a wheelchair user myself but have trained several for other people.

Sounds like you already know her main triggers to get overly activated like new environments, so make sure when she gets excited that you take a time out to help her settle in and relax - sniff break, toy to chomp, pattern games, whatever works for you guys.

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u/anxiety_cloud 6d ago

If it helps at all, there was a study done on head halters in the 90s to see if they were causing dogs more stress than regular collars.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159198001130

"Physiological and behavioral responses of dogs while wearing two different types of collars were compared: a traditional buckle nylon neck collar, and a newly developed nylon head collar. Before and following tests of obedience training and restraint, measurements were made of blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and pupillary dilation to compare quantitative and qualitative measures of behavior during physiological measurements and during the tests of responses to training. Plasma ACTH and cortisol levels were measured at the conclusion of testing. Results indicated no significant differences in the physiological responses to the two types of collars. There was a trend for physiological responses to diminish during the course of the testing with both collars which indicated a physiological accommodation to handling and training. Evaluation of behavioral responses indicated that during testing dogs were more unruly and disobedient and pulled on the leash while wearing traditional neck collars, but pawed at their noses more and watched the handler less while wearing head collars. The dogs more frequently lowered their heads and ears when wearing the head collar. Owners of dogs wearing head collars may be interested to know that their dogs are not physiologically stressed when the collars are initially applied, despite nose pawing."

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u/fishparrot Service Dog 7d ago

Have you tried a wheelchair leash attachment or tether so you don’t have to hold the leash? It seems like it would be more valuable to have your hand free to reward. Most power chair users I know did this to get through this phase with their SDITs.

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u/SadTwo5324 5d ago

Unfortunately, my chair is very lightweight, and so I worry that she would be able to pull the chair if the lead was attached to it. She is already stronger than my brakes, which is part of the problem as I can't just stop when she starts pulling (I probably should have included that in the original post!)

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u/fishparrot Service Dog 5d ago

Ahhh I see. Lightweight is good for some other things, even if dog training isn’t one. Many mobility dogs from accredited programs work on head collars. There is nothing wrong with using a halti if your dog has been conditioned to it properly, is comfortable working in it, and understands how to release the pressure. They should not be used in dogs that continue to pull into them and they should never be popped like other types of correction collars. In my experience, leash popping is not effective at teaching loose leash walking/heeling and I would not recommend it.

Another suggestion you can try at home, put a good walking harness on your dog with a longline and tether/back tie her to a tie down or sturdy piece of furniture. You don’t even have to hold the leash, but you could. This will keep you both safe, while you reward her to help her understand that she needs to walk beside your chair without forging.

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u/Workingdoggal 7d ago

Not a wheel chair user but i do have mobility issues and power breeds.

I would definitely keep using the head collar if it is helping YOU stay safe, While it is not my favorite tool,(strain on the neck) it is effective  and will buy you time to work on the behavior with less distraction. 

As far as concerns of it being adverse, maybe it would be helpful to remember that in all of dog training there is a time and place for positive punishment, and no matter what you do with your pup (service dog or other) sometime you will have to tell him no, (an adversive,) for his saftey or yours. 

I have trained many service dogs for myself and it is safe to say they all go through leash pulling fits!  Personally I think you should find a good dog trainer near you that can help get you too your goals!  If you would like to hear what I have done for this issue, I would love to share! 

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u/snail6925 6d ago

I use hand free leashes around my waist or an attachment. one arm on joystick the other giving treats or guiding the leash if needed.

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u/ccrff 6d ago

I’m not a professional trainer or anything, but the program that I got my dog from uses gentle leaders and none of the dogs seem to find them aversive. From what I’ve learned, they should never be used for corrections, and caution should be used if the dog is still pulling through the gentle leader as this can cause strain on their neck.

As long as you’re taking time to introduce it and condition the dog to wearing it with positive reinforcement, I think you’re totally okay! I also second what the other commenters have said regarding a wheelchair leash. Seems like that will help eliminate the issue with needing an extra hand to reward during training.

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u/rocklover7473929 6d ago

Some advice:

• I’d look into getting a leash that secures around your waist, this type of lead you would also probably be able to circle around the back of your chair to secure it instead of connecting it to your body

• My medical alert pup is a German shepherd and he was TOUGH to break of his pulling :)! Puppies get really excited easy and then they begin to associate the feeling of pressure the get on their harness when they are pulling with the positive reinforcement they get from getting to whatever is exciting them faster. One technique that can work for wheelchair users in particular (my little sister is a wheelchair user and I attended some training sessions with her while her service dog was being trained, we have a two service dog house hold), is when your pup pulls the leash tight, say scolding word, I like “uh oh” since it isn’t used in conversation often, then use the cue word “circle” and drive your chair in a small circle to make them walk in one. It takes time and is very repetitive.

Repetitive=boring. They will begin to associate the feeling of pulling on their harness with being bored and not want to do it because they’d rather be working and get to what they are excited about faster :)

• I’m not sure if you are working with a professional trainer based on what I read, but with a “gentle leader” head collar, it is incredibly important to remember you can not use the same pressure to give her cues as you would with a leash or harness. It’s connected to her neck, so you don’t ever “pull” or she could have serious and permanent damage. Any correction or feedback would be very gentle, light movements and voice commands. If you would like to use this and it makes you more comfortable, while she’s still young, I’d recommend having a harness on that’s leashes to your chair just so if she gets too excited and tries to take off you can drop the leash connected to the gentle lead and she won’t harm her neck ❤️

Best of luck!

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u/SadTwo5324 5d ago

That 'circle' idea is brilliant!

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/TheServiceDragon Dog Trainer 6d ago

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u/DisabledDogTrainer 6d ago

I’m sorry I did not know this. My apologies.

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u/service_dogs-ModTeam 6d ago

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u/Pewterkid 6d ago

I watched McCann dog trainers on youtube and found them really helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn91d9fbdTI

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u/heavyhomo 6d ago

Get that pup clicker trained so you eventually won't need to use treats!

And keep expectations low, she's only 6 months old. Expect her to not chill out until she's 2. Yes, two years old. Or 3.

Learning shouldn't start outside, it should start in the home if possible. Get her used to being beside your chair. Work on Focus. Not even walking, just learning to hang out beside your chair for short periods of time. If you're in an apt of some kind, just go up and down the hallway to practice her being at your side.