Behaviour on the lead
When we leave the house, we have the initial fiasco of the growling and biting the lead and dancing around in circles. I've tried stopping walking when this happens and he just gets worse. I put it down to excitement but it's quite frustrating. At certain points during the walk he reverts to this behaviour again. I've found that when we take him somewhere he doesn't recognise, this doesn't happen, but when we're on our own street or the areas nearby that he know, he becomes this little growling, biting loony-tune! He's also quite bad with the pulling (again this stops when we're in areas he doesn't know). I'm comfortable that he is not an aggressive puppy, he just seems to do the growling, nipping thing as a means of playing. He does get very bitey and tries to have his way with our legs but does stop when you tell him to. On the whole, he is well behaved but the behaviour on walks is quite frustrating. Any suggestions? Thanks  |
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| You may want to try a different type of lead (chain lead) and/or spraying it with a bitter apple deterrent spray on the lead you have. For the pulling - you could try a gentle leader instead - it may actually help with both problems.
Kristen |
| The biting, growling and jumping in circles thing is because he's so excited & happy that he's doing something different with you like going for a walk. Please don't get mad at him for this behavior... he will outgrow it. My suggestion is to take small, easy to chew training treats with you like liver bits. Every time he starts his shananigans take the treat and hold it directly in front of him until he lets go of the lead, then praise him when he lets go and takes the treat. (You will go through a lot of treats initially.) Then maneuver the lead, so that there is not any slack, and keep him directly beside you. Keep lead behind his head as best as you can so it's difficult for him to reach for it again. It takes some time but eventually he'll "get it".
Regarding the pulling another training tip is every time he starts pulling on the lead to try and take YOU for a walk, square your body in front of his front leg & shoulder and make him stop, say "heel". Treat & praise. It's easy now to walk him while he's pulling, but when he's 90lbs., it gets to be a real pain if he continues to do that. Just remember it's all about being positive. |
| I have two dogs that are pullers. They can walk my 6'4 husband easily however we use a halti (gentle leader). The dogs can no longer pull. My 8 yr old can walk them. Really for $20 its a god send. I cant praise that tool enough. Especially if you do not like chokers which I refuse to use them. You can find them at places like Petsmart or Petco. It has a strap that goes around the nose and the top of the head the leash hooks right to it. When you control the pups head you control the pup. There is no choking or gagging. They can eat drink play and be a dog with it on. It is wonderful. You would not be sorry. Try it out for a week youll love it. |
| Halti's and gentle leaders don't work for Dancer, but what DID work was buying a thing that clips the dogs together, hooks onto each collar, and then I clip the lead to the ring in the middle. They stopped pulling, because with that they are no longer pulling me, they are pulling each other, so they don't bother because it limits their freedom of movement.
Of course this is no help to anyone who only has one dog.... |
| Gill,
My Barney (11 wks) at first balked at the nylon collar and fought me when I tried to put the leash on. I started just with the collar for short periods, for a couple of days, gradually lengthening the time. After three or four days I just left it on, soon he accepted it and quit scratching it. With the leash I had to force it on him for the first week, then he insisted in grabbing it at his end and taking me for a walk. I played along with him and as we walked, usually only a couple of blocks, he began getting interested in other things and would let go of the leash. Now after 2 weeks, he still does it occasionally, but only for brief moments. I think its just a puppy thing and if you make too much of it the dog will think you approve of it. At this point in time I'm not trying to get him to heel, I'll wait till he's old enough for a choke collar and then concentrate on that. Enjoy the exercise. George |
| Gill,
Hello. I have two sheepies that are 5&1/2 months old, Bailey and Madison. They are currently in a Petsmart puppy class and have been a big problem to walk, especially together. I am pretty strong and have just been fighting them. They would just pull so hard. You would think if they cannot breathe, they would slack off some, but they never really figured that out. The class was helpful with some ideas, but the instructor eventually suggested the Gentle Leaders. Others above have mentioned them, I just wanted you to know that I think they are magic. I can walk both dogs now at the same me with no problem. Better yet, my 112 lb wife can do the same. They do take a little work and some treats to get the dogs used to it, but it is well worth the effort. The instructions that come with the leaders are great. They make for fun puppy walks now. Good luck! Eric |
| I GOTTA TELL YOU....MAX was A BEAST when we went for walks! HEAVEN HELP US IF HE SAW ANOTHER DOG OR KID! He would eventually settle....but I would be exhausted and so was he after a walk! But that is now all in the past thanks to the Halti! A few weeks ago....I though he pulled shoulder out of socket!!! He was amazing with the Halti! He figured it out almost immediately! He DOES NOT like that pulling his head. Whenever he would get a little "spunky" He immediately "remembered" and walked at a very comfy pace next to me! I LOVE IT AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR READING ABOUT THE HALTI!
I can't wait to take him outside the neighborhood!! 
THANKS!!! |
| While Merlin was at the groomers last week, the groomer's dad (who owns a chain of pet stores) was there and he saw Merlin on the Gentle Leader. Merlin will paw to get the GL off, so it doesnt work very well. I can control him better than with just a regular collar but it doesnt make for a pleasant walk. He will hop like a kangaroo and paw at the GL every ten steps or so. It was recommended that I try the Lupi harness instead. I got one the other day and it works great, even my kids can walk Merlin on this harness. The harness works that if the dog pulls, it pulls it's feet off the ground and they dont like that so they stop pulling. So far it is working great. Here is a link for the harness so you can all see what it looks like: http://shop.petsupplyhouse.com/index.ph ... &item=1498 |
| Hey... thanks for that info. The HALTI was working great for MAX but then last night....I was delayed getting him out the door and while my daughter was "WATCHING" him.....he chewed right through the harness. The straping that it is made of is NOT very sturdy at all. Well- now I am faced with having to purchase another or something similar. The Halti was great.....my "just 4" yr. old was walking MAX !! (of course with my supervision...I just attached another longer lead and walked behind them) You never know when a deer or cat will cross our path and I didn't want his "WILL" to be stronger than my little boys.
Anyway...thanks for that last tidbit....I like that it doesn't go anywhere around "the mouth" !! |
| How long did it take him to chew through the halti? They are not meant to be left on for any length of time unsupervised....
The harness Kim suggested does sound like a great idea though... |
Oh...like not even 2 minutes.....Put it on him and turned around to grab a jacket and shoes and when I went to walk out the door.......part of it was hanging off. I couldn't believe it. He does NOT like it on initially and paws at it...but then once out the door....he total loves the walk and forgets the halti. He must of been very disappointed after he did that and we didn't go for our walk.  I wasn't about to revert back to the shoulder dislocation walks again. Oh well.....I am probably going over to the pet store to get another today.
I am looking forward to Rosie grown up some (and the two calming down some-we're still in the "Honeymoon" period) to try the two dog leash you talked about. I think that will be awhile though.....they are too much of a distraction for each other and almost impossible to get any training done when they are together. |
| LOL... yes, they will settle... my girls are 6 months and 12 months, and Dancer, my oldest girl, has always been rather dainty and feminine, not much for rough play. When Sky came home Dancer began to play more and more, but she is the voice of reason of the two. Sky doesn't want to stop when Dancer does, lol, but Sky is only 6 months old, and to her play time is all the time. LOL
Crates really do come in handy, to give you a break from the two playing, to give each of them a break from each other, and to concentrate on those vitaly important training sessions and grooming sessions at this age. It's good to train each separately, and also attempt to have training sessions together, even if only a few repetitions of the SIT command for now, so that they learn to listen to YOU even if they are playing together. |
| We do train them separately.....otherwise is pointless. My 9 yr. old is really working WONDERFULLY with Rosie. She really listens to her. I felt this was important. We did not do this with Max and he just thinks that she is "one of the pack". We made some mistakes with Max that we are trying avoid with Rosie. We are "Back-pedaling" with Max. Rachel now feeds all dogs & potties all and even is working with Max some. She needs to "establish" her alpha position with him. He so far is responding WONDERFULLY. Rose was the best thing we ever could have done for Max. He is so happy and so playful!! He used to drive us all crazy with wanting to play...play....play. Now he has Rose to occupy him. And I always say "tired puppies are good puppies". And I must say....even our cat is happier.....he's more interested in playing with Rose than bugging her! |
| I agree, I tired sheepie is a good sheepie! When we adopted Samantha, she came with a Magellen collar. It a fabric choke collar, without the prongs or pain. Apparently, it is the same type of gizmo that is used on horses. Sam at 11 months, still pulls when she sees a dog. Or person on a bike . |
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