Little help please!

clusters · 10-09-2007, 04:01 AM

Hi there,

I'm a newbie with a gorgeous dobie pup called Boo!

She is almost 7mths old now and I think she has hit the 'teenager' phase already.

My main problems are-
1) When we are out for a walk she pulls on the lead a lot. I don't think it's a dominance issue, I think she is just excited, but it's making my right arm ache and I'd love a way to fix it. Tried stopping, treats, commands etc but can't find what works.

2) I have her off the lead when we get to the park (not a dog park as I am in the UK). She seems to have lost the ability to 'come'. Especially when playing with another dog. I have again tried treats, other words, a clicker but nothing seems to be working. As she is quite big for her age, she can sometimes worry other dog owners with her playing (they think she is aggressive which she isn't, no growling etc, just usual rough and tumble and mouthing etc). Really want to get this one sorted.

Outside of that she is pretty good, does the normal things like chewing everything and whining when put to bed but she is a smart one so tends to behave well.

Any suggestions, tried and tested methods would be greatly appreciated!

Clusters

Julie W · 10-09-2007, 09:37 AM

Obedience training, and never giving a command to come when the puppy is off leash. You should be able to reinforce every single formal command you give a puppy immediately, and you can't do that when they are off lead. It's really pointless and sets training back if you give a puppy a command when they are not only off lead, but playing with another dog. You are just setting yourself (and them) up for failure. Every training session should be thought out to help the puppy be able to follow each and every command successfully.

Lexxsmom · 10-09-2007, 10:00 AM

I agree with what Julie said. She is only a baby still. If you are not 100% sure that when you say COME she will run over and plant her cute little bum in front of you immediately, you should not be using the word come at all when she is off leash and you cannot correct her. In fact, if she doesnt come reliabily, I'd be worried about letting her off leash at all. ( just a personal thing I guess.) I would worry that if she got into something dangerous, you couldn't get her back and she could get hurt!
Maybe practice the come command on leash until she gets it every time. Remember lots of treats when she comes!!

natdobe · 10-09-2007, 10:16 AM

I agree with what both of the others have said. The stuff sounds like normal puppy behavior. They've both given you great advice about training her to come. As far as pulling while on the leash, she is not being dominant, but she needs to be taught to not pull. You may need to use a small prong collar. That is what I had to do, and it worked wonders for me. A prong collar is not the same thing as a choke collar. The prong puts an equal amount of pressure around the neck, so that it doesn't choke them.

**Colorado Dobes** · 10-09-2007, 10:43 PM

With my puppy, I taught her how walk on the leash without pulling in obedience class with the standard holding the treats in front of her nose and then bringing my hand (with the treats in them) up to my chest, so she would keep those eyes on me (or the treats at first) while walking. Just a back and forth motion with your hand - when she gets distracted, put your hand back down in front of her to get her attention back on you and your treats.

With my rescue, she had a pretty bad habit of pulling when I got her, and I had a hard time getting it out of her. My father-in-law, who trains hunting labs, came to visit us and worked on her with a walking stick. I have never seen this technique used before, but it worked wonders on her. He would start walking with her, and as soon as she would start pulling, he would hold the walking stick in front of her - like horizontally across her chest. He never touched her with it (unless she just walked into it), but it was just like a barrier that she couldn't cross, and he would put it up every time the leash got tight. We went through one session of that with her, and she walks perfectly now.

charlesmdodson · 10-10-2007, 10:28 AM

For you first issue, I highly recommend a certain type of collar that hooks around the muzzle and leads from under the jaw. This takes the shoulders and neck out of the equation and takes away the ability to pull. If they pull, all they really do is turn themselves in a circle... You'd be amazed how fast using one of these teaches them to stand close by and NOT to pull. And it only cost like ten bucks.
For the second issue I guess hindsight is 20/20. If I had my Sherman on a leash at all times, even as deep in the desert as we were, he would be with me today. But he's not. I learned a tough lesson that even the most "controllable" situations can go horribly wrong. I would avoid free-running if you can, unless you're all fenced in.

Bluefly44 · 10-10-2007, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado Dobes

With my puppy, I taught her how walk on the leash without pulling in obedience class with the standard holding the treats in front of her nose and then bringing my hand (with the treats in them) up to my chest, so she would keep those eyes on me (or the treats at first) while walking. Just a back and forth motion with your hand - when she gets distracted, put your hand back down in front of her to get her attention back on you and your treats.

With my rescue, she had a pretty bad habit of pulling when I got her, and I had a hard time getting it out of her. My father-in-law, who trains hunting labs, came to visit us and worked on her with a walking stick. I have never seen this technique used before, but it worked wonders on her. He would start walking with her, and as soon as she would start pulling, he would hold the walking stick in front of her - like horizontally across her chest. He never touched her with it (unless she just walked into it), but it was just like a barrier that she couldn't cross, and he would put it up every time the leash got tight. We went through one session of that with her, and she walks perfectly now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlesmdodson

For you first issue, I highly recommend a certain type of collar that hooks around the muzzle and leads from under the jaw. This takes the shoulders and neck out of the equation and takes away the ability to pull. If they pull, all they really do is turn themselves in a circle... You'd be amazed how fast using one of these teaches them to stand close by and NOT to pull. And it only cost like ten bucks.

Great suggestions - I'll have to try these! We went to our first day of Beginner Education obedience class at Petsmart last Saturday and the trainer suggested stopping every time the dog pulls or getting the muzzle (she brought in her great dane puppy who was 8 months old and he had on the muzzle). I've tried the stopping technique and it hasn't been working very well, so I'll try adding the treats and hopefully that will work, if not I'll try one of the other suggestions.

Thanks!

Lexxsmom · 10-10-2007, 01:01 PM

never heard of using a muzzle... do you mean a gentle leader or haltee?

Scoob · 10-10-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexxsmom

never heard of using a muzzle... do you mean a gentle leader or haltee?

That is called the "Gentle Leader Headcollar." I see at J.B. Wholesale you can get if for $20.00. It comes with a book and 4-foot lead and 10-ft indoor check cord. This leader is excellent! No more pulling! You control the dog by his head. It works good.

Scoob (Jim)

P.S. When Rudy gets real frisky, I use a plastic muzzel to keep him from biting me -- for short periods of time. Also, carry a big stick with you outside when you want to supervise the dog offleash -- if you have a lot of land, otherwise he/she will do a number on your ankles with their teeth -- sometimes.

charlesmdodson · 10-10-2007, 02:43 PM

No, it's not a muzzle, it only works around the mouth of the dog.