Puppy Control

[Toblersmom]

Hi everyone,

I am a new member and just looking for some advice with my lab. 

First, let me introduce my puppies - I have a beagle, Baby 2 1/2 yrs-small for a beagle and a black lab, Tobler 2 1/2 years and big for a lab.

They both are full of energy and sometimes are hard to control, especially Tobler because he weighs about 100 lbs.  When I take him for a walk he basically walks me and it is so embarrassing when I can't control him in front of people.  He needs exercise but I dread walk time even though I know he loves it.  The last straw is tonight when I tried to walk him and we came across a stray dog - I didn't know what to do because Tobler freaked out and I was scared and didn't know what either was going to do. He knocked me over and the neighbor came to help -great way to meet your neighbor-on your back!!!! anyway I finally dragged him in the house.
Tobler is really friendly and basically has a puppy mentality- but he is misunderstood because of his size.

Does anyone have any suggestions- I will try anything,

Thanks,
Kimberlee
AKA toblersmom

[Duramax]

hi! welcome to bpo! ull have to get some pics up of your pups so i can see em 
max likes to pull when he gets excited too, its not that he's disobedient, he just gets so excited that he gets all goofey forgets. never let your dog pull you period. he knows when he's leading you, and he knows that you are letting him lead, what i do with max is this: when he begins to pull, just stop walking. it'll take much patience, repetativeness, and consistence. tobler knows right now that when he pulls you follow, it's kindof a rule right? so retrain him that when he pulls you stop. when he stops pulling or gets bored then continue walking, now max would begin to pull almost right off the bat the first fiew days every time and we'd have to stop and do all over again, only going a fiew steps at a time. but he's learned, also a vocal command to heel, or back. i'm sure that you'll get quite a fiew ideas from bpo'ers pick what you think will work best for u and your dog, keep us updated, and good luck!   

[Toblersmom]

Thanks for the suggestions and I have tried stopping once the pulling begins and have walked about 10 steps within an hour - frustrating - i guess consistent stops will eventually help - we live in Las Vegas and now that the temperature is rising we have to go waling at night - so I can't spend as much time waiting for him - I know I have to do it, we'll both be happier

thanks again
will post some pics soon

[Duramax]

that tecnique is very time consuming because your pup is going to make sure that his tug on the leash will have the same effect every time, if he gets away with it just once....then he'll know to keep trying because it was eventualy worth it. it does take big patience and time, but is worth it to have them be mannerley on a leash. i once heard that for a dog to have a command or "lesson" imprinted in his memory permanently, it must be repeated every day for 42 days in a row....i think that is in my puppy training book accualy...i dont know where that thing went, but i remember reading that and thinking 'max we got along way to go'

[bluskygirl]

I have also had good luck with Gentle Leader.  There are many options. Welcome to BPO, I am Angeleen and I own a 10 month old Saint.  I have trained Bella to heal and not to pull, but when we see another dog coming (especially if it's one of her park friends) all training usually goes right out the door.  Do some research on all the options out there (harnesses, different collars, etc) and find one that will work for you. You'll be amazed at the difference. Also, once the dog gets used to it, I think it makes them realize that you are in control not them and that seems to help in other areas as well.

Good luck! And do post some pics!!!

[Jas2Cats]

Welcome bo BPO~!  Well, since your lab is 2 1/2, he should be getting his brain soon.  Lab's can be so energetic and happy that they can't contain it.  But, they really do want to please you.

Maybe if you have a yard, you can play fetch with him for a while to wear off some of the energy before you take him for a walk? 

The other thing that I do, is when they start to pull, I turn around and go the other way, that way, they need to correct and follow me.  I don't give any warning.  Yes, I look goofy walking back and forth, but, eventually, my dogs figured out they better walk with me and pay attention so they don't hit the end of the leash.  Every once in a while, I still do it, just as a refresher/reminder 

[Toblersmom]

Thanks for all of the suggestions-

I have the same problem with my husband not being consistent with the pulling on the leash.  We have the medieval torture device and the chest harness and he is still hard to control - he had the chest harness on when he knocked me on my a%#! but I will try the walking back and forth tonight, that is something I haven't tried yet.

[Gracie Belle]

Hi and Welcome.  I'm Misty and owned by Gracie, English Mastiff and Rosco, Rotti/GSD mix.  Like Duramax said, you will get plenty of really great advise on this board but patience and consistency is the number one key. As far as leads go you will have tons of advice there and these folks here really know their stuff.  I use a prong collar on Gracie.  It's literally like the difference between driving an automatic transmission compared to a standard transmission.  Like Jack's mom said too, it's not painful as it appears.  If anything the chokes and sometimes even regular flat buckle collars can cause a lot more damage to the trachea by collapsing it from the dog's pulling.  Basically, the prong collar is uncomfortable when the dog pulls.  My advice is to literally go back to basics.  Start from the beginning and re-establish the leader roll. Have him work for everything and of course make it the most exciting thing ever when you get the behavior you want.  Have him sit calmly when  you attach the leash, give him food or water and even affection.  Walk out of the door first.  Have him sit when a person or another dog approaches.  The easiest way for me to correct Gracie if she doesn't sit on command (Gracie is large at around 100 pounds now) is to pull the collar directly up making sure the collar is closer to her ears than her shoulders and guide her rear down by sweeping my hand over her rear and down her hind quarters.  It sounds tricky but if you use your right hand to pull the collar up and the left hand to guide the rump to the ground in one motion the dog will have no choice but to sit.  This is too assuming the dog is on your left.  I don't advise you push the dogs rear end down as the kidneys are there and you could also add pressure to the dog's joints that could eventually harm the dog later on.  I learned this technique in basic obedience class.  It's called place sitting.  I was advised to always place sit Gracie until she just finally figured out that by the time the 'T' in sit was heard that rump needs to be on the ground or I'll show her.  Don't forget that dog's really just want to please their humans.  So In Gracie's case it really didn't take long to figure out.  Use a treat to reward the dog whether it's a toy or favorite cookie once you get the behavior you're looking for.  Eventually you can phase out the treats but they always help as an immediate incentive.  Then the repetition of the commands will eventually turn into the dog associating the command with a positive return.     No matter what you do just be consistent.  Oh, and post pictures.  I'd love to see your babies.  Good luck.   

[People Whisperer]

Welcome Toblersmom!
I had a problem a little different from yours...My dog would stop every 5 or so steps and I had to pull her. She would do it for hours. I was always against of choke and prong collars and one day I just gave up. I made a loop out of my leather leash...made a strong correction and ....we were walking again! What a miracle!!!
Whichever way you deside to use just gather your patients and take it easy. It will take time!
Proper collar, leadership, exersise and time will take care of your issue! Good luck!

[Toblersmom]

Hi everyone - let me say thanks for all the great advice!

I have tried walking in one direction and then Tobler starts to pull I turn and walk in the opposite direction and this is working better than anything else.  So every night at about 9pm we walk back and forth on our street. It confuses him just enough to remind him to pay attention to me, then I will jog with him after about 15 min and that really wears him out!  This the best exersize I have been able to give him so thank you so much- from tobler and me  Even his daddy was impressed! Maybe in a couple weeks we will make it around the corner

[bigdogs@5501]

I see that you have already gotten some great advice- Jake is our 145 pound Great Dane- He was the tug monster. Our trainer then suggested using a Halti leader on him and PRESTO well behaved dog- ok that sounded way easier than it was, but only because Jake decided to show everyone who would watch that he really could do a somersault. After the big lug rolled all over the place, including the parking lot at Petsmart. He figured it out- but the whole time he was practicing his gynastics, not once did he pull. Now we can actually go for a walk and I dont have to worry about having my shoulder pulled out of it socket. Bailey also started pulling and we used the same training lead on her- and she is now great on the lead. Its worth the 24.00 investment and you can take him into Petsmart or Petco and have him fit with one that will work best.

[lokisgirl]

Hi
  I am new here too. I am still having a few problems with my mal pulling when he gets really excited. I liked the prong collar but hubby did not agree with me and I couldn't get him to understand that it was safer then a choker, so we don't use any special collar. I bought a flexi lead for my trip (1500 miles, he needed a little run room that I couldn't give with normal leashes) and that works well because when he takes off to excitedly, he may be going fast but not a lot of power there and he doesn't expect me to hit the brake on it. Kinda funny sometimes.

[anj]

hi! welcome to bpo! ull have to get some pics up of your pups so i can see em 
max likes to pull when he gets excited too, its not that he's disobedient, he just gets so excited that he gets all goofey forgets. never let your dog pull you period. he knows when he's leading you, and he knows that you are letting him lead, what i do with max is this: when he begins to pull, just stop walking. it'll take much patience, repetativeness, and consistence. tobler knows right now that when he pulls you follow, it's kindof a rule right? so retrain him that when he pulls you stop. when he stops pulling or gets bored then continue walking, now max would begin to pull almost right off the bat the first fiew days every time and we'd have to stop and do all over again, only going a fiew steps at a time. but he's learned, also a vocal command to heel, or back. i'm sure that you'll get quite a fiew ideas from bpo'ers pick what you think will work best for u and your dog, keep us updated, and good luck!   

I agree. Let him know you're the boss. It's the only way to it. What I like to do with Pam when she gets really jumpy as I walk her and she seems like she's intending to drag me where she wants, I stop, and yes, it takes patience! Good luck with the handsome fella!

[lokibud]

wow living in vegas with dogs. my loki gets over heated here in italy. i cant imagin what he would feel like there. i was stationed there for two years and worked in that heat. it just gets to hot for me.