Dog pulling on his leash

Bonkers said:
c00per congrats on your efforts so far and I hope for further success!
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+1 :thumbup: ... Congrats!

As for socialization... it's not so cut and dry. The methods and approach used are different, depending on what kind of issues and at what level the dog exhibits. How you would deal with fear is different than how you would go about handling aggression for example. Also, can you be sure his dog biting incident was fear based?

I do believe the baseline standards that are the underscore of any socialization are...

1. Be the "pack leader" - Let him know what behavior YOU will accept if he is going to be a member of YOUR pack. Correct him at the first sign of any bad or undesirable behavior, and praise him for the good.

2. Be calm and in command - Adding any additional anxiety to the situation won't help... and be in command of your "pack". Know that he will sense any anxiety you have whether you physically display it or not.

3. Work in a controlled environment - Working with another trained dog that exhibits the behavior you want is far more effective than working with one that has bad behaviors you don't want. And work in an environment free from distractions other than the task at hand.

4. Desensitizing - Work him to the point of indifference and being accustom to whatever the situation... not all at once of course, but over time.

It's a very instinctive process in my opinion... every dog and situation are different. I do think taking him to the SPCA often would be a good thing... be sure to let them know of his issue(s), and what you are looking to achieve.

Feel free to conntact me if you wish... good luck and keep up the good work! :thumbup:

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Watch 'the dog whisperer"- usually on the national geographic channel.

When he pulls on the leash forwards, you correct him by jerking the leash sideways[/]. Pulling backwards only enforces whatever drive/leading instinct they have.

Be calm assertive and overal, be THE PACK LEADER. If you act like you don't give 2 shits about your dog he'll treat you like you're the best thing going. Pack leader doesn't cater to the rest, the rest cater to the pack leader.
 
I think Mongo and Ming have already given the best advice. You have to break old habits and start new ones and that needs to be done in a controlled environment first. It will take lots of patience and practice, for both of you, along with the right equipment. After you two get pretty consistent in your yard, try exposing him to a little more distraction when walking. Work on that, and then add a little more until he's good whatever the situation.

We use either flat buckle collars or greyhound collars on ours when we train. We've done German Shepherds, mixed breeds, Great Danes, Dobies, Boxers, so we're used to big, stubborn dogs.

I do have a couple of head halters and I do use them occasionally with our GSD/Belgian Malinois rescue because he is very excited about walking, very strong, and he really wants to be the leader when my Dobe's not around.
 
very good info on here, Both Mongo and Ming65 know what they are talking about. I am no trainer though, but here are my 2 cents.

They make a leash (dont remember the name) very similar to the canny collar but not sure if that is the one I used. But anyways, when the dog pulls it forces the snout down. I used it on an american bull dog that was very stubborn and he soon learned how to walk.

Dog training is 99% patience and repetition and 1% skill. If you have the time you can teach a dog anything.

All dogs want nothing more than to please their masters. But sometimes its hard to communicate to a dog what you want of them. That is why repetition and consistency is so important. A dog owner who lets the dog sleep int he bed at night and then gets mad when the dog jumps on the bed after coming from outside all muddy is sending the dogs mixed signals.

Alot of times dogs that are fussy on a leash are dogs that do not know the chain of command. like you said yourself, its all a matter of letting the dog know you are not going anywhere until he does what you want it to do.

I will give you a personal example.

I have a pitbull mix. very energetic dog. Whenever we go for a hike I like to let her off the leash. At first she had a hard time heeling and she would run ahead of me and not listen. I am no dog expert or trainer, cant really tell you why she didn't listen or heeled, but this is how I solved the problem.

Whenever she would get ahead of me. I would turn around and start walking the other way. Although she wanted to lead, the sight of me walking opposite made her change direction, so she would turn around and catch up, then pass me again going the other way. I would again start walking the other way. This went on for about 20 min. Until finally she realized we were not going to move FORWARD until she was beside me. She didn't want to turn around and she learned that her going ahead of me was causing me to turn, so she stopped the behavior.

I would also say "HEEL!" every time before I turned, if she heeled I wouldn't turn around. So now, whether on the leash or off the leash, if she begins to go a little bit ahead of me, one HEEL will get her to correct the problem.

This is an ongoing thing though, so like I said patience is a big part of it. Those are my 2 cents anyways, but like I said Im not expert, but I have owned a lot of dogs that were well mannered.
 
Thanks for the encouragement everybody - really helping me to persist and not let all you guys down.

I didn't get a chance to walk him yesterday, my girlfriend did, but I briefed her and she said that he did well with the training. Exodus, today I said heel whenever I stopped and made sure he was right by my left side before I gave him a treat and we continued - he's picked that up very well. I didn't want to get ahead with the training but I tried saying heel once without stopping when he was calm and he slowed down to my side! That's progress! :) He is pulling a little less frequently and with allot less strength.

Thanks for the advice on socialization Lil'Foo, I will definitely keep that in mind. For some reason since we've been on this new training he's been extra nervous of people passing by him, like wanting to give a warning snap at them if I don't calmly pull him away, "this way Buckley." I don't know if he feels more freedom with the harness instead of the gentle leader, or what. It worries me a little though because I have less control of his head without the gentle leader. I'm pretty aware of what he's paying attention to though and hopefully he will become more comfortable around them, I might buy another gentle leader if he doesn't get a bit better over the next few days, just for peace of mind.

DaveH, yeah I've been looking for a suitable place to have him off leash since we got him. The best place is about an hour away at a beech, he went wild - had so much fun, great chance to really work on his recall training. Not too many places around Berkeley though, it's quite populated and I'd worry about him and other dogs/people/just running off. As he gets better with his training more places will open up for us though. Your dogs look very cute by the way :)

By the way, I've watched some of that Cesar Milan before and I hate that guy! He makes it look way too easy!
 
that is all good to hear. It is amazing how easy it is to teach a dog something if you learn to think like a dog. Keep at it. "heel" and "stay" I think should be a part of all dogs vocabulary. Stay is a little harder than heel, I am still trying to work on that one, its hard with too many distractions. Good luck and know that you are not alone, this is the life of most dog owners, its constant training, a lot like child rearing. lol
 
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