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Pulling Puppy :-)


RidgieAmy
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Hey! so i have a 15 week old ridgie puppy and he is good on lead, when theres no dogs to pull towards!! i've worked on his lead skills from 8 weeks and he walks right next to me on a loose lead most of the walk, until he sees another dog, our breeder wants us to use the check chain.. Im not keen, don't mind him with one for the show ring! but not everyday. i have tried walking in another direction when he pulls to other dog waiting till hes not focusing on the dog then going back towards dog.i want him to be able to socialize with the other dogs too and he never calms foen once hes focused on the dog thats it basically anyway at the pet cafe in guildford (brilliant place) they have a harness that goes under his 'armpits' that helped with his pulling we tested it out down the street. has anyone used anything like this? it was attached to a collar also then had the straps for under armpits, no chest support: i was trying to find a similar picture to post but can't find one, i'm on my phone so my spelling etc will be shocking. apologies. hope someone know's what i'm talking about haha!

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all my showdogs are walked on chocker style leads & shown on very light weight chocker style too.(not chain fabric)

I hate harness especially for training puppies,you train them to do what you want & this will apply in the ring aswell.

Your pup needs to learn that other dogs doesn't mean play time often worse if dogs have attended puppy pre school because there taught to play from day 1 without ever learning the on/off switch (not sure if you did PPS)

If pup isn't paying attention thats because your boring ,you need to be more fun than the other dogs .You will notice at dog shows & training classes that most dogs interact calmlt & with respect & get to play when the time is right & focus when it isn't.

This will benefit you in the ring a dog focused on the handler & pleasing is a joy to show

I also hate harness that aren't designed for said dog as it sits right behind elbows & pulls them out plus teaches many .

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Yep, I have tried a lupi harness and a sporn harness.. They both worked for a while but then it was like he didn't care that it pulled under his front legs.

I now tend to walk in the other direction as soon as he starts to pull in one direction - changing direction quickly.

I also use a fence to help him not go in front. He walks next to the fence and I don't give him enough room to come past, so he can only get his head beside my knee (his body won't fit between me and the fence for him to go past)..

There is also distraction - try and distract him when he sees the other dogs before he gets to pulling stage.

I use a tennis ball but if he is food orientated even better.. Do a sit, drop, heel, stay - whatever you have trained for and works and treat, treat, treat..

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With pups it's about training them to have more value for you than other dogs. I aim for my pups to have a neutral value for other dogs, that is they don't think other dogs are particularly exciting. If your dog doesn't have a high value for other dogs they won't go silly trying to get to them. This article might help explain it;

http://k9pro.com.au/services/socialisation-what-is-it-exactly/

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Yeh we went to puppy kindy, but i spoke to the trainer and said he's too reactive and not learning anything because all he wanted to do was get to the other pups an play so she has agreed to exchange the remaining classes for home visits. I have done the distraction thing and it works with his fave roadkill toy until we get within distance and then yes he finds me boring even though i am trying to be exciting, making weird loud noises and squeaking his toy lol, so does this mean he can't meet other dogs? At hos first shpw training class he was awful not focusing at all but last week he was much better! No pulling and totally focused on me. He doesn't get bowl fed apart from his morning biccys an yoghurt the rest is hand fed so he works for his food! he doesn't pull towards people on street he walks beside me, just with dogs and nothing is more interesting than dogs. We have two rabbits also and i let them out fpr first time last week and he just lay there, i got him to focus on me while they were hopping about around him and he glanced a few times i've taught him when i say look to look at me in eyes and he does unless theirs a dog. Then everything goes out the window

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I wouldn't be classing him as a reactive dog just yet. Sounds like a fairly normal puppy. Take him back to class, keeping him by himself isn't going to help matters. Most of the puppies at puppy school do just want to play, they are babies. You go there and learn what you need to do and then do the work at home.

You get some serious little border collies that look like they have already been trained the rest are busy making their parents look silly.

At this stage forget going for a walk. Your outings are for training.

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I don't like correction chains on puppies. They aren't for pulling. And a sporn harness may help, but put him back on a flat collar and he will just pull. Don't take him out of class because this will just make him more excited when he eventually sees other dogs. You just need practice and to be consistent with him. I'd consider coming to puppy classes at my work. We are going to trial offlead puppy classes like Ian Dunbar does, so you can't rely on the lead and have to actually work tokeep your dog focused on you. If we meet up we can chat some more and do some practice runs with our dogs.

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Jules reactive doesn't mean anything bad. :)

In our case Ziggy has more value for other dogs than he does for food or me - so he 'reacts' badly by pulling towards the other dogs.

I don't want this 'reaction', so we are training and using tools to change the reaction to something that is wanted.

Some dogs are reactive to kids on skateboards, loud noises, other dogs (both aggressively and non aggressively) etc.

To get Zig out of pulling we have used most tools available - it doesn't help that he has no interest in food at all, so distracting with treats doesn't work.

The thread has loads of useful info on training and how to train out of undesired behaviours.

It is also a great place to talk about our achievements and get support for our set backs.

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He is 15 weeks, rome wasn't built in a day but you need to work harder & be smarter each day,your pup is small now.

PPS are becoming such a waste of money fad,so many bad trainers who now buggar all.

Your pup is normal & if the trainer can't deal with that then i wouldn't be having private lessons from them .Are you paying more for private lessons??What have they suggested about pulling ??

Join an obedience club .

When you walk what treats do you take??

What toys do you use??

I now alot of people do the bowl feed & it works wonders but for our guys they work better when that treat comes out for special occasions,meals are meals, training is training & the treats are very exciting or there fav is used .

Have you discussed what the trainer has said to your breeder ??

Some of the Ridgie breeders trial or did trial & maybe your breeder is one of those who can give you advice or maybe a club name that they find is great with Ridgies .

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We have a 16 week old german shepherd puppy in our class at the moment who has had similar reactions to your dog. There is no way I would tell them to stop coming to class to solve the problem. The puppy needs to learn to deal with it by learning in the presence of it. After just one class of focusing on the issue, the GSD is now focused on the owner in close range to other dogs. It is all about teaching them that you hold more value, like the other posters have said. :)

You can start by prompting the pup to look at you by making funny noises or saying his name. The millisecond he looks at you, even if it's just a glance, say "yes!" and become animated and offer him his reward - whether this be a high value treat or a game or tug with a toy etc. Run backwards and draw him in towards you to get the reward if it helps you to be more animated.

Start out with some distance and work your way closer. I'd use a normal flat collar or a martingale collar. With a martingale you can use a correction when he is reacting. He can look calmly at the other dogs but nothing happens. Reacting may get him a correction. But looking back at you = big rewards. You are increasing your value and decreasing the value of the other dogs.

He is at the age now that you should be able to take him to an obedience school and continue to work on this in a group environment.

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No we never paid extra for home classes and we will still be going to free playgroup with him so he wont have cut socialising jusy he'll be with dogs of different ages not just puppys. As he plays rough a couple of puppy owners have said they dont want him offlead with their pup even though the trainer said they are going back for more! and he isnt hurting them. The first home visit is this thurs so will discuss with her then. kylie i messaged you back :-). very keen on this. its also the initial meeting that he loses all focus and pulls after a few minutes hes a bit better but still not what i think he should be.

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I just used basics out walking lots of high reward treats handy in treat bag on waist and every time there is deviation from correct walk I gently correct, re focus and when she steps off normally reward. Or if she becomes geed up by sight of another dog or birds I say"sit" make her turn away from object first and then when she is looking at my eyes reward I then usually do some sit -> drop -> sit or circle work and refocus and then off we go again. After only a couple weeks we can calmly approach known stable dogs when walking to say hello and I always expect her to sit beside me and wait until I allow introductions, this way everything is always totally under control.

We have a comfort flex slip collar which is padded and broader then normal but still gives total control they are currently on special at Clean run website and free shipping so great buy.

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1772&ParentCat=449

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No we never paid extra for home classes and we will still be going to free playgroup with him so he wont have cut socialising jusy he'll be with dogs of different ages not just puppys. As he plays rough a couple of puppy owners have said they dont want him offlead with their pup even though the trainer said they are going back for more! and he isnt hurting them.

So train distraction with no distraction around, and then let the dog go mental with other dogs.

Find a new trainer. If your trainer has to take your pup out of a situation it's beyond their skill level. Listen to your breeder, they know their dogs and lines best and they have already achieved to where you want to go. Sport harnesses and others frankly teach nothing, it's maybe fine now but wait until you have a large, strong ridgeback yanking you around howling.

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You really do not want to try to control an adult Ridgeback on ANY kind of harness.

Agree with Nekbet - find a better trainer. This is bread and butter stuff for any decent dog trainer.

You need a program to desensitise your dog to other dogs and work to build YOUR value to your dog. And some basic loose leash walking work too.

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