How Do You Refocus A Dog That Gets Easily Overstimulated On The Lead?

[fainty_girl]

How do you refocus a dog that gets easily overstimulated on the lead?

I am trying to get my dog Tilly (2 year old Kelpie X) to walk better on the lead, and while she has made progress, she gets easily overstimulated and when this happens she becomes difficult on the lead and will pull. Just so you have some background info on Tilly, she was a stray from the pound and she was about 8 months old when I got her. She had no training at all and probably spent her first 8 months in somebody's backyard.

I took her for a walk down the shops last night and she walked really well for the first couple of minutes, then she lost it when we crossed at the lights (the beep beep sound to walk always sets her off). Then a few minutes later some teenagers were on their skateboards while we were waiting to cross at more traffic lights and the skateboards seemed to scare her (she has chased skateboards in the past but I have been working on her with this for a while, if she is off the lead at the park and somebody is skateboarding by I have her sit down and get her to focus on me and ignore it, but she has never seemed scared of them before). Then we walked around the corner and up the road there were two dogs in a car and they went totally nuts barking at Tilly, so again that set her off. So obviously we didn't have the best walk!

This evening I took her for a long walk (7km), and she did pretty well around the residential/quieter streets, but then she saw a rabbit so that set her off with pulling again. I had a front clip no-pull harness on her and a check chain...at the beginning of our walk I used the harness and then about 10 minutes into the walk when she had relaxed more I used the check chain for a long while after that, then went back to using the harness after I couldn't stop her from pulling after she had seen the rabbit.

Should I just stick to walking her around the quieter residential areas until she is better on the lead? How can I get Tilly to settle if something (eg. a rabbit) sets her off/overwhelms her, causing her to pull on the lead?

She walks well on the harness and it does minimise her pulling a whole lot, but it also rubs the skin behind her legs and leaves her with a bit of redness there, so ideally I would like to be able to just walk Tilly on a check chain, because of all the things i've tried walking Tilly with, the check chain doesn't seem to irritate her skin much even if she does pull a bit. She is also happy to wear it - but she is always reluctant to wear her harness, and when I tried a head collar in the past that thing terrified her.

Edited June 20, 2010 by fainty_girl

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I have problems walking my dog - she freaks out when there's bad traffic (ie two or more cars on the road at once). So crossing a "busy" road can be exciting. I use the harness too. I also use the go-stop-go-stop thing. Ie I stop until she's settled - after crossing the road and freaking out. I also practice recalling her to me while she's on the lead - which gives her something else to think about besides freaking out. If there is something exciting she wants to chase or bark at (horses on the beach). I make her sit and block her view and when she looks at me - I give her a yummy treat or make a happy fuss of her. I also do the walk away from exciting thing then re-approach then turn and walk away and return, the turns based on improving (approach) or worsening (retreat) behaviour.

[pipsqueak]

See if you can get yourself a book called "Click to Calm" - sounds like some of the methods in there might help you.

[corvus]

You could try training a "calm" cue. Pair it with massage and the likes at home. Erik used to get wound up and stay wound up for hours. It was like he was unable to calm down again after something exciting happened. I did impulse control and chill out exercises with him, where I taught him to get excited with a 20 second game of tug or something, then got him to down and said my calm cue and waited until his tail went down and he started blinking more, then I'd get him excited again. We practised going up and down in arousal. Giving him things to concentrate on when he was really aroused helped as well. If I ask him for something easy it often helps him focus. I'm pretty sure the massage regime saved our lives. He would get so wired when he was younger! The massage alone went a long way towards a more calm dog.

If my dogs go over threshold on a walk I wait them out on the spot. We go nowhere until they can give me a sit or down. If they can do that they can give me a heel.

[Aidan]

Controlled set-ups where you have the liberty of some extra distance up your sleeve are the best way to teach focus and loose leash walking. One idea might be to find somewhere kids are likely to be riding skateboards but you can get yourself a good distance from them (say, a skate park). The distance needs to be enough that you don't get a reaction, then you work on your loose-leash walking and focus with lots of reinforcement. When it is excellent, move a little closer and repeat.

Obedience clubs are usually a reliable source of other dogs. Working across the street can be a good introduction to other loose leash walking around other dogs.

P.S If a front-attaching harness is causing discomfort it is almost certainly not fitted correctly. Depending on the design, the part around the body should be snug but not restrictive. The part around the front should be adjustable, try putting it up a bit higher on her shoulders. A sleeve can be made from polar-fleece which will stop any chafing. If you use a double-ended leash you might find it a bit easier to transition from harness to collar.

Edited June 20, 2010 by Aidan

[Nekhbet]

how are you using the check chain? If used properly you wont have pulling and you can calm a dog down.