Walking Puppy

[pomchi]

Hi I have been walking Link for about a week and a half and up until the last two days she was really good, walking beside me, not pulling on the leash and then the last two days she has been barking and grabbing the lead in her mouth and running in front and pulling on the lead, to the point where I end up taking her back home. any advice on why she is doing this and how i can correct it. We have been walking around the same area so i dont know why she has started doing this.

thanks

[Genabee]

Hi I have been walking Link for about a week and a half and up until the last two days she was really good, walking beside me, not pulling on the leash and then the last two days she has been barking and grabbing the lead in her mouth and running in front and pulling on the lead, to the point where I end up taking her back home. any advice on why she is doing this and how i can correct it. We have been walking around the same area so i dont know why she has started doing this.

thanks

We went through a phase similar to this...

I now always take treats with me, and she gets rewards for walking properly and sitting at corners when we stop! I also found walking to new places helped, as she was anticipating where we were going and she would try to lead the way!

I sprayed her lead with bitter bite. Whenever they try to charge ahead, turn to your right (assuming Link is on your left) and go back the way you came. Believe me when I say the get sick of walking around in circles!!!

I also find now too, that the first stint of the walk she is difficult, then she gets into a rhythm. I also notice that on the way home, she gets a bit excited and tries to race ahead. I think she knows we are approaching home! I find I have to allow her a few minutes of excitedness and then she is much calmer and generally easy to walk. I guess you just have to keep working on desensitising her to everything around her, until such time as she thinks it is all normal and takes it in her stride.

I hope that helps a bit!

[Haydz]

Phoenix used to do that to her lead.

I would simply growl in bad dog voice and pull the lead up, so everytime she went to bite she was strangled (for lack of a better word), so she would get an annoying jerk.

Being a puppy Link is just testing what he can get away with. You may need to do some social walking training (the turning away everytime they pull as wizzle suggested), maybe some corrections and treats will show link what is acceptable.

[Red Fox]

Kei went through a stage as a puppy where he would have complete mental attacks on the end of the leash. Like a full on temper tantrum! Bouncing, jumping, biting, rolling, throwing himself on the ground, barking, hurling himself into the end of the leash then running back at me and attacking my sleeve

He was around 4 months at the time from memory and 20 odd kilos. Being a first time dog owner I wondered what the hell I'd gotten myself into. The more I growled at him or said no! the worse he got.

I honestly can't remember how I dealt with it, but stepping up leadship certainly helped. Luckily the stage passed relatively quickly (at which time we went on to deal with other issues like leash pulling).

I do think that it's normal puppy behaviour to a point and testing the boundaries. You could start by practising NILIF with her http://www.k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=100. TOT (pinned at the top of the forum) may also help. However if it becomes unmanagable a consult with a good trainer would be your best bet

[pomchi]

Hi I have been walking Link for about a week and a half and up until the last two days she was really good, walking beside me, not pulling on the leash and then the last two days she has been barking and grabbing the lead in her mouth and running in front and pulling on the lead, to the point where I end up taking her back home. any advice on why she is doing this and how i can correct it. We have been walking around the same area so i dont know why she has started doing this.

thanks

We went through a phase similar to this...

I now always take treats with me, and she gets rewards for walking properly and sitting at corners when we stop! I also found walking to new places helped, as she was anticipating where we were going and she would try to lead the way!

I sprayed her lead with bitter bite. Whenever they try to charge ahead, turn to your right (assuming Link is on your left) and go back the way you came. Believe me when I say the get sick of walking around in circles!!!

I also find now too, that the first stint of the walk she is difficult, then she gets into a rhythm. I also notice that on the way home, she gets a bit excited and tries to race ahead. I think she knows we are approaching home! I find I have to allow her a few minutes of excitedness and then she is much calmer and generally easy to walk. I guess you just have to keep working on desensitising her to everything around her, until such time as she thinks it is all normal and takes it in her stride.

I hope that helps a bit!

Thanks

today I took her out and we went somewhere new, she didnt race ahead until we git close to home (like you said) and I put some vicks on her lead so only tried to bite it once .

The treats worked well because I am trying to make her sit before we cross the road, now all I have to do is get her to settle when we are walking in areas that she knows ( she started throwing a lil tanty so I just stopped walking till she calmed down - this took awhile ).

I think she is trying to push those boundaries, even if she only weighs 1.5kg hehe.

[pomchi]

Kei went through a stage as a puppy where he would have complete mental attacks on the end of the leash. Like a full on temper tantrum! Bouncing, jumping, biting, rolling, throwing himself on the ground, barking, hurling himself into the end of the leash then running back at me and attacking my sleeve

He was around 4 months at the time from memory and 20 odd kilos. Being a first time dog owner I wondered what the hell I'd gotten myself into. The more I growled at him or said no! the worse he got.

I honestly can't remember how I dealt with it, but stepping up leadship certainly helped. Luckily the stage passed relatively quickly (at which time we went on to deal with other issues like leash pulling).

I do think that it's normal puppy behaviour to a point and testing the boundaries. You could start by practising NILIF with her http://www.k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=100. TOT (pinned at the top of the forum) may also help. However if it becomes unmanagable a consult with a good trainer would be your best bet

Yep that temper tantrum sounds familiar, I guess i am lucky she only weighs 1.5kg and not 20kg, Kei must have been a handful

I think stepping up the leadership is a good plan.

[Genabee]

Sounds like she is being a normal pooch!

I will have to try the vicks! Does it stay sticky?

[pomchi]

Sounds like she is being a normal pooch!

I will have to try the vicks! Does it stay sticky?

No its really good, she licked it once and that was it, didnt touch it again

[Marley'z Mum]

can ya use dencarub? I think i have seen people say they have used it, just want to make sure before i use it, i have a kitchen stool with foot rests that are bout to be totally destroyed

[aussielover]

You could try using a metal chain type leash. I have heard that puppies will not generally bite these and if they do, they don't like it.

[sas]

#1 piece of advice I could give anyone....don't get annoyed, angry or frustrated....it does take a mentality switch but your dog will respond a hell of a lot better when you are calm....as soon as you change your mentality from calm to something else the dog picks up on it and runs with it. Yes you will probably need to stand there and deep breath though it....I reccomend the breath as it also lets the dogs know you're calming down too and calms them down.

You could do a couple of things, carry food with you as you would when you're training a puppy and have the dogs focus rather than having it grabbing the lead.

Get a metal chain lead whilst you're going through this little phase.

Ignore the behaviour completely, stand still and don't move until the dog has calmed.

Don't even put the leash on the dog if it's not 100% calm.

Edited July 19, 2010 by sas

[W Sibs]

#1 piece of advice I could give anyone....don't get annoyed, angry or frustrated....it does take a mentality switch but your dog will respond a hell of a lot better when you are calm....as soon as you change your mentality from calm to something else the dog picks up on it and runs with it. Yes you will probably need to stand there and deep breath though it....I reccomend the breath as it also lets the dogs know you're calming down too and calms them down.

You could do a couple of things, carry food with you as you would when you're training a puppy and have the dogs focus rather than having it grabbing the lead.

Get a metal chain lead whilst you're going through this little phase.

Ignore the behaviour completely, stand still and don't move until the dog has calmed.

Don't even put the leash on the dog if it's not 100% calm.

[koalathebear]

We're still struggling with walking Elbie. Sometimes he walks beautifully on a loose leash and all is wonderful. Then he remembers he's on a leash and he either:

1. pulls like crazy;

2. starts attacking the leash like a wild thing - inexorably chomping his way up the leash!

For the pulling, we're countering it with treats and constant direction changes. For the biting, we are still working out a solution. Sometimes a 'look at me', 'let go' 'no biting' command works, depending how zoned out he is. He seems less inclined to attack the chain leash but the one we have is a little too short to use comfortably and we haven't been able to find a longer one yet.

We love the BlackDog brand cloth leash we have and tried spraying bitter bite on it. Problem is, Elbie doesn't seem to mind the taste. Remember that scene at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring where Aragorn stabs Lurtz and Lurtz pulls out the knife and licks it while staring defiantly at Aragorn? The first time we sprayed the garbage bin with bitter bite, Elbie stood there licking it and staring up at us with defiant puppy eyes as if to say: "Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!" "Lay on Macduff!" and all that jazz.

On the weekend, I tried sprinkling extra hot chilli powder on the leash but poor puppy got a tiny bit in his eye and was very reproachful so I immediately rinsed the leash down - although some diluted chilli powder presumably remains on the leash. During obedience class he chomped down on the leash a couple of times but rather than recoiling in horror he sort of licked his chops in a: "Hmm, very interesting" fashion My OH who was walking him at the time gave me a: "Now what do we do?" face.

We're thinking we might try chilli oil now, even if it means getting oily hands :D

Edited July 19, 2010 by koalathebear

[poodlefan]

Those who advocate putting strong irritants like Dencorub or Vicks on their pup's leads would do well to try some in their own mouths first.

The adverse effects of this stuff on your dog will last long after it has associated the taste with mouthing the lead or another object. If its at mouth level, its at eye and nose level.. and that's a pretty strong aversive to have waving around your pup's face while trying to teach leashed walking.

It's not only pretty damn cruel, its ineffective training. Use a deterrant designed for the job, not something that will cause a lot of pain to sensitive mucus membranes inside the mouth for quite some time.

Pomchi, have you attended any training with your pup yet?

Marley's Mum, put the kitchen stool away for a few months or lock Marley out of the kitchen when you aren't there. This phase doesn't last forever.

Edited July 19, 2010 by poodlefan

[pomchi]

Those who advocate putting strong irritants like Dencorub or Vicks on their pup's leads would do well to try some in their own mouths first.

The adverse effects of this stuff on your dog will last long after it has associated the taste with mouthing the lead or another object. If its at mouth level, its at eye and nose level.. and that's a pretty strong aversive to have waving around your pup's face while trying to teach leashed walking.

It's not only pretty damn cruel, its ineffective training. Use a deterrant designed for the job, not something that will cause a lot of pain to sensitive mucus membranes inside the mouth for quite some time.

Pomchi, have you attended any training with your pup yet?

Marley's Mum, put the kitchen stool away for a few months or lock Marley out of the kitchen when you aren't there. This phase doesn't last forever.

Yeah I have taken link to puppy school and she is now going to obedience class, it was actually the trainer who recommended using vicks on her lead, link also wears a harness so the lead isnt exactly waving around in her face, and so far she has left the lead alone.

I have also tried bitter bite - she licks it, doesnt seem to bother her. She will eat/lick anything e.g plaster on the wall

[pomchi]

#1 piece of advice I could give anyone....don't get annoyed, angry or frustrated....it does take a mentality switch but your dog will respond a hell of a lot better when you are calm....as soon as you change your mentality from calm to something else the dog picks up on it and runs with it. Yes you will probably need to stand there and deep breath though it....I reccomend the breath as it also lets the dogs know you're calming down too and calms them down.

You could do a couple of things, carry food with you as you would when you're training a puppy and have the dogs focus rather than having it grabbing the lead.

Get a metal chain lead whilst you're going through this little phase.

Ignore the behaviour completely, stand still and don't move until the dog has calmed.

Don't even put the leash on the dog if it's not 100% calm.

that's a good idea with standing still, I tried that and she got bored of her tantrum and decided to start walking again, must have looked hilarious to the people watching this lil puppy going mental whilst I just stand there and ignore her

[poodlefan]

Yeah I have taken link to puppy school and she is now going to obedience class, it was actually the trainer who recommended using vicks on her lead, link also wears a harness so the lead isnt exactly waving around in her face, and so far she has left the lead alone.

I have also tried bitter bite - she licks it, doesnt seem to bother her. She will eat/lick anything e.g plaster on the wall

If that trainer is prepared to put Vicks in their mouth I'll be surprised.

[Red Fox]

Those who advocate putting strong irritants like Dencorub or Vicks on their pup's leads would do well to try some in their own mouths first.

The adverse effects of this stuff on your dog will last long after it has associated the taste with mouthing the lead or another object. If its at mouth level, its at eye and nose level.. and that's a pretty strong aversive to have waving around your pup's face while trying to teach leashed walking.

It's not only pretty damn cruel, its ineffective training. Use a deterrant designed for the job, not something that will cause a lot of pain to sensitive mucus membranes inside the mouth for quite some time.

Pomchi, have you attended any training with your pup yet?

Marley's Mum, put the kitchen stool away for a few months or lock Marley out of the kitchen when you aren't there. This phase doesn't last forever.

Yeah I have taken link to puppy school and she is now going to obedience class, it was actually the trainer who recommended using vicks on her lead, link also wears a harness so the lead isnt exactly waving around in her face, and so far she has left the lead alone.

I have also tried bitter bite - she licks it, doesnt seem to bother her. She will eat/lick anything e.g plaster on the wall

I have to agree with PF. I'd never put anything like that on a leash, let alone a puppies! Dencorub is horrid stuff, It could easily burn the pups eyes or skin. (Bitter bite is another matter, it's designed for dogs, however as you've found out not all dogs react to it anyway.)

Pomchi, if Link is on a harness then thats half your problem. How are you supposed to have any control? Try a martingle collar and a good leash, and persist with multiple short training sessions. I'm not sure how long your obedience sessions are but often they are way too long and puppies get bored. For leash training you can do that in 2-3, 3 minute session per day, at home in a low distraction environment. Use lots of rewards and encouragement when she does the right thing (praise, treats, etc.).

As I said in my earlier post, if it was my pup I would work on stepping up leadership and NILIF for the time being. Chomping on the leash is pretty normal puppy behaviour and she will eventually grow out of it

Another option might be a one on one session with a good trainer who can show you some techniques.

In regards to an instructor suggesting the vicks, it wouldn't surprise me. There are certainly some great ones out there but also a few that like to take the easy way out -ie, if he pulls use a halti, if he barks use a husher, if he sniffs put vicks under his nose, if he doesn't learn well that's because you can't train that breed... heard tham all unfortunately

[Marley'z Mum]

Haven't used Dencorub, was just wondering, as it isn't just the kitchen stool he has chewed or attempted to chew, and I can't take everything in the house out of his path.... and there are times he just doesn't listen.....

so was just wondering if there was anything I could use to deter him, the only other thing is, if he isn't listening he gets a time-out outside, but I am sure he doesn't realise what he is being put out for

[pomchi]

I have to agree with PF. I'd never put anything like that on a leash, let alone a puppies! Dencorub is horrid stuff, It could easily burn the pups eyes or skin. (Bitter bite is another matter, it's designed for dogs, however as you've found out not all dogs react to it anyway.)

Pomchi, if Link is on a harness then thats half your problem. How are you supposed to have any control? Try a martingle collar and a good leash, and persist with multiple short training sessions. I'm not sure how long your obedience sessions are but often they are way too long and puppies get bored. For leash training you can do that in 2-3, 3 minute session per day, at home in a low distraction environment. Use lots of rewards and encouragement when she does the right thing (praise, treats, etc.).

As I said in my earlier post, if it was my pup I would work on stepping up leadership and NILIF for the time being. Chomping on the leash is pretty normal puppy behaviour and she will eventually grow out of it

Another option might be a one on one session with a good trainer who can show you some techniques.

In regards to an instructor suggesting the vicks, it wouldn't surprise me. There are certainly some great ones out there but also a few that like to take the easy way out -ie, if he pulls use a halti, if he barks use a husher, if he sniffs put vicks under his nose, if he doesn't learn well that's because you can't train that breed... heard tham all unfortunately

I have to use a harness because she is a pomeranian, and prone to a collapsing trachea, so a harness is the safest option for her.

I think she is trying to get me to do it her way, so now I just stop walking until she behaves, and since she loves walking it doesnt take too long, I am hoping after a while of this she will get past it or like you said grow out of it.

Luckily she is treat orientated I have learnt to carry a supply of these in my pockets at all times, although that lil nose can sniff out any tiny piece of food.