Puppy Biting Pram Wheels And Leash

[Naomi]

My four month old Australian Shepherd puppy is biting the pram wheels so badly we can't walk at all anymore. The moment we start moving she starts going for them. Once she is in this mind set she will also play with the leash by biting at it and walking along with it in her mouth.

So far we have tried using a chain leash, but she still bites this.

And we have tried putting a bitter spray deterrent on the wheels. Someone even suggested putting Vicks on the wheels, but she still bites them regardless.

Any advice would be appreciated as I love taking my toddler and my dog for walks and not being able to do so is affecting all three of us!!

[persephone]

oops - herding breed - wheels - it happens a lot

I presume you have trained pup to walk without the presence of the pram ? have you been to a puppy school?/trained in the backyard ?

She is a baby .. and will be a bit bored with just a stroll , when alongside her , there are moving things which her instincts tell her to CHASE/herd/nip!

IF she walks beautifully on a lead - with no pram , and listens to you - THEN you will find it much easier to walk her with the pram .

Also - by just using the pram in the yard ..you can train her to ignore wheels - use treats to get her to pay attention to YOU - not the wheels , maybe ?

I will stress that she needs a couple of obedience sessions each day , plus LOTS of interactive toys - balls, plastic drink bottles with a few bits of dry food in , a sandpit , deer antlers or big bones to chew ...all that sort of thing to stimulate /exercise her brain, instead of the pram wheels ;)

[Dogsfevr]

You need to go back to basics and pup needs to go walks on its own to set it up for success,given the pups age the walk would be short anyway but this time s a crucial time for lead training .Uf you want pup to accept pram then do exercises at home without the toddler being in the pram and spend the time teaching pup what the pram is without all the distractions and attention the pram gets .

There is no point displaying the puppy for something it has no clue about or how it should react to it

[LisaCC]

I agree with the above posters.

Australian shepherds can be very prey driven dogs. Mine was a land shark as a puppy. Would herd and heel anything that moved and the only thing that stopped it was consistancy in his training from day one.

You have two things you need to get this puppy used to completely separately. 1: The Leash walking 2: The Pram.

I highly recommend attending a beginners obedience/training class if you haven't started already.

Edited April 14, 2016 by LisaCC

[sheena]

I agree with the others...teach loose leash walking first, then counter-condition him to the pram. I used LAT with my border collie & it is one of the best methods I have come across. You can get the info you need for LAT here The Look At That Game :)

[Naomi]

She is much better when it is just walking with her (and no pram), but still a bit bitey with the leash.

We had a dog trainer come down and check out our situation. She has advised to teach our pup 'leave it' and 'look at me'.

We have started these commands and teaching her to 'leave it' with treats. She's picked it up really well. Our plan is to get this solid inside and then outside in our yard. Then we will introduce the pram while someone else is getting her attention to 'leave it' and 'look at me'.

Does this sound like a good start? I just don't know how to progress from her not reacting to the pram going past her to actually getting her walking alongside the pram? Seems like a big jump. What's the middle step here?

[Naomi]

We've raised an Australian Shepherd puppy before, but I guess all are different. This girl's herding instinct seems a lot stronger than our first Aussie.

[denali]

I'd say the middle step is just additional pram work.

So you introduce the stationary pram in the distance, getting focus, then bring it closer. That's step 1. Then 2. Would be introducing the moving pram at a distance, asking for focus, and moving it gradually closer as she does well. 3. Take a few steps next to the pram. Then progress to walking around a bit more, then full walks :) And all of these steps should be practiced in a variety of locations- inside, outside, front yard, backyard, down the roads at the park etc :) It won't be a super quick fix, but it will be worth it in the long run!

[sheena]

I would be working as above (Denali) but I would be working with the Look At that Game, rather than look at me. LAT teaches the dog that it is OK to look, but you get rewarded for not reacting

[Dogsfevr]

She is much better when it is just walking with her (and no pram), but still a bit bitey with the leash.

We had a dog trainer come down and check out our situation. She has advised to teach our pup 'leave it' and 'look at me'.

We have started these commands and teaching her to 'leave it' with treats. She's picked it up really well. Our plan is to get this solid inside and then outside in our yard. Then we will introduce the pram while someone else is getting her attention to 'leave it' and 'look at me'.

Does this sound like a good start? I just don't know how to progress from her not reacting to the pram going past her to actually getting her walking alongside the pram? Seems like a big jump. What's the middle step here?

Baby steps ,rome wasnt built in a day & remember doing it right now is very important .Your pup is only 4 months old they tug on leads & do things ,that is normal but what you allow pup to get away with is another thing but having said that attempting to much to quickly & not getting it right just makes it harder & harder .

What you need to remember is pram today ,toddler in push around toys,bikes tomorrow so taking the rights steps now is actually more important than pushing the baby & pram in a hurry

[karen15]

I would have someone push the pram while a second person walked the pup at sufficient distance that it could obey the leave it command successfully. As it succeeded I would progressively have the two people walk closer together, distance being determined by how the dog reacted. Once they can walk side by side, that should lead to one person being able to walk dog and push pram.