Our 4 year old Labradoodle barks and pulls like crazy when he sees a dog, stranger, motor cycle, truck, etc. when on walks. We use a prong collar but this dog could pull an 18 wheeler. Would you suggest a dominant dog collar, electronic collar or a bark collar for this behavior? If either, what brand should I buy? I had a Tri-Tronics® Bark Limiter XS E-Collar for Dogs but it stopped working after a year. This collar somewhat stopped the barking but he continued to stand on hind legs and pull.

 Quote: john tepe

Our 4 year old Labradoodle barks and pulls like crazy when he sees a dog, stranger, motor cycle, truck, etc. when on walks. We use a prong collar but this dog could pull an 18 wheeler. Would you suggest a dominant dog collar, electronic collar or a bark collar for this behavior? If either, what brand should I buy? I had a Tri-Tronics® Bark Limiter XS E-Collar for Dogs but it stopped working after a year. This collar somewhat stopped the barking but he continued to stand on hind legs and pull.

Much more info needed.

Have you had the dog since puppyhood?

At what point does he react? (How far away?) Is he fearful, or wants to go play, or what?

Can you keep a loose leash with zero distractions, or is it always pull-pull-pull, distractions or not?

Have you worked on loose-leash at home, in a hallway or the back yard, with zero distraction?

QUOTE: "Would you suggest a dominant dog collar, electronic collar or a bark collar for this behavior?"

I'd first consider what training I had done and might do. The tool is secondary.

The hind leg standing and pulling suggests that the dog is probably allowed to get much too focused on the distraction.

P.S. Welcome to the board!




Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/03/2009 03:07 PM)
Edit reason: p.s.

Thanks for the response. For the most part, he is great on walks until he sees what he considers a threat. Once he sees the threat, he pulls and barks like crazy. He focuses 100% on the threat,I think out of fear. If I try to walk away from threat he will look backward until the threat is completely out of site. When he is not on leash, he chases after the person,dog or truck, etc. as soon as he sees it. When this happens he stops several feet from them and then slowly approaches and sniffs. So on one hand he barks like he wants to fight but in reality he would never hurt a dog or person. We have gone through extensive training in group setting which included off leash training. He did very well in that setting because he was familiar with all the other dogs and people in the class. He kind of has a Marmaduke type personality.

What in the sam hill is a Marmaduke? And is it's personality something I should know about!!!????

I've owned some very strong/strong willed dogs that could if given the chance pull a semi along. But they are not going to pull me! For anything!
Are you sure the collar is being used right.

Are you sure about this training you're talking about?
If the dog is off lead at all, why doesn't he have a decidely solid recall?

How many times a week does he get to play with the other dogs at the park?

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Back up and start from scratch with obedience! Learn the excersize with no distractions then slowly introduce distractions

So on one hand he barks like he wants to fight but in reality he would never hurt a dog or person.

I would be very careful about making statements like this, also very important that you don't believe it. Under the wrong circumstances any dog can hurt another dog or a human.

 Quote: Tanith Wheeler

I would be very careful about making statements like this, also very important that you don't believe it. Under the wrong circumstances any dog can hurt another dog or a human.

That is such a true statement that it should be carved into stone!!

Marmaduke is a cartoon character dog that has been around longer than your sam hills! Like Marmaduke, he would like to run the neighborhood and be involved in what ever is going on. He does not have play time with other dogs which is a good idea. I do try to run him to wear him down. His obedience classes were all indoors and he was excellent. He was off lease and was able to hold all commands as distractions such as kids, dogs and squirrels were introduced. I have trained 2 German shepherds and 1 Airedale and they were a piece of cake compared to this dog. This dog is a lot stronger than both those breeds and much higher strung. I say he would not hurt anyone for two reasons, one as he chases his tale is wagging and two he has had ample opportunity. I am not so naive to think an animal is not capable of biting. Based on some of the responses on this board I would say the same is true of humans. If anyone on the board is in the Cincinnati area let me know.

 Quote:

I am not so naive to think an animal is not capable of biting. Based on some of the responses on this board I would say the same is true of humans.

John, I want to be clear. I have never considered biting anyone on the forum. If he's dragging you with a prong on, your not using it correctly. If he wants to chase something, tell him to sit and then make him do it.

 Quote: john tepe

Our 4 year old Labradoodle barks and pulls like crazy when he sees a dog, stranger, motor cycle, truck, etc. when on walks. We use a prong collar but this dog could pull an 18 wheeler. Would you suggest a dominant dog collar, electronic collar or a bark collar for this behavior?

Hi John,

I agree with Steve - a correctly fitted prong collar should help with much of this. Is the prong too loose? (See http://leerburg.com/prong.htm for guidelines). Is the fur on his neck too thick for the prong to get his attention? (Just a thought).

I have used one leash on a prong and a second leash attached to a dominant dog collar for cases that persisted in behaving like dinks on the leash - calmly lifting the dog's front feet an inch off the ground using the dominant dog collar while firmly saying "no", then setting the dog back down and praising once it was calm. I've been doing this with my current project (young Airedale x GSD mix, smart dog but boy is he stubborn!) and it works better than a hard prong correction, which just gets him even more revved up. Just another thought.

Personally I wouldn't use an e-collar for this - your timing has to be absolutely spot on, which is hard when you are hanging onto a handful of lunging dog.

How much exercise does the dog get? Is he frequently exposed to all these things that set him off? I'm guessing that at 4 years old this behavior has become a habit, which is not to say it can't be fixed but it will take more time and persistence on your part. Or is this something he has started doing recently?