This came from another thread, moved here to un-hijack Julie Anderson's thread.

 Quote: dawn bersani

Hi, i'm new to the forum. I have a Blue Heeler named Dunkin who is now 1 year old( neutered). I got him at the age of 6wks ( I should have waited a few more). He started pulling/playing with his leash at an early age. At first I was able to stop him with "NO". But this behavior came back w/a vengeance. I tried to drop the leash and ignore him (turning my back), but all it did was to make him try to get my attention by biting me - and I mean really hard. I have since had to put on his pinch collar to stop this biting. The problem I have is 2 things; one- he is super fast ( and likes to wrap the leash around my legs), two- he is sooo smart that he can tell when I have a regular collar on him. Does anyone have a suggestion for me, maybe my corrections for this biting isn't hard enough?? I've recently started marker training with him, with great results - maybe as his respect for me as his leader increases this biting will stop?? any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Alyssa replied:
Have you tried redirecting his behavior?


Dawn replied:
I have tried squeeling like I was hurt, which only makes him worse, I've given commands to no avail. He was so biting bad at an early age that friends thought i had a kitten. He has been to a trainer (who worked with both of us at the same time). I was trying to decide if it's a lack of respect thing, play (haha) thing or what. The marker training we've been doing has him focusing on me well with commands, but just when I least expect it - it starts.


Alyssa replied:
Squealing like a wounded animal is only going to increase the dog's prey drive.

By redirecting, I mean offering a tug or a ball instead of the leash.


Dawn replied:
Yes, I've tried a stick, ball etc. they never work. It happened this morning (friday) but was able to redirect finally with his favorite stick. He seems to do this behavior when it's time to go in the house, or when he does'nt want to change what he's doing at the time. I will continue to try to redirect, just don't want him thinking I'm praising him for doing this behavior, by giving him a toy.

Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

Blue Heeler.
Thats in the hound grouping isn't it?

Well well, I just looked up what we're talking about.
I never knew that was their proper name, I always called them ACD's.
LOL, you should have just said ACD to begin with Dawn!

So what's your question? Didn't you expect a high energy dog? Didn't you expect a dog needing a job for him/her to be happy? Didn't you expect the job it'd take to bring a working dog to maturity with some kind balance?
So what's your question Dawn?

M&M Eterprises

My question is how do I direct him away from biting/grabbing me when 1: he doesn't have a herding job or "job" for that matter, and 2: he has never liked the "normal" toys such as balls for fetching(he'd prefer to get the ball and avert to chew it by himself). He prefers to destroy(attempt) any toys working with, and would much rather play with 4'pieces of corregated plastic pipe. If he can't chew & destroy, he doesn't pay it any attention. It's as if he doesn't know how to play.

Maybe I can come up with a job that is his, a routine to focus on??
What do you think?

Ohhhhhh. I didn't realize this was an ACD either.

Dawn, how much structured (and other) exercise is this guy getting?

'll take a stab at this, as it seems there are 2 or 3 issues going on here. this is just my opinion/thoughts.

first, re leash-biting, 2 simple things to do to cure him of this: either spray the leash with Bitter Apple (i love this stuff), or make a paste of cayenne pepper+water and paint it on the leash (if this were a chi, i wouldn't recommend this). one of these has always worked for me. always.

the biting. sounds like the prong winds him up. there're a couple of things i'd do. FIRST--have him wear the prong a LOT, even if you're not going out. he should come to regard it as another piece of equipment, not that it means "we're going out and i can get crazy". this is desensitization.

it sounds as if your leash-handling skills aren't all that great if he consistently winds the leash around your legs. if you have the leash in your hand, you control where the dog's head goes;if you control the head, you control the body. with that control, he cannot run around your legs unless you let him. work on that.

and if it was me, i would forget commands at this point, other than your marker, and he only gets THAT when he does something you ask him to do.

because it gives you such an advantage, i really like using a long line (or 2), where you can step on the line at random points of time to stop the dog. koehler was right--the dog doesn't know how long the line is...

but i digress a bit there. hope something here helps!

Thank you to all that replied, sorry I didn't realize I hijacked a thread - new and ignorant to forum..

I tried bitter apple when he was younger, no affect. I will try the cayenne paste. I did try a 5' small chain clipped to his leash at the collar; that worked until he figured out that it was only so long, and grabbed the nylon further up.

I will work on better leash handling, and he does wear the prong 99% of the time, he knows when it's not on that 1% by testing the line (he runs out to the end of it to determine which collar is on - I kid you not). so, the prong will be on 100% from here out. I also still keep him on a 12'line with me in the house, and he is crate trained.

I will also get a longer line like you suggest.

Thanks a bunch!

Tug is always a fun game for the dog Dawn.
Combined with marker training and a little imagination you can go almost anywhere you want with the dog.

The Training with Food DVD and tug DVD by M. Ellis and our very own Ed Frawley are good places to start your education for working WITH the dog.

M&M Enterprises

Thank you Randy and everyone for all your help, I'll do these things and let you know how it's going.