Yeah, he's getting more exercise than that.

I had him on leash and right next to me, he was actually laying down at the time, but I was not stepping on the leash, so he was able to get up in a fraction of a second...will have to remember to stand on the leash if I'm in a similar situation again. AND I will have to remember to block anyone approaching the way the boy did, because Ruger would have never reached him, even though I wasn't stepping on the leash, if the boy had not gotten so close.

We have a block wall going around the back, and part way up the sides of the yard. Right now it's debatable whether or not the wall is high enough in certain areas. The rest of the yard is "temporarily" enclosed with a wire fence on one side, and a wood panel on the other. (I hate it! :-P) It's enough to keep the kids safe, but not incredibly secure for a dog. Ruger is fine, though, out there WITH us. And anyway, it's incredibly hot out there this time of year, so his focus after potty is getting the heck back inside the house. LOL Anyway...so yes, but only "sort of" our yard is completely fenced. I'm SO hoping that within the next year or so we can get the funds together to completely finish the block wall, get a proper secure gate, and possibly even raise the existing wall in some areas.

Yes, yes, I know!! :-) It's hard to believe how far I've come from the pathetic person I used to be, when I STILL have SO far to go. But seriously, learning about dogs and practicing pack leadership, training, etc., has all helped me become a very different person. Even if I am still just a tiny bit pathetic at times. :-D

Sometimes it's patience or some other trait, but often it's assertiveness and leadership that's what we need to learn from owning dogs.

Take the lesson and run with it!

Laurie,I have a 10 month puppy with lots of similar behaviours to yours.
I have found that ,for us,a choke collar works much better than a prong.Held until the pup settles,usually quite quickly now.Then he can have permission to greet people when he is calm.I think Ed has pushed this alternative as well.Can we really expect pups of this age to be little paragons?
A friend suggested that when he was about to mouth you a quick squirt of citronella from the hand spray that you just happened to have in your pocket would stop him.I haven't tried that yet.Has anyone else.?Its used as an alternative to electric collars,how effective I have no idea.

SERIOUSLY??!!!!

I, personally, wouldn't use a choke collar on ANY dog, let alone a puppy. It can cause too much trachea damage, especially to a pup. I would not be 'correcting' a pup.

I also would not be spraying something in their face as behavior punishment. Spray yourself in the face with your eyes open & see if you think that it doesn't sting or irritate your eyes.

Poor pup.

Have you tried marker training (possitive reinforcement training) & PATIENCE with your PUP?!

I agree that we can do much better than that.

I don't expect pups of this age to be paragons. Hence, my own responsibility to manage and control the situation and keep him out of trouble.

Just to add in my 2 cents. Look at your own emotions and behaviors when your interacting with people you don't "like" per se. Your dog is picking up on that and behaving what he thinks as appropriately. When your dog respects you, and knows what you expect, then he will behave the way you want. I have to remind myself every day, my dog will always love me, but may not always respect me. As pack leader, I strive to be a benevolent dictator. Fair, calm , confident, consistent, and unyeilding in my rules. If my rules are broken, correction is swift and fitting the crime, then forgotten. Don't ever train your pup angry, and always end training on a good note.

Your pup is only doing what he thinks as best instead of deferring to your judgement as pack leader. Keep your training consistent with what you expect, and don't break your own rules. He'll learn quickly. =)

I have my own issues with my pup, aggression is not one of them. Up to 7 months he was always in a harness as Ed suggested in his DVD. It gave me much more control of my pup. He grew out of the harness so I recently put him in a regular leather collar for walking corrections using the sharp jerk as Ed taught in his video. Usually in the beginning of the walk when he is energized this happens. I don't jerk and jerk though.

If that doesn't work, I just stop and go nowhere and give him a verbal correction. He knows what he is doing and settles down. When he settles down and walks the speed I want to walk then we move. I walk slow with a cane. Sometimes this might take me 5 tries before he gets it. I learned that on the DVD also. It works.

I use the two loop leather leash Leerburg sells, and make him sit, and them heel using the short hand loop to cross the street, then sit, and OK, and give him full leash again. Always using treats and positive reinforcement the whole walk.

Later in the walk he is always better behaved and walks with a loose leash. If he strays left, towards my cane hand, I give him a RIGHT command, which, he actually knows very well and he comes over to my right again. Helps that the grass is on the right side too.

I give him a "hut!" if he is starting to straighten out the leash and that works too. I always walk him on the right of the road where he can smell interesting things. If he is not behaving, I move to the middle of the road where he has no distractions.

My wife can't walk him with a loose leash, because he knows she will not take the time to stop and correct him. He just pulls her all the way. I don't let her walk him anymore. She gets the older dog, who, is well trained by me, and very mellow.

Everything everyone said sounds correct to me, as well as you saying you need to view the DVD again. Get a harness and get rid of the Prong. I don't like them. Hurting a dog when you are trying to get him to do something gives negative results in my very very humble opinion. I use only positive reinforcement, treats, and a tug, again as Ed described in his DVD.

....and no, I am not a salesman...just a very happy customer.

Thanks, Ken. Good ideas, and I'm already trying harder to stop and calm Ruger before moving on. That will likely be a big help, eventually.

I honestly don't see how you have more control with a harness, though. I know that the Leerburg videos recommend harness use, but I honestly don't get how that could be of benefit to me here. The ONLY reason Ruger doesn't pull me hard enough to knock me (and my poor daughter in my backpack carrier) down to the ground is because he knows the prong is there, and he knows it will hurt him if he does it. Without the prong, I'm afraid I'd be on the ground every day. I simply don't have the strength or the body mass to keep him from knocking me over while not using the prong. He's GOOD when we're walking side by side, but WHENEVER I allow him to range out a bit, he's a maniac without the prong. With the prong, he will slow down before he reaches the end of the lead. I'm not so sure I want to risk my safety, and that of my daughter to go to a harness, where he's not going to have any reason to slow down before he reaches the end of the lead. I'm not trying to be cruel...that's not it at all. And I also feel that if my training methods are successful, then whether or not he's wearing a prong is really kind of irrelevant. If he learns what I want, we won't need the prong...I'll just use a flat collar. But we have to still get to the point where I don't have to rely on the prong to keep him from knocking me down.

Marker training Anne,that's a good idea hmmmmm must look it up.
No where did I say that I gave a correction with a choke collar nor did I suggest one squirted citronella in his face.I do wish people would take the trouble to read what is written before jumping in.I think the spray collars,WHICH I HAVE NOT USED,give a puff under the jaw.Nothing emotive like spraying ones'eyes