All right....

My 7-month old, mixed breed (about 60+ lbs, has boxer/Catahoula/terrier/unknown) - still intact male puppy is DRIVING ME CRAZY.

I have been trying to train him not to pull on the leash ever since we started using one (about 2 months old). I guess I wasn't consistent enough in my training. Plus this dog is REALLY driven to eat poop, so on potty breaks it is a constant tug of war. He has discovered that if he pulls hard enough, he can sometimes juuuuust reach a poop I didn't know was there.

Anyway, our walks are TERRIBLE. He's *all right* - not great but all right - if I walk him by himself on a 20-foot flexi lead (which I like way better than a long leash).

Swap the 20 foot flexi for a 4 or 6 foot lead, OR add another dog into the equation and it becomes weight pull championships.

Problem > I am running out of patience and feel this pup is disrespecting me. I'm sick of it and starting to not look forward to walking this dog - and I know it's all my fault for allowing him to be this way.

I have tried a lot of things and I am ready to put a prong on this guy. He's just getting too big and strong for me to walk. I mean if I go for a walk with my friend and one of my other dogs (each of us has a dog) this pup will dig in and lean forward and literally choke himself on his flat collar for the entire walk, trying to be the "leader" in front of the older dog. (I've only walked him with another dog like 3 times total because I can't handle him).

On our alone walks he's not nearly that bad, still pretty bad though. By gosh he is getting strong and my arm sore. Potty breaks are also turning into a chore too because he's constantly trying to drag me around looking for poop or other things to eat.

I want to know what is the best way to introduce a prong for the first time. Here are my thoughts:

- Strap it on and let him get used to it for a few days before I actually use it?
- Put it on along with his flat collar and 2 leashes, pop the prong when he puts pressure on the flat?
- Put it on and use it immediately like Ed shows in his videos - give a good strong correction so the pup yelps and (hopefully) learns his lesson?
- Start using in the house first for other things (stealing socks, jumping up, being crazy) before using it outside?

This dog has been walking me for too long.

Edited by Angela Burrell (04/09/2008 10:13 AM)
Edit reason: whoops, sorry, didn't realize my post was so long!

 Quote: angela burrell

- Strap it on and let him get used to it for a few days before I actually use it?

This is what I do. I always condition/desensitize a dog to a collar first.

 Quote: angela burrell

- Put it on along with his flat collar and 2 leashes, pop the prong when he puts pressure on the flat?

I also use this method depending on the dog.

 Quote: angela burrell

- Put it on and use it immediately like Ed shows in his videos - give a good strong correction so the pup yelps and (hopefully) learns his lesson?

I am not sure Ed recommends this for basic stuff, but I do remember him talking about using this method when the dog is doing something that is dangerous enough to get themselves seriously injured or killed....re: car chasing

 Quote: angela burrell

- Start using in the house first for other things (stealing socks, jumping up, being crazy) before using it outside?

You can use the prong in whichever way you want to start, but I would start with one thing at a time at first. Otherwise, since all of the things you want to "fix" are listed, it seems as though you would be popping him all the time.

Ember wears her prong a lot and I only hook up to it if I think I am going to need it. At 7 months, there is still a lot of positive stuff to try IMHO. Maybe not with the walks, but definitely with the socks and other stuff.

Thanks Carol.

He is getting better with stealing and jumping up, but worse with the crazy. I am going to make a new thread with the way he treats my 3 adults (who are kept separate from him almost all the time).

I just thought maybe if I could use the prong as a *light* correction for something he already knows is wrong (stealing) it would work up to something he needs a good correction for (trying to drag me off of my feet). But... that might make him collar wise? He is quite a hard pup.

Oh one more thing. Should I pop him or let him self correct by hitting the end of the leash on his own?

I am probably over thinking this but it's my first pup in 20 years and I want to do it right - not be too hard on him but let him know what is unacceptable.

I give a light pop with a "no" command right when she starts, when she looks at me, I walk backwards away from her, reward, reward, reward as she follows me.... then I turn and go forward and she falls into a "fuss" position which is also reward, reward, reward....she is staying in a fuss position more and more, but I have not started the fuss command yet...too much other stuff we work on and I do not want to overload.....

 Quote: Angela Burrell

I just thought maybe if I could use the prong as a *light* correction for something he already knows is wrong (stealing) it would work up to something he needs a good correction for (trying to drag me off of my feet). But... that might make him collar wise? He is quite a hard pup.

Oh one more thing. Should I pop him or let him self correct by hitting the end of the leash on his own?

Angela, you may find that your pup is not as hard as you think. I thought that because my pup took a hard flat collar correction without batting an eye that she was hard. I found that the opposite is true; she takes a very light prong correction.

I let her self correct and she learned very quickly how to walk nicely on the prong. Make sure you have it fit snug and high up on his neck. (** I did condition her to wearing it, but only for 4 or 5 days)

you might want to read up on some of the articles ed has written before starting the work with the prong. It seems like you have an overall lack of respect issue, and sometimes the other behaviors (jumping, chewing, barking etc) resolve themselves when the pup learns who is in charge and who is not. Try to read up on some of the puppy articles to get ideas on what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Sometimes, when the issue of not pulling and walking respectfully on the leash is addressed, the pup stops the other obnoxious behaviors as well. If you are still having issues with specific problems after working through basic respect issues, you will have a foundation to go to when you dog is doing something unpleasant.

Cameron, (and everyone) thanks for your replies.

Yes I agree there is a lack of respect there, and he does seem to have a touch of separation anxiety too - not totally sure on this one so I will start a new thread about it one of these days.

I'll go back and look at Ed's articles.

For now, I've had the prong collar on him a couple times for getting him used to it, I haven't hooked a leash to it yet.

I've also vowed to try and give this guy more exercise, hoping that will help.

a tired dog is always a good dog ;-) Sometimes, all that is missing is clear leadership. Get that sorted out, and you may find you no longer have the problems you are having now. Minor separation anxiety can (sometimes) be addressed simply with re-defining leadership in the home. Work on the leadership issues, and building a positive, structured relationship, and then address the problems (if any) that remain. And always have fun ;-)