I recently started trying to train my female 4 yr old GSD on leash. Th ereason I just started to try to train her is that I thought she was to soft nerve to handle a correction. She would pee if you looked at her wrong. Thos is a difficult thing to explain. When I am ready to walk her (we live in the iddle of the woods so need to worry about cars or strangers) she will come to me on command, she might sit if she wants to. She sits if I look at her sternly and point my finger at her and repeat the command. I can put the prong collar on her no problem, but then when I start to walk she whines, and bolts stops and goes between my legs, then bites mt feet, pulls back, jumps like fish out of water. When she calms down I can get her in a heel position but then she nips and licks my hand. I put her in a sit (a forced sit, she will not follow command on the leash) and she will lick her nose for as long as I let her (but I cannot stop her). She does not behave this way with my husband. I try to correct her but only makes her fight me more. When she bites aty my feet it is like she is saying "no, I will not walk" she is not trying to hurt or break skin, she does not growl or show teeth, she just mouths and whines. Then she will be fine she will walk in position with heaad down like she is trying to pull me but she will be leaning me heavily. If I were not standing there she would fall. I will nudge her with my knee to get off, but again she will lean, or pull back, bite, lick, whine. I do not know what to do. My male is obedient, alpha. When he walks he knows his position and stays close. He bumps into me, but I never feel he is trying to steer me in a direction like my female. She has never received a hard correction, and training has always been positive (sit, down, come). I know she knows what the words mean because she will do it for a ball or treat. I really feel like she is trying me alpha female. Today we tried the walking, I put her in a down, and stared her down. She did not break eye contact for it seemed like 3 solid minutes. She has all of these submissive body signs, but acts oppisitly. Her ears will be folded back and licking her nose, but then she will be staring me down. I need help. What am I doing wrong? I know this is a handler issue. I just want to walk her on a leash without it being a war of the minds.

It would be easier to tell if I saw the behaviors. But based on your description she is being submissive and does not understand what you want her to do. Her actions on the prong collar would indicate she fears it because she does not understand it, ie how you are using it to train her makes NO sense to her, therefore it makes her nervous because it is punishment that, as she sees it, has no rhyme or reason to it.. I think the presence of the treats helps her understand that you want her to follow commands, ie it is a signal. It should not be a signal it should be a reward. I think you are probably not fast enough in giving her commands and rewards at the proper instant. Learning how to clicker train your dog will help with that skill. Just to be clear, that is all a guess on my part, but following the recommendations won't damage things even if I am wrong about the situation.

It does make sense that she does not understand what I want her to do. If this is the case, then how do I leash break a GSD w/o a prong? How do I do it humanely w/o causing fear or anxiety. When she on a leash with her normal leather collar she FREAKS OUT! She bucks jumps, runs, cowers, and tries to pull her head out of the collar. So what should I do?

As Thomas had mentioned that you may use a clicker method to get her motivated and wanting to walk. I personally would get Ed’s video Building Drive, Focus and Grip with Bernhard Flinks. This method works as a great way build a bond with your dog. The reason that your dog is freaking out is that she has clicked into flight drive. But with the leash she has nowhere to go. I am thinking that the nervous behaviors are just leading her into a panic attack. E.g. licking, nibbling, and whining. Now this may stem from corrections that you have given her in the past, but if she doesn’t want to walk with you I would be patient. I’m sure that she will start peeing again if you push her too far, or worse yet aggression towards you. Since you had mentioned that she likes the ball so much, you may get her to walk while in drive, as they explain the “heel” in the video. To properly build her drive and focus will take some time, since she is so sensitive to the leash. But in due time I hope that she would come around
It wouldn’t hurt to try and walk with your husband and see how she does. I hope that she isn’t afraid of the walk with you, but encourage you to build that trust again.

She sounds like a spoiled brat to me. I have one that does many of those behaviours. For years I thought she was "nervous" or "upset." Come to find out she was just working me for all she could get (or rather getting away with doing as little as possible). The rules have all changed for her, and she was NOT happy about it at first. Now she has to do what I say, immediately when I say it, for as long as I deem neccessary. Given her 5 year history of "spoiled brat status" I had to really tighten up on her. Her attitude and performance has greatly improved though. She's much happier and more loving, too. I'm training her using an e-collar, and it seems to make a lot of sense to her, and is very effective. The exact methods/theories I've used are too extensive to get into in a post, but I'd caution you against approaching the dog's problem in a "she is submissive, she can't handle correction" manner. Dogs are masters at turning things to their advantage. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I recently had a client bring a Boxer to me for recall issues. It turns out the dog couldn't even walk on a leash. Or wouldn't, rather. They said he would walk on a harness, but he simply couldn't walk on a collar. This was an adult dog! I started work on the harness, but quickly decided that the dog could and would walk on a collar. I don't like working dogs in harness, it makes heeling, sits, downs, etc so much more difficult. To make a longish story short, when I put him on the collar, he acted crazy. Bucking around, biting at the leash, pulling, etc. I ignored that as best I could (for the moment) and worked with him using the e-collar in conjunction with the regular collar. He settled down quickly, and miraculously was able to walk on a regular collar. Once that was settled, we could work on the recall (which inspired another round of theatrics at the beginning). He'd been getting his way for a couple years, and didn't want to give that up. But I convinced him it'd be in his best interest, and he became a nicer dog for it.

I have used the e-collar before on her and it does not phase her. I think she likes it actually, as in it feels good. I know she is a complicated dog. I was thinking of a halti collar. I have never used one but thought it was worth a shot. I was alos thinking that maybe I would start the training with a "getting to know you" session, meaning I would spend time petting her and bonding with her before the walking drama. I know I can do this I just have to unlock her secret. I was also thinking of leading her along with a fist full of peanut butter and keeping her close, then when the treat runs out see if she maintains the heel position. I am afraid that this whole walking thing has been a negative experience for her and is causing her more anxiety than neccessary. That is why I am hoping that if I build her calmness and trust maybe I will have better results, or am I just hoping for a miracle? { <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Sandra, what is your end goal with the dog? Are we talking house pet or protection dog? The answer to that question will have some impact on how you deal with the issue. Based on your description it does sound like a timing/reward issue on your part. No matter what your training goals are or what training method you plan to use, if you have poor timing with the cues/rewards/punishments you will have problems. That is the reason I suggested clicker training, it is really good at teaching people how to properly time the cues and rewards. In your situation, the clicker training would be for your benefit first and the dogs second. At that point, whether you continue to use clicker training to train the dog really depends on your end goals, but the skills learned from that training will help you no matter how your proceed from that point on. A good simple start would be using clicker training to get the dog used to you putting on her collar.

All that said, you do have one big benefit over other people with dog problems, the dog does obey your husband. What I suggest you do is watch their behaviors and interactions as if your were Jane Goodall watching chimps in the wild. If you take that analytical approach you should be able to discover the root cause of the problem and the solution.

In anycase, avoid the Halti, your just asking to break your dogs neck if you use that.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. Monday I will start a fresh page with her and work on basic obedience and drive. It makes alot of sense that my timing is off and I am only confusing her. I think I am going to leave the walking situation alone for a couple of days and work on some other basic stuff. Again thank you.