Extra help dog leash training anyone?
My friend has a 2 year old GSD. It’s a boy dog and its very strong.
When they go out for walks at night the dog pulls everywhere, especially when it sees a cat, it wants to chase it, it will pull like crazy and if you weren’t ready for his sudden pull he could pull you over and drag you along while he chases the sound or noise. He once even nearly got crashed by a car when they just tied the leash to his collar and just got out the gate, he just leapt over and did a sudden pull!
If this keeps happening their dog will die because… It might get crashed by the car…
Any suggestions on how to solve the pulling problem as well as cat chasing/bird chasing/leaf chasing.
It gets very annoying trying to stop him, they just say sternly, “No.” and they pull him away.
They have tried one of those head leashes when the dog wears something around the muzzle so you can control the head, but the dog refuses to wear it.
Tagged with: anyone • Extra • help • Leash • Training
Filed under: Dog Leash Training
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He once even nearly got crashed by a car when they just tied the leash to his collar and just got out the gate.
A technique I was taught by my dog trainer is to teach the dog that YOU are the leader, you are not the follower. You need to walk the dog like you normally would, but when he starts pulling, you turn around in the other direction. This shows him suddenly you are leading and he is following…he will then again move in front of you but when he does turn back around and walk in the other direction….over time this will teach him to stay behind you, that you lead, and he follows….You will want to practice this at home so you don’t look strange walking back and forth. Many, many, many repetitions and patience are key for this. Hope it helps.
clearly the dog owners are not in charge of this dog as they are not even able to get him to wear the haltie !!! sadly, if they don’t grab a clue and learn themselves how to take charge of this dog or if they are able, hire a dog trainer, the outlook for this dog is not good … and it is not just the physical danger of an out of control dog, that dog is super anxious and that is not a happy way to live … i hope your friends can step up and train this dog somehow for the benefit of them and the dog …
A lot of dogs don’t like head collars, which are dangerous anyway with a dog that suddenly hits the end of the leash (they can cause cervical spine injuries).
Your friend should immediately enroll the dog in a beginning obedience class. Part of the problem is that GSDs are very intelligent, very active dogs. If you don’t keep them busy both mentally and physically, they’ll come up with their own entertainment, including dragging you down the street. In the obedience class, consult the trainer about prong collars. Yes, I know they look awful, but used correctly they are actually safer than head collars with a dog that hits the end of the leash suddenly and with force. A study in Germany showed they were significantly less likely to cause neck injuries than traditional training collars. Only 2% of the dogs wearing prong collars showed signs of injury from them. Like any other collar they can be abused, and they can be fitted incorrectly. So go to a trainer experienced with them for instruction and fitting. Don’t trust the pet store.
I own GSDs and train GSDs. My first male took me off my feet as an adolescent. He hit the end of the leash very hard and I wouldn’t let go. I literally became airborne and watched the ground passing below me before I landed face first in the dirt. The next day our trainer put him in a prong collar and I was able to control him with it until he got enough instruction from obedience class to behave without it. He hasn’t needed a prong collar now for almost 10 years, but that six months of adolescence it was truly a life saver. For both of us. Just make sure it is used correctly.
Once they can control him safely, they need to double his exercise and include mental exercise from training to burn off his excess energy so he’ll be easier to live with until he grows out of nutty adolescence.