Fritz the Sh!t

[Kira]

right for a few days now fritz is becomming a prat quickly..

1. he tries his upmost to grab the lead wther it be from my pocket or as i attatch it to his collar

so I tried to distract him by hiding a toy in the garden getting him to sit and stay at my back door ((his run area)) hen i allow him to go seek he does this is at time of going for a walk but takes around 15mins to have him calm and to attatch the lead whilst he has teh rubber ring in his mouth.. only after him being calm do i play a little tugger and tell him to leave..

this has been a knock on from several months ago him going berserk when i lifted the lead thought it had all ended.. but seem to have got to a stage where he just doesnt want to know.. but yet from time to time he will stop and behave then goes crazy.. like theres an angel and a naughty devil on his shoulders..

on the way to the woods he'll drag like crazy takes some to hold him forever getting him to heel and not moving on until he calms.. around 4 weeks ago i stopped the raw diet and moved him back to Skinners field and trial duck and rice..

I reaklise hes an an age to be problematic and a terrible teenager but ive tried countless times with the lead trying to get him to behave..

when walking in teh woods hes way in front was around a yard but now i can barely see the shit at times..

ive tried ignoring the behaviour its only from attatching the lead and standing still that a little preasure chokes.. almost because he gets that excited i hold heel he does then i wait till hes calm..

what else can i try?


but yet on the way home no matter which route i take hes a blessing no lead pull just walks lovely at he side waits well outside the shops etc etc like butter wouldnt melt..

seems things only have value if he decides

[Stuart]

I alway think that one of the best ways to stop a dog from pulling, is to change direction fast,..everytime he pulls, sharply turn and go off in an entirly different direction,..they get to a stage where they are not sure where they are going and tend to hang back in antisipation

Nero the dog we are currently fostering, tends to pull when we first set off, so a couple of sharp turns one after the other, and it tend to sort it out, from then on he is more responsive.

I have never had the problem with the lead,.so this is only a suggestion, but have you tried other ways of attaching a lead,.. maybe to a harness where the lead is attached to the back,.. head collar,..or even a muzzle for a few walks and see if you can break the habit,..someone [ Linda I think ] the other day mentioned trying a chain lead because they dont like the feel of biting a chain

[GV9297]

Hiya

I sympathise!

From not knowing what a lead was Diesel used to go beserk everytime I got it out for walk time. He would pull it out of my hands jump up and down with it, even when it was attached he will pull it and run around etc.

I have been told theat I needed to desensitize him to it and unless you want this behaviour to continue this seems to be the only way to stop it. Basically you have to put the lead on him and just leave him - go and have a cup of tea, watch tv, basically ignore him for 5 - 10 mins then take the lead off. This needs to be repeated several times a day until the adverse reaction (playing up like hell and getting really excited)to the lead stops.

I have to admit I didn't like doing it I hated to see my boys little face get so dissappointed whe he knew he wasn't going out so its not easy. It does however work. So unless you want a real show everytime you get the lead out it seems to be the only solution unless anyone else has a better method.

With regards to pulling - I use the method described by Stuart and it does work but takes you ages to get anywhere - I now use a halti on Diesel and he walks so much better on that doesn't pull at all - the trick is to then use it only as a temporary measure and use the double ended lead to eventually wean the halti off back to a flat coller and lead (I am still in the process of doing this with Diesel.)

[PuppyLove]

i totaly sympathise too
when we got cara we desided steven was going to do the training with her and its a good job we did really as she wont listeren to a word i say even if im giving her a treat she just snatches it out of my hand and runs off again!! she is now 10 weeks old and totaly the dog of satan but its easier having tyson (6years old) around because she does copy him ALOT and tries to be like "the big doggy" even down to how he sleeps she will watch how he lies down and then try to copy his every position!! lol it is cute but very annoying when i say lie down she just goes to her food or grabs a toy!!
oh well i supose we have no one to blame but our selfs for loving and having such a stubborn breed i supose it will all be worth it in the end

[Kira]

well hes still at it now after all this time has transpired too..

Stuart i took the action turning sharp getting him to heel etc etc that works unless hes adament he wants to get somewhere hes getting a big lad and using his strength and weight.. although he does appear to take heed when i turn so i do keep trying on the return home however hes an angel... loose lead and dont know hes there.. im still walking fritz 3 times per day.. and the games continue..

then when it comes to... ((home time)) recall sucks at this point ive tried walking in another direction ie away from him and hoping he comes to me eventually which he does but i fi just stand and wait wait wait wait wait f&^%&%^ wait!!!! he does.. so on a morning and eve walks i wont remove him from the lead at all the only removal being in the garden and mid day walk.. hes fast becomming a pain in the arse.. excuse my french

lead hes getting less sensitive a little anyway... ive tried leaving the lead on for half hr then returning it just doesnt happen.. the sh!t knows when what and bloody how!!! grrrrrrr

anything else i can try??

[Caryll]

Re: the recall at home time. Do you only put the lead back on when you're ready to go home? If so, he's associating the lead going on with the end of his fun - of course he won't come back! Try putting the lead on & off several times during your walks so he doesn't think he's automatically going home.

For the pulling: I stop at any lead tension. As soon as the lead goes slack we set off again. Remus knows the 'back up' command, and does it automatically to get back to a loose lead. Zee's learning this now but mostly she turns towards me instead. If you're consistent it does work, the dog corrects itself when there's tension!

For recall at the end of the walk: I call them to me and give them a small treat when clipping the leads on, not every time, just now and then so they associate going back on lead with something nice. Even if I don't give them a treat, I praise them for coming back and being calm while I attach the leads.

You could try whistle training him to come back. I've done this with new pup - 2 peeps and call the dog's name.