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OP, I have a big, very strong pup who is terrible about eating rocks. Mine wears a greyhound muzzle when she is outside. It's comfortable enough for her and who knows how many surgeries for blockage it has prevented. A greyhound muzzle won't fit a Rott, but someone somewhere makes a muzzle to fit that dog. Rock eating is a serious health hazard.
A couple of suggestions. Stop letting the dog decide the pace of your walks. Take that control back. You decide where you go, how fast you go, and if and when he is allowed to pee on a bush. When I walk my dogs, we are moving briskly, with the dog on a short leash and a loose "heel". The dogs are not allowe to sniff and pee until I stop and give them permission.
That does not hurt the dog's enjoyment of the walk. It improves their manners, puts me more in the control position, and it is much better exercise than lollygagging around from pee spot to pee spot.
I'd do a exercise called controlled walking, where you change directions every time the dog pulls on the leash or ignores your location. Then you laugh about it and make it a fun game, but the dog very quickly learns to always know where you are going.
I suggest an obedience class and you need to have a qualified instructor show you how to properly use a prong collar.
Halti is a good tool, but might not work so well on a dog with a short snout.
Trying to crawl into your lap is most likely not dominance, but if you don't want it, don't allow it.
I was lucky in the way I was able to train my dogs because I had a heavybag in the basement of the residence I was staying in at the time. I had two pitbulls during the period and they were both trying to disrespect me, so I took them downstairs and beat on the heavy bag and stared them down.
They both looked scared, so after that they realized who the dominant dog was in the house. I feel like with aggressive dog breeds, you have to show them who is in charge by the display of strength and aggression.
Oh my- this was wrong on so many levels. Of course they both looked scared; staring at a dog is an aggressive act; when a dog is thinking about starting something serious with another dog they give a hard frozen start. Why on earth would you want to frighten your dog into submission instead of actively teaching them how to be a willing engaged life companion. It is never a good idea to suppress behaviors.
And I may add- there is no such thing as an aggressive dog "breed". Truly aggressive dogs of any breed are far and few between. Fear aggression is unfortunately quite common.
Last edited by twelvepaw; 05-26-2017 at 11:43 AM..
The key to stopping leash pulling is to make it enjoyable for the dog to be near and focused on you. Which is easy on a heavily food driven dog. Treat often when walking beside and looking at you.
I have an almost 6 month Rhodesian Ridgeback mix who is quite strong and stubborn. I have a trainer come every couple weeks and work with us. He responds to commands either by hand signals or voice.
For leash pulling he has me change direction multiple times on a short leash, as this pulls on the dog, he learns to stay by me; or we stop until he is calm. He is great on a leash until he sees a person or dog, or at the dog park. He has improved greatly, and we are almost there!
We are also doing nose work in addition to play time and dog park. It's obvious that he needs a variety of stimulation so he doesn't get bored.
The trainer has been invaluable. For instance, I could not get Dante to lie from a distance, and he pointed out that because my hand signal was in front of me, he couldn't see it. I moved my hand signal to the side, and down he went!!
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No matter what the species, all teenagers are aholes.
You just have to calm, patient, firm, and push through.
He'll settle down.
Amen to that sister!
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Moderator: Relationships Forum / Hawaii Forum / Dogs / Pets / Current Events
I was lucky in the way I was able to train my dogs because I had a heavybag in the basement of the residence I was staying in at the time. I had two pitbulls during the period and they were both trying to disrespect me, so I took them downstairs and beat on the heavy bag and stared them down.
They both looked scared, so after that they realized who the dominant dog was in the house. I feel like with aggressive dog breeds, you have to show them who is in charge by the display of strength and aggression.
The front clip harness has worked for me when my GSD was younger, and we use it in still.
However.... I keep a martingale collar with leash attached as well. I have to do this because mine will no longer tolerate a dog who comes running up to us barking. A young, and not so bright border collie came running up to us that way (probably just posturing - my other dog would ignore him when I walked past with her).
But... my GSD saw it as a threat, and I had to just sit down and hold on. The harness did hold, but I was happy for the collar too.
If they pull, a strong dog can still actually pull you over with the harness. It doesn't "stop" them, it just makes them more aware. You will have to have a back up plan to prepare so he never learns to pull it.
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