I have a Rottweiler x Labrador mix whom is now a year and eleven months old. He loves -loves- other dogs when he's allowed to play with them in the yard / in an enclosed area off the leash. He plays fine with my friend's dogs when we walk them together, with our other dog, and the neighbors dogs.
When we're on a walk and he sees another dog, be it in a fenced in yard or walking on a leash down the street he becomes a completely different animal. He lunges, barks, growls, the hair around his back and the base of his tail raise up, and he looks extremely scary. I cannot control him when he does this, I weigh 115 pounds and he weighs near 100 so it becomes a battle to keep him away because the other dog owners immediately assume he's going to come and attack and I don't really blame them.
When he does manage to drag me up to the other dog, he stops and just checks the other dog out.
When he was a puppy, around four months old he was about thirty pounds, so other people would let him approach their dogs, no problem. He never whined, barked, lunged, he just sat and waited for me to bring him over.
As he got older and got bigger, people stopped letting him near their dogs even though he still sat and waited because of his size and breed I would assume. This resulted in him whining anxiously as we passed the other dogs, occasionally the fur on his neck / tail would go up but it was hardly the reaction I get now.
I'm thinking he doesn't understand why I've suddenly cut off his socialization with other dogs, but with his reaction there's no way people will let him near their dogs willingly.
My question is, how can I get him to pass other dogs more calmly. I've gotten numerous rope burns from walking him and I'm actually afraid to walk him during the day now because of fear of coming in contact with another dog.
I've considered dog training classes but most refuse "aggressive dogs" and I figure a Novice Obedience class keeps all their dogs on a leash so I don't know what to do with him.
I'm only seventeen so I don't really have the means to go and afford an at-home trainer, 'nor do my parents so I figured it was worth a shot asking.
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I noticed the other answerers keep suggesting all these collars that would be useless so I figured i might as well suggest one that would actually work. get the Illusion collar. the smartest out of all the collars that have so far been invented. But as with any tool you use, remember you, the handler, is still the most important tool, so don't expect the collar to magically fix your dog. it will help, but you ultimately have to know what you are doing.that sucks that so many classes have turned you away for not allowing aggressive dogs. i would stay away from classes like that anyways because the reason they turn aggressive dogs away is usually because the trainer has no idea how to handle them and can't risk looking like a fool in front of all his paying clients. just look harder for a class that doesn't turn away dogs with issues. those are the ones with the best trainers.
and ok you are young and may not have much money, but couldn't you find a way to get it somehow? anyone you can borrow a couple hundred from? a neighbor? a friend? aunt? uncle? grandparents? have a garage sale? there is always a way to scrape together some money.
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When we're on a walk and he sees another dog, be it in a fenced in yard or walking on a leash down the street he becomes a completely different animal. He lunges, barks, growls, the hair around his back and the base of his tail raise up, and he looks extremely scary. I cannot control him when he does this, I weigh 115 pounds and he weighs near 100 so it becomes a battle to keep him away because the other dog owners immediately assume he's going to come and attack and I don't really blame them.
When he does manage to drag me up to the other dog, he stops and just checks the other dog out.
When he was a puppy, around four months old he was about thirty pounds, so other people would let him approach their dogs, no problem. He never whined, barked, lunged, he just sat and waited for me to bring him over.
As he got older and got bigger, people stopped letting him near their dogs even though he still sat and waited because of his size and breed I would assume. This resulted in him whining anxiously as we passed the other dogs, occasionally the fur on his neck / tail would go up but it was hardly the reaction I get now.
I'm thinking he doesn't understand why I've suddenly cut off his socialization with other dogs, but with his reaction there's no way people will let him near their dogs willingly.
My question is, how can I get him to pass other dogs more calmly. I've gotten numerous rope burns from walking him and I'm actually afraid to walk him during the day now because of fear of coming in contact with another dog.
I've considered dog training classes but most refuse "aggressive dogs" and I figure a Novice Obedience class keeps all their dogs on a leash so I don't know what to do with him.
I'm only seventeen so I don't really have the means to go and afford an at-home trainer, 'nor do my parents so I figured it was worth a shot asking.
Dog Training - How To Train Your Dog In One Evening
Recommended Answer:
I noticed the other answerers keep suggesting all these collars that would be useless so I figured i might as well suggest one that would actually work. get the Illusion collar. the smartest out of all the collars that have so far been invented. But as with any tool you use, remember you, the handler, is still the most important tool, so don't expect the collar to magically fix your dog. it will help, but you ultimately have to know what you are doing.that sucks that so many classes have turned you away for not allowing aggressive dogs. i would stay away from classes like that anyways because the reason they turn aggressive dogs away is usually because the trainer has no idea how to handle them and can't risk looking like a fool in front of all his paying clients. just look harder for a class that doesn't turn away dogs with issues. those are the ones with the best trainers.
and ok you are young and may not have much money, but couldn't you find a way to get it somehow? anyone you can borrow a couple hundred from? a neighbor? a friend? aunt? uncle? grandparents? have a garage sale? there is always a way to scrape together some money.
Effective Dog Training by Using Collar and Leash
- When your dog starts to pull you, shorten the leash where you are only allowing the dog about 3 inches, and walk slowly. When he lunges, stop and make him sit, to calm him down. If he sits, they keep on walking, but don't let him have control. Hold the leash tightly to you only allow him to have about 3 inches of the leash, so you dont have a battle of tug of war
- Your dog is simpy not properly leash trained. You have an issue with control of your dog, and that is the main problem. You have to control the dog and make him pay attention to you and your commands over the other dogs.
I recommend purchasing a pinch collar/prong collar. with larger dogs and dogs with thick necks like the pit, rot, and german shepherd it is the most effective way to control with the least resistance.
I have a german shepherd rhodesian ridgeback mix who is currently 75 lbs. I myself weigh around 106. So, I understand where you are coming from.
I have worked with dogs who are hard to walk, and I have tried everything from the halti, choke chain, and head lead. None have worked better than the pinch collar.
What you need to do is remove your dogs standard collar when going for a walk and only use the prong collar because the normal collar will get in the way and render the pinch collar useless.
You attach your leash to the pinch collar and at the beginning of your walk when he tries to pull away from your side you go AH as you give a firm Tug /Release. The key is to make the pinch. You want to maintain slack on the leash, and only use the pinch when your dog tries to walk in front of you.
When you pass the dogs you will notice your dog to start posturing. He will most likely raise his head, tail and ears as he targets the other dog. You have to correct his behavior before it starts. When your dog goes on alert you do the tug and the AH. Every time he reacts to the dog you do this, but the key is to keep walking. Never stop walking.
Up until this point you have been catering to your dogs whim by allowing him to get to the dog to investigate and thus reinforcing the bad behaviors he is having on walks.
He needs to learn that a walk is just that, and it is not social hour. Make it clear to him that while he is on a walk he is not to interact with any other dogs, and he will surely get the idea.
I hope this helps. - My dog used to do the same thing, but I'm getting her under control now. I will be first to tell you that I do think that your dog could go to obedience because from what you have described you do not have an aggressive dog. O.k., now for the training part. You need to first work with your dog on basic obedience - train your dog to listen to you first and get his attention riveted to YOU, then you can tackle the challenges of walking past other dogs while on leash. Start in your home and yard with some extra yummy treats. Ask your dog to come and sit. Use a clicker or one special word like "good" - it is important that you say it exactly at the moment the dog does what you've asked. Then feed a treat. Practice this a lot until your dog is very good and turning on a dime and sitting on command. Then, you can take him out on a leash. Make sure that you ask him to sit every 5-10 feet. If you see another dog, ask your dog to sit facing you (away from the other dog). Feed your dog treats every couple seconds if your dog is able to sit while the dog passes. If the dog is barking and pulling, don't reward it.
- im surprised nobody has mentioned this before but there is something called a gentle leader which works wonders at controlling a dog who likes to pull on the leash i used to have a golden retirever and she pulled so hard but once i used the gentle leader she didnt pull at all and it helps u to have better control of the dog if the dog pulls on the leash the gentle leader turns the dogs head to look at you so this way if your dog sees another dog and wants to lunge this is prevent him from doing so
