Very Reactive while on walks

M

MavRyder

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The weather is nice, people,kids,bikes, and dog walkers are back out. Ryder reacts to every thing! He knows every house that has a dog and even if the dog is not out or barking in the house he still lunges and barks his head off for the duration of the walk past the house. There are about six houses with dogs on our walking route so it can become a very uncomfortable walk. He lunges and barks at people, kids, and bikes. I was walking both dogs together so I would just hold his leash shorter, saying leave it, and walking as fast as I can past the situation. Maverick whom never reacted to anything and walks very well is starting to pick up a bit on Ryder s bad behavior. Now I have started to walk the dogs separately.Ryder s other problem is that he pulls. I have been using a gentle leader with him since he was six months old, now he is almost 15 months, and he pulls like a bull. He hates it!! too. I recently changed to a martingale. I am trying to teach him loose leash walking. The way I taught Maverick was by stopping every time he pulled, if he turned back and looked at me he was treated. I also would do 360 degree turns with him when he pulled. It took three walks. Three very long walks:lol: but he is the perfect loose leash walker. I am trying to do the same with Ryder but its not working as well. He wont walk forward after getting the first treat, he keeps on walking towards me wanting other treats and I am almost tripping over him. He will walk in a heel position if I have food in my hand. I walk him in the heel position, with a piece of string cheese,when we are walking past the houses with dogs. If I see a person, kid or bike I will get him to sit look at me and distract him with food. Now today was only our second day walking alone so of course there is not a significant amount of improvement. I was just looking for some feed back to if what I am doing is correct and if anyone has any additional behavior training techniques.
 
k9kreationz said:
No answers, but just know you're not alone. :)
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Thanks!
He was not like that last year. The only thing I can think of is that from November to March the streets are empty. Even myself I could not walk them every day because the side walks are like a skating rink.
 
I'll add my sympathies too.

Bentley is pretty bad about it. If I walk him with his Gentle Leader on he's better around certain things and at a distance...but there are still situations where the offending "thing" (dog, person, bike) gets too close and he loses control.

Did you see the video Ania posted about how to use the GL when your dog reacts? I've started doing that, and it seems to help a little. I reward when Bentley watches somewhat calmly as long as he isn't lunging.
 
with GL you hold the end loop in R hand, you keep your left hand around lenght of the leash. When distraction comes along and dog is about to react you slide down/ up your left hand under the chin effectively turning dog's head away from distraction. Unless you dog is very auditory and it is very high stimuli your dog will calm down as soon as distraction is not in their eyesight.
 
corbinam said:
I'll add my sympathies too.

Bentley is pretty bad about it. If I walk him with his Gentle Leader on he's better around certain things and at a distance...but there are still situations where the offending "thing" (dog, person, bike) gets too close and he loses control.

Did you see the video Ania posted about how to use the GL when your dog reacts? I've started doing that, and it seems to help a little. I reward when Bentley watches somewhat calmly as long as he isn't lunging.
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Thanks Ashley
I did and I looked at it again. I think that I will look into purchasing the type of GL she has. I believe I have a halty not sure what the difference is.
 
SheltieChe said:
with GL you hold the end loop in R hand, you keep your left hand around lenght of the leash. When distraction comes along and dog is about to react you slide down/ up your left hand under the chin effectively turning dog's head away from distraction. Unless you dog is very auditory and it is very high stimuli your dog will calm down as soon as distraction is not in their eyesight.
Click to expand...

Sorry not to be a dumb dumb:lol:but I am not following.
What do you mean by end loop? Mine is not called a GL I believe its called a haltie. Not sure what the difference is but I am not sure what the end loop is on mine:confused2:
 
I have a similar problem with one of my guys. Shai goes crazy every time he sees another dog. Frankly I can't tell if he's being aggressive or wanting to play. I usually walk him around 6 am and 12 midnight. Since it's so quiet at these hours, I've been able to teach him to heel, which he does most of the time. He still pulls a bit but nothing like he used to; he comes back to heel when I tell him. His walker deals with him in the afternoon. I don't know what your schedule is like, but I have found this very helpful.
 
Mikos has a limited slip collar and when we had a bit of difficulty we tied the leash around our waist and used the umbilical leash technique. It kept him closer to our side and when we gave the little correction on the leash it was easier to correct him sideways rather than pulling backwards which often happens. It seemed to work for us and every now and then if he decides to forget the rules we just bring the leash around our back so that it is easier to keep him at our side and not get ahead. Treats didn't work for us because he focuses on the food rather than the task at hand. Good luck, I'm sure Ryder will catch on soon.
 
My Pal had been so calm until recently. He believes he needs to bark at every cat and act foolish. He barks at everything and recently started nipping at my shorts. I stop walking and put him in a sit, which he does, but when he gets up to walk he goes right back to it. If it is a long walk he will stop. Funny thing is- I was just thinking this morning when Maverick started barking put of nowhere, while looking at me, then he started the non sense. I thought I cannot believe he is picking up on Paladin's bad behavior. But the difference is if you give him a firm no, he will stop. Paladin is like an energizer bunny and does not stop ever. You are not alone.

Donna
 
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