Posted: 4/7/2009 11:44:53 AM EDT
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i have a 50 pound female german shepherd mix puppy, about 9 months old. she is a wonderful dog, i love her to death and she loves me to death. she is perfectly behaved inside and around the house. however, when i take her on a walk we begin to have problems. she constantly pulls at her leash no matter what i say or do to her, always wants to lunge after nearby people, and will try to dart into the street to avoid sewers. i have tried as much of the reward/treat type training as i can, but we don't seem to be getting anywhere. when she tries to run after kids, cars, etc going down the street i have grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, pulled her back to me, and rolled her onto her back in an effort to get her to understand the severity of the situation. i think we have made a little bit of progress.
now enter today, i get a letter in the mail from someone who claims to have "seen me abusing my dog by grabbing her by the nape of her neck and throwing her several times" and says she will "call the police and humane society if (she) sees it again". there are only 3 houses that can see that area of my property that are "suspects", i know all of my immediate neighbors well and they think the world of me and my dog. i am going to be trying to figure out who this yahoo is, but in the meanwhile, i ask arfcom, does this sound remotely like abusive treatment to you? |
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Not to me. Big dogs require a little rougher treatment at times (but not over the top). Our GSD (our third) walks ok, but when she sees another dog she looks like she is in attack mode. Finally bought one of those chain collars (with the points facing inward that pinch when pulled) I was against it at first but it helps the wife when she is walking her alone.
It works best to give it a tug or two when the stimulus is approaching, before the behavior starts. She is very well behaved (listens to all commands) except when walking on leash. |
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As long as you aren't physically slamming the dog down hard as that person seems to be trying to suggest, no it isn't abusive.
Some people don't understand the way dogs think. A large dog must understand that you are dominant in order to obey you. This is why my wifes animals don't listen to a thing she says. If i have to tell them to stop, they cease what they are doing and be quiet for a while. Even when she tries to get on to them, she uses a "its all right pooky, please don't do that" tone of voice. |
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i will definitally have to look into the prong collar/e-collar. i always thought they looked a little cruel but i guess they are helpful, especially if they make her listen and not get run over in the street.
thanks for helping me make sure my cruelty calibration was not way off 
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Try a prong collar first.
Keep in mind training out this behavior is a very SLOW progress. I think its important that you first train your dog to stay beside or behind you. I've found that most "aggressive" type dogs think its there job to do this when they're out front. Get them behind you or beside you and they will slowly learn its not their job, its yours. Also get your dog around other dogs and dog owners. I've found with my lab/chow mix she doesn't give a shit about strangers when they have a dog but when a stranger walks up to us without a dog, she lets the stranger know not to take another step. At some point you can start bridging the gap between stranger with dog to stranger without dog. |
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In general, people are weird about animals.
All I can say is look out for those PETA freaks. They are dangerous, they have an agenda and they will act on it to make trouble for you. My sister has a friend with a big boisterous Boxer/Pit mix. Great dog and we are now the best of friends. But when we first met, he kept jumping up on me and trying to nip my face. I gave him a knee to the chest (which is what I was advised to do in this situation by a trainer) which sent him down, sliding on his butt. She freaked out. "Stop hitting my dog!". Then I showed her by calling the dog, he came to the hand with his ears down. I made him sit and down and then praised him and loved him up. She couldn't believe it. "He never does that for me." Some people just don't get the dominance thing. At all. It's like a parlor trick, I've amazed several dog owners by commanding their dogs. One word, same word every time, along with a hand signal. Don't confuse the beast. How many times have you seen, "Buddy, stop, don't, c'mon, Buddy? quit it, Buddy. A smart dog has the intellect and language capacity of a five year old. They'll understand but you have to speak dog and also use the nonverbal cues. What's the point of domesticating an animal if you don't have control over it? |
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thanks for all the input. small update, the neighbor did in fact call the humane society and they came by today. he agreed with me that while there are probably better training methods available, my dog is happy and healthy and is not being abused. i have some good intel that the nosy neighbor is a obese single lady in her 50s with a little 10 pound lap dog that stays home alot, so hopefully the humane society can now write her off as nuts and i can go about my life .
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I just took my 9 week old GSD puppy for her first real walk yesterday.
The first block was a lot of "Leave It", Block 2 she Met another dog (went a lil wild) By block 3 she was walking with me pretty good, we semi ran the last block home. I hold the loop of the leash in my right hand and the leash in my left so if they pull you can lift straigh up. They can't pull and they figure it out pretty quick. Good Luck |
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Our dog pulled me around the block the first week we had her. Trainer came spent 2 hours with dog, my wife and me. Leash training was with a semi choke collar and a squirt bottle filled with water. I said heal and if he dog didn't she got a stream hitting her head. By the end of the day I had a dog that didn't pull.
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You don't have to kick the dog's ass, use an e-collar, a prong collar, or anything painful at all. You just have to know how to work with the dog. Get someone who knows what they're doing to help you. If they suggest any of those methods, they don't know what they are doing.
My dogs, originally, could pull me onto my FACE (and did.). Now, I can let my three-year old walk them on their leash inside of a Home Depot. It amazes me how many people like to call their dog their best friend, but then resort to fear or pain to communicate with them. That sounds like a pretty one-sided friendship to me. |