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I adopted a 3 year old boxer shepherd from some people nearby. He is good in the house and very obedient to vocal commands. The only thing is he pulls relentlessly on the lead and barks at other dogs we come across.
He is gentle with our cat so i don't know that he's aggressive by nature but maybe it's just that he's nervous around other dogs on the walk? the owners said he had been attacked before by a small dog.
How can I fix this? I watched dog whisperer once and he said to walk him close by your leg on a very short lead and try to correct him but he pulls the entire time making it impossible.
I can make him walk by my leg by holding his collar instead of the lead and tugging him every now and again when he pulls but it's very tiring for my arm.
Any recommendations on fixing his walking and making him not bark at other dogs? are classes a good idea? I'm worried he will attack other dogs there.
I don't want to get rid of him and he's perfect in the house it's just the walk that's an issue.
(pic isnt him but looks like him.)
I would also like to train him some advanced stuff like police dogs just to occupy his mind but i don't want it making him more aggressive.
Any tips MASSIVELY appreciated I don't want to give him up. I also want my GF to be able to walk him which she can when i'm there but if he sees another dog he drags her very easily.
Would she ever be able to walk him on her own?
>>2015965
forgot to mention he's not yet neutered. Will that help?
>>2015965
It may not be dog aggression. A dog can pull on a leash to get to another dog, and bark out of frustration; frustration from the other dog being present (which would be aggression), or frustration from you not letting him meet/sniff/play with the other dog. Of course that doesn't mean you should let him. Next time on a walk, pay close attention to your dog. Is he stiff, wiggly, tail high, low, wagging fast, slow, are his hackles raised, and if so how much, is there snarling or teeth showing, and if there are teeth showing, is it a 'smile' or a warning, etc. Training will differ if you're working with a dog aggressive dog vs a very rude and frustrated dog.
To help with the pulling for the time being, get an easy walk harness. It's very easy to put on; the D ring goes on the chest, and you clip the leash to the harness and the collar. This will offset his balance when he pulls, making his pulling less strong and easier to handle.
Now as far as training, your dog pulls because he know that if he pulls in a direction, he gets to go in that direction. Basically, he is getting rewarded for pulling on the leash because when he pulls, you're still walking in that rough direction. For that, I would suggest that whenever he pulls, either stop dead in your tracks until there is slack on the lead (let him come to you himself, don't give him a command) or begin to walk in the opposite direction. If he pulls again, same thing; either stop or turn around again. I would advise doing this first in your house, where there are few distractions, and then move to the yard, and then the street. It's simple, but it takes a lot of patience. He won't learn the idea for the first few walks.
I don't think Shutzhund (is that what you mean by police dogs?) is a good idea for a potentially aggressive dog that's untrained. Agility and obedience would be great though, as Boxers are easily trainable and I think it would provide a lot of physical and mental stimulation. I think you would both benefit a ton from dog training classes, but it would have to be one on one because of your dog's potential dog aggression.
I would be wary of letting anyone walk a dog if they were not capable of really controlling the animal, even if it were well trained. You could have your dog be extremely well trained, but if a cat or something startles it, or he goes after a hot dog cart, or god knows what sets him to run off, you want someone who is capable of holding the dog to be on the other end of the leash, not just for the dog and the walker's safety, but in case the dog ever happened to run after someone's pet. Unless your GF is 12 and has a lot of growing to do, or is recovering from muscle atrophy, if she can't handle the dog with an easy-walk harness on (it does make a big difference) she should probably never walk the dog even when he becomes more trained.
>>2015979
It is possible it will help a lot or a little, but it's also possible it won't change a thing. Either way, I would highly recommend it for health reasons. Since he is untrained, he will be a monster when a bitch in heat is around. I would try to get that done ASAP to see if it changes his behavior around dogs
>>2015980
Is a harness good tho? I've heard that it's best to have a collar around the neck because the harness is on the strongest part of the dog. Of course I will look into one tho so thanks for the tip.
I will watch him next time we see a dog. Today was interesting as the first dog we saw across the road, i let his lead go loose and he looked over for a minute all interested, i said leave and he came back without barking.
Usually he pulls with his shoulders and barks but no snarling or teeth showing
>>2015985
Yes agility is something i was looking into. Good point about it being 1 on 1 but i would love for him to play with other dogs eventually. I just need some kind of controlled interaction with another dog with an experienced trainer there because i think he could get on with other dogs given the chance i just don't want to risk it yet.
Yes fair point about my GF. She isn't big by any means and physically weak unfortunately. I suppose we will see what she's like with the easy-walk harness. I'm going to look on amazon for one now.
And yes we are getting him neutered after Christmas.
>>2015987
The easy walk harness isn't like other harnesses that are just meant to relieve strain from the neck. With the easy walk, the leash clips to the front of the harness, and will go around either the dog's left or right shoulder. That way, when he pulls, he ends up pulling left or right (depending which shoulder the leash is over) back towards you. Yes, the chest is stronger than the neck; the neck is very fragile and the trachea can get damaged from too much weight applied to the front of the neck.
>>2015965
>boxer
theres your problem
>>2015997
Yes I found one like that on amazon and have ordered it, I look forward to trying it out.
I'm also looking for agility lessons now.
>>2015997
Be careful with front-clip harnesses like the Easywalk. Many of them put unnatural pressure on the forelimb and cause the dog to walk with an altered gait -- dogs have suffered front leg injuries from wearing them.
There are a few that do not put pressure on the forelimbs, but they're few and far between.
Ultimately, you're better to train loose leash walking at your soonest capability, rather than relying on tools to do the job for you. But a lot of dog owners don't have the patience or inclination to train their dogs, which is why they slap potentially harmful quick-fixes on their dogs. Consider the owner you want to be.
>>2016048
what do you think about this one?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Company-of-Animals-LW03/dp/B00LJ31BMI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1449957643&sr=8-3&keywords=easy+walk+harness
>>2016050
Less than ideal. It sits right over the shoulder joint of most dogs -- when the dog pulls, it's going to put pressure directly onto that joint.
The harness in pic related is a back-clip harness that does not put pressure on the forelimbs, but it does have a webbing ring at the front that you can alternatively clip your dog to.
However, because it doesn't have the aversive squeezing motion on the forelimbs that most front-clip harnesses do, you would see less extreme pull-curbing results. Because it doesn't put that pressure on the forelimbs is why it is safer -- and with a front clip you will still have more control than on the back clip, which can be switched to after the dog has learned loose leash walking.
Really, you need to decide how much training you want to give your dog, how much pulling you can realistically put up with in the mean time, and compare that to your willingness to slap a tool that has the potential to injure on your dog, and how much you are willing to spend.
>>2016067
This one also looks all right, though I have not looked at the reviews of it so I don't know how durable it is.
>>2016080
>>2016067
well i don't mind putting in time but loose leash walking seems like something he won't ever get used to as he pulls literally the entire time.
I will have a look at these but i don't want him to get injured long term. it's mainly for my GF who literally can't safely walk him at the moment.
Get a harness as the first thing will not work with a collar, when he pulls you just immediately stop so he will forced to stop as well. This worked on one of my dogs as he was pissed we were constantly stopping when he wanted to keep going. Eventually he figured out that if he pulls we stop.
As for my lab he is a bit more thickheaded and did not figure this out so I used another method if you are confident you dog will not bite you I would suggest this.
When he is pulling gently place your hand on the front of his head or on his snout and push him back behind you and make sure not to hurt him, then use your leg to stop him advancing forward again.
As for barking I do not know, my dogs ignore everything on walks besides every upright object to pee on but my lab despises small dogs and barks at them. I do not know why I have seen him ignore big dogs, cats, rats, bird but a yorkie or a terrier pisses him off but that might be because they bark at him.
>>2016097
Don't do this it makes them aggressive.
