Can someone help me with dog walking?
I rescued a pooch as my first dog ever back in Feb. He is a hound mix, and the hound comes across strong in his temperament. He is stubborn as hell, super independent, and kind of dumb. To say the least, he has been a really difficult dog, and a hard dog for a first time owner.
The biggest issue I have with his walks is he refuses to pay attention to me. He goes into his own little world and focuses on scent trails. Sometimes he'll be walking in heel like a star, but then he'll pull to sniff a spot and explore. If I try to get him to move, he digs in with every ounce of his strength (and he is strong as hell).
Another issue is he gets excited around dogs. I can only control him through strength with thr lead. He isn't aggressive... he just really wants to play and say hello.
So: 1) Am I doing anything wrong by letting him explore on his own accord? So long as he isn't putting either of us in danger, is there anything wrong with letting him stop to sniff, run to a spot to sniff, or explore? I know the Dominance Theory stuff is not true, but am I teaching him badly or being a bad owner by giving him a ton of freedom to do what he wants? Will he try to run the show, or should I just let him have fun, and learn to chill?
And 2) how do I fix the dog issue? I am thinking that maybe getting him a playmate would help. Would another dog do him good?
why would you get a dog if you don't know or are unwilling to learn how to handle one
your thought process shouldn't be "oh if something goes wrong I'll make a thread on 4chan", go drop him off at a shelter so he can get a proper home
>>2115836
Where the duck did you even infer that? Did you even read my thread? The progress I've made teaching him to walk on a leash has been massive. When I first took him home, he was borderline unwalkable he pulled so bad. His foster home never took him for walks, and his othwr home he was outside 100%. Now he walks acceptably, especially once he gets into a groove, outside of the scent trail obsessions.
What I am asking is if I need to be super stern with him and put out "no sniffing allowed except when I say you can", or if being lax with him and letting him got off and explore on his own terms is fine.
>>2115844
Ignore that person. /an/ hates discussions of any kind.
You should take him to obedience school. You'll learn very valuable skills about how to control your dog.
Getting another dog will NOT help. Don't get another dog until you are confident with your training and handling skills and your other dog is doing better. If you have a stubborn, defiant dog, you will find that if you get another dog you'll have 2 stubborn, defiant dogs.
>>2115851
This.
Also an easy way to help him learn that tension = not going anywhere is to stop in your tracks every time he pulls. Then when there is no tension on the leash continue. It takes a while but he will get it eventually.
>>2115851
I workes with a private trainer for a bit, but she used a lot of positive punishment and negative reinforcement, and I noticed he didn't respond to that. So I started to use more negative punishment and positive reinforcement, and he is learning. Slowly. It takes him a lot time to learn, but it is progress. I'll look for a better obedience school in my area.
Thanks for the advice on the other dogs for now I'll just keep trying to divert his attention around other dogs.
Work on a walk command (separate from a "heel" command) that means, "Walk nicely next to me with a loose leash, following my movement, giving me eye contact when I stop or change directions". For my dog I use, "Let's go". And in moments where he can be free to sniff around give his his "release" command. Dogs, and hounds especially, derive great pleasure from sniffing around, so to never let your dog do that would be a little cruel. On the other hand, having a walk command will ensure his attention when you need it.
What's great about his sniffing motivation is that you can use that as his reward when you're training his walk command, if he walks a few steps with you then he get released to go sniff.
>>2115854
>>2115879
It sounds like I am doing things right for the most part. I do stop if there is tension (he has gotten decent at turning around and coming back) and I did kind of teach him "Come On".
The issue we have with Come On is he sort of only pays attention to it when he wants to. He'll sniff sniff sniff, and it can take nagging at him with Come On to get a response. From everything I have read, this is pretty classic of a hound: your commands are more like suggestions. But sometimes he'll come to me right away after one or two.
And I even use sniffing as a reward. He knows "Free" which means 'I'll follow you and you can explore as you please'. If he does really good, I'll give him free.
Have you tried teaching him the "leave it" command? That's what I had to do with my dog because he will also stop and sniff while locking himself in place. Damn dog will sniff the same spot for literally 30 unless I pull him away. What is so interesting that you have to sniff it for 30 minutes?!
>>2115891
Again, he kind of knows it. He just listens when he wants to.
>>2115920
You sound like a bitchy queen
>>2115948
No. It's an honest issue. He knows leave it when we are inside, but when we are outside he has a hard time listening. Sometimes he will do my command, other times he would rather do his own thing.
>>2115978
Try reinforcing and reteaching in many different environments. Try less populated and distracting areas and work up to the populated and distracting ones.
>>2115948
just sounds more like hound personality
>>2116016
Thanks. I will start bringing some treats on walks and do little lessons as we go. I read that you need to train in a place without distraction, but I never thought to start training him around distraction. Maybe I am just retarded?
Since I started using more positive techniques to train him, he has been looking at me way more during walks. He used to never look and just charged forward. He really was almost unwalkable when I first took him. I remember my hand getting irritated from the lead digging into it so much.
