A few training issues

[Dylansmum]

Hi from a newby,

I have a few issues I'd like to address with my dog, and hoped someone here might be able to give me a few pointers.

I got a boarder collie from a farm last April, a young dog (about 7 months) who had proved indifferent towards sheep. He's a wonderful, affectionate, highly intelligent dog who learns very quickly, but I feel I need a little help training ME to train him (I have had dogs before and trained them OK, but I think this one might be training me more effectively!).

He learned the "sit", "Down", "stay", "Come" commands almost immediately, and obediently waits to be given permission to eat after just 3 sessions of training.

Our main problem is when we're out:

He pulls on the lead, and is very strong. I can sometimes get him to walk better with me, but when we're on our way to the park he just drags us there. If I try to stop & walk in the opposite direction, he just tries to wriggle out of his harness or he lies down.

Coming back, he's sometimes OK until we get to a junction, when he'll drag us in the direction of home, clearly not wishing to be taken elsewhere (we have someones detoured to the shop en route and he fights us tooth & nail).

The other main problem, which really bothers me, is that I can't trust him off lead. He doesn't show the pack instinct of previous dogs, where they would stay within sight.

In the early days, I took the plunge in a fairly secure & secluded national park area popular with dog walkers & let him off lead. He was fine for a while, then dashed back in the direction of the entrance. I followed, thinking he'd gone back to see some dogs we'd passed, but no sign of him. I finally tracked him down, sitting in the patch of grass where people park their cars, at least a mile from where he'd left me. Since then, I've been too afraid to try again. I felt he was disturbed by the alien setting. He doesn't seem comfortable in places he doesn't know.

His recall has been good when on the extending lead, and he's always returned when he'd pulled me off my feet & I'd let go of him, also his fascination with cars & footballs seemed to have waned, so recently I'd tried him again, in a more controlled setting (our local playing field is entirely fenced with 1 gate, so I go out early at weekends & close the gate to let him off lead). At first, he's great. All attention on me & the toy & will recall when distracted, but once we get halfway round, as soon as he sees a car, he hurls himself after it, alongside the fence... then he'll see others and do the same. He does eventually return to me, but probably only in gaps between cars.

I really want to be able to take him to the sand dunes, parks & beach & know he's safe to run off lead & let off steam, but right now, I can't be sure he won't just run away as soon as something catches his eye.

I'd really appreciate any help

[Canine Psychology Centre]

Hiya,

Re the pulling - you might have already tried this but - get a decent length leash, 2 metres, and set off on a jog. As he shoots off, you need to change direction but the key is to do it quickly, sharply. Prepare for the jolt, but don't worry, you won't hurt him. The second he cathces up and the lead is just about to become tight again because he's pulling you now in your new direction, change again, the total opposite direction.

Time the change in direction so that you're spinning around just as he's about to start pulling. It needs to be quite an aggressive snap at the end of the leash, there's no point it being comfortable for him. The jolt is the consequence of him not heeling.

Do this for at least five-ten solid minutes. You'll be exhausted. He should already be a lot better.

Now you can slow it down into a walk, with the same thing, a quick sharp pull once the leash gets pulled tight, letting the leash go slack again immediately. You can accompany the correction with the leash with a sharp "no!" Keep it calm but firm, not aggressive or angry.

We're not trying to pull him back to you or hang the poor dog, it's just a shock thing to snap his mind back to you and to get him to concentrate on his position, and to learn that as soon as he's pulling, there's a consequence.

Don't have a harness by the way. They give no control, and encourage pulling in my opinion. They're great once your dog is a master at heeling.

With the recall, put his inbred genes to use. He's a collie. Get a whistle and spend a week giving him a treat several times a day, blowing the whistle every time you do. By the end of that week, he should come running whenever you blow the whistle. The treat doesn't have to be of the edible variety. A lot of collies are more keen to get their favourite toy or ball than any biscuit. Decide what his number one motivator is.

A really long training leash is also good. You can get 10-20 metres long. You can give the recall command, and if it's ignored, you can give a tug. Practise putting him on the leash and letting him straight back off too. If he's only ever called to end the play time and go home, he'll soon learn to ignore you completely in the park.

I'm a behaviourist rather than a trainer, so there's probably a lot more people on here to give you some top tips. But maybe some of that will prove helpful.

[Canine Psychology Centre]

oh- re the car obssession, that's more like my area. A short lead this time to give maximum control, but keep it loose and relaxed. This is after you've got him heeling. Don't do this exercise until then...

Head off down the pavement where you know there'll be temptation. Monitor his body language, his eyes, how interested he is. Looking at cars is fine, there's nothing wrong with being interested. But if you sense it turning into fixation, or he's getting excited, pulling, whatever it is he does, it's the same as if you are trainign him to heel. A correctional tug on the leash and a "no!" Make him sit. Don't move off again until he is calm, and I mean calm. His excited state musn't get rewarded by carrying on with the walk. If you have to stand there for half an hour before he truly relaxes and calms down, maybe even lies down with his chin on the floor (a really good sign of submission to a discipline or situation) then so be it. Lots of patience.

Again, I've had a collie and I know how much energy they've got. Work on zapping as much of it as possible first thing, before food. A big big walk. More exercise in the afternoon or evening if possible in the form of play. Encourage him to retreive, this'll redirect his desire to go after the cars, but don't let him get fixated on a toy.

[miss_morph]

Hi, i don't know much about your dogs behavioural issues but as far as the pulling goes i feel that a harness is the worst thing you can try!
I have an Akita, this is a big strong breed and we used to use a harness, but she got to a stage where she was pulling me over on every walk, in the end my partner had to walk her because i physically couldn't.
I spoke to my dog trainer and my vet and they both agreed that a harness will induce a pulling instint and in fact strengthen the shoulder muscles.
my vet recommended a 'halti'. this is a type of face harness, is slips over the nose and clips round the back of the head and has a long strap under the chin, which clips to the collar. The halti works by turning the head from the tension on the lead if the dog pulls. By turning the head you are effectively drawing the dogs attention away from whatever it is that he/she is interested in. I am now able to walk my dog wih ease.
Hope this helps.
Sarah

[nick_j007]

Originally Posted by miss_morph

Hi, i don't know much about your dogs behavioural issues but as far as the pulling goes i feel that a harness is the worst thing you can try!
I have an Akita, this is a big strong breed and we used to use a harness, but she got to a stage where she was pulling me over on every walk, in the end my partner had to walk her because i physically couldn't.
I spoke to my dog trainer and my vet and they both agreed that a harness will induce a pulling instint and in fact strengthen the shoulder muscles.
my vet recommended a 'halti'. this is a type of face harness, is slips over the nose and clips round the back of the head and has a long strap under the chin, which clips to the collar. The halti works by turning the head from the tension on the lead if the dog pulls. By turning the head you are effectively drawing the dogs attention away from whatever it is that he/she is interested in. I am now able to walk my dog wih ease.
Hope this helps.
Sarah

Yes, far better to control a dog by the head than the body.

The best is a regular collar and lead of course, but you'll need good technique to get that.

Nick

[MMDogTraining101]

There are main factors that you need to look at especially those that lead up to the walk.

Are you in control when you put your dog on the lead?

Do you make your dog calm down before going onto his lead?

At what point do you stop the behaviour, as soon as he begins to pull or a few steps down the street?

Another factor is do you go out the door in front of your dog or does it go out in front of you?

Basically you need to look at everything that leads up to the walk, analyze it and see what you can change to make you in control and not your dog.. you need to show this to your dog that you control the walk and he cannot.

Then with the pulling lead, you must not allow it get to above level 0, the exact point when your dog begins to pull on the lead you want to give a sharp tug backwards and to the side.

Maybe add a sound at this point to to distract your dog from the behaviour.. you must be very consistent with this, never letting it get past level 0.

Any more questions about his fire them this way I'll stop by to answer them

[SabrinaMafalda]

hi friends,

I train dogs and help people find the breed that suits their lifestyle. I give information on good locations to obtain a dog and how to care, etc. But this service is mainly about training and pet finding.