Help Needed! Another Leash question

[SuggieMama]

Hi all, ok i have issues and need help. I have an intact EB who is now 17 months old (Tank). We have had him since June. We have a small house w a yard and a screened in lanai that has a doggy door to the backyard.Directly behind our house we have 3 male intact German Shepards (who go nuts when my dogs are outside).And to our left we have 2 male intact pitbulls who are also aggressive and have an electric fence.So my problem is trying to teach tank to walk on a leash correctly. He WALKS ME....he is 73 lbs and drags me. We bought him a harness EasyWalk (which was recommended by vet)....but he still walks me...his strength is rediculous. I live on a dead end road. There are 14 houses on it and EVERY house has a dog! So walking him outside is a distraction cus all neighbors seem to keep their dogs in front yard,so as we walk by tank wants to lunge towards them.And if i try in my backyard i have the other dogs directly behind me or next to me. I really dont know much of Tanks background.As we got him off Craigs list.He is a great dog,well behaved MOST of the time. But if he sees any form of excitement... HE HUMPS you,and getting a 73 lb dog,w a 35"chest off of you is no joke , I have scars on my legs from his nails.So how am i to get him to walk on a loose leash with distractions and aggressive dogs around? i want to be able to take him in public and have him be behaved but his strength is crazy. Am i going to have to end up paying $125 to a trainer to come see him in action and give me a 1 hr lesson?:crying: thank you in advance,Jessi

 

[Baconator]

One thing that we did with Bacon in puppy school was to turn and walk the other way when he started pulling and that helped, granted he was 20-30lb at the time not 70. Other then that it was a lot of persistence to get him to walk right, and now that we haven't walked him on a leash in a while due to summer heat I'm sure we will have to start over again. Does Tank respond to other commands, sit/stay etc? If so you could use those in conjunction with walking to stop him from pulling so much.

 

[elearn]

I dont have a similar problem - instead my dont refuses to walk in the neighborhood. I was advised by the training school, just in general conversation to take him to another location. Can you take Tank to another location where there are no other dogs to practice walking?

 

[SuggieMama]

The only command he knows is SIT and thats when he feels like it. If there is stimulation around he wont do it. I live in an agricultural area so there are dogs ,cows,horses,ect everywhere. And i cant life him into my truck.Im 5'3 134 lbs and hes more than half my weight.by the time id walk him to an area that was clear,itd be too far for him to walk....i tried taking him to Petsmart and pulled a muscle lifting him.and in Petsmart he was trying to mark everything and drag me . I tried the whole turn and walk the other way each time...but umm....he still drags me w harness and 4 ft lead the OTHER way...UGH...never realised this was a problem since we have a yard,til my bright mind decided to take him for a walk..Is it just me or Bullys are harder to train? not that my pug is any better.but shes only 24lbs,easier to control. And how would i walk the 2 together anyway? that sounds like a youtube video or americas (un)funniest home videos.

 

[elearn]

[MENTION=5642]SuggieMama[/MENTION] Yeah, I think they are harder to train because of their perceived "stubborness". I'm guessing Tank probably knows a lot, but just chooses not to do them

I took Herman to puppy kindergarten and he did absolutely NOTHING that I told him to do, especially after he discovered the trainers had better treats that I did. One of them has a french bulldog and said you just have to keep repeating it over and over until the do it. So when she was showing me how to train Herman to do "down", she kept pushing him down on the floor until he did it right. That's when she told me if he gets up 100 times, you push him down 100 times............. but at that point he was about 30 pounds, not 70 like Tank LOL. Herman is about 46 pounds now, and he is super strong.

Maybe a clicker will work, have you tried that? It will probably work, especially if he loves treats.

He's gorgeous btw and I cant wait to see the video LOL (sorry)

 

[SuggieMama]

@SuggieMama Yeah, I think they are harder to train because of their perceived "stubborness". I'm guessing Tank probably knows a lot, but just chooses not to do them

I took Herman to puppy kindergarten and he did absolutely NOTHING that I told him to do, especially after he discovered the trainers had better treats that I did. One of them has a french bulldog and said you just have to keep repeating it over and over until the do it. So when she was showing me how to train Herman to do "down", she kept pushing him down on the floor until he did it right. That's when she told me if he gets up 100 times, you push him down 100 times............. but at that point he was about 30 pounds, not 70 like Tank LOL. Herman is about 46 pounds now, and he is super strong.

Maybe a clicker will work, have you tried that? It will probably work, especially if he loves treats.

He's gorgeous btw and I cant wait to see the video LOL (sorry)

lol,thanks ill let you know if my kids find it funny ..ill end up on youtube AGAIN.... last time was when i had to get my cast cus i sprained my ankle playing in batroom w my sugar gliders. My boyfriend recorded me having my cast put on and put it on youtube...We should just call it Jessis animal follys...

 

[elearn]

lol,thanks ill let you know if my kids find it funny ..ill end up on youtube AGAIN.... last time was when i had to get my cast cus i sprained my ankle playing in batroom w my sugar gliders. My boyfriend recorded me having my cast put on and put it on youtube...We should just call it Jessis animal follys...

Oh no!! Well, I hope you're all better now - you're gonna need your ankle in good working condition to work with Tank LOL

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

are you having him neutered? And i agree with taking him somewhere else to walk. But, honestly, you need to show him you are the pack leader and you have to know you are!!

[MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]..[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION]..[MENTION=4305]Vince00[/MENTION]..[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]

 

[Sherry]

In my opinion..........the harness is useless for an untrained walker. When my 100 American bully pulled this is how I cured him. My hubby didn't get it, but Jack did. So with a large choker collar, on a 4-5 ft. leash, I would hold the strap end in my right hand and kept Jack on my left, with my left hand holding the leash just taunt enough for him to walk ONLY next to my left side. He wasn't aloud to wander at all, you must be very strong on this. Every time he pulls, a quick jerk is in order, not a pull, a quick jerk. He should be ONLY right next to you, tight, on your left side. Holding the leash with both hands like this gives you extra strength and he doesn't have leverage when you keep the leash short like this. It worked for me on the most stubborn 100 pound bully I ever seen. Please try this every time you walk him, he will catch on, but you will need that quick jerk of the choker, not the pull. Keep in touch and let me know the power it gives you. [MENTION=5642]SuggieMama[/MENTION]

 

[2BullyMama]

Good advice so far... over everything he needs to respect you as the pack leader. Have you done any training classes with him? Is he food motivated at all? Take him for a walk in another location will also help, if possible. But, until he respects you he will doing noting you say bulldog stubborn or not.....

Also, based on Sherry's advice, if you choose to use a choke collar - my choice would be a pinch (aka prong) collar over a choke collar due to the bulldog neck being more fragile - the prong collar 'pinches' does not choke and it does not hurt them it corrects like mama would... if you want to check one out,,,, wrap it around your arm and you will feel - it does not hurt it simulates a mother's correction.

 

[SuggieMama]

i will see about going out tomorrow and getting a prong collar. cus it sucks to have such a wonderful animal u want to enjoy but the minute hes distracted by another animal...forget it.And living in an agricultural area i take for granted that i have a decnt size yard and a doggy door,but thats not the same as a walk of course. I havent done the obedience classes and the only command he knows is sit. Ive been trying to teach him lay down to no avail. i tell him sit (he does) , i let him sniff the treat in my hand as i slowly lower it to ground and pull forward,(been living on youtube for tutorials)but he looses intrest and pops back up. Somehow i imagined being older, he would have been better trained...I know dumb thought.but i was going by what the owner told us. And we figured Tank wasnt obeying his previous owner when we picked him up because we took the pug to meet up all together (was an 8 hr drive). The owner swore Tank was obedient and knew his commands.but looking back after the fact... there are many holes in his story...But Tank does have a loving home, but obviously i have alot of work i need to do.Funny thing is i chose a lower energy dog (i thought) since i know they feed off our emotional state and i DO have anxiety issues...So im sure this will be twice as hard.But im not giving up! Thank you all for your advise.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Neutering your dog will go a long way toward helping him manage some of that pent up frustration from being unable to mate. It's a biological imperative - he cannot help it. The the only other thing that can possibly help him is leadership and exercise. (But it has to be both - not one or the other) He's "running a gauntlet" of sorts, going down your road, isn't he? You are 1000% right: running around a yard is NOT the same as a walk. ***Applause*** Good for you. Not everyone knows this!

A prong collar is a great suggestion and I've used one myself - however - I would seek training on how to use it from a professional FIRST before using it. I used one with Bo for a time and wasn't using it correctly. Had I used it correctly from the start, it would have significantly reduced the time needing to use it.

Thank you for not giving up on this boy. With time and leadership you will build a bond of mutual trust and THAT is more powerful than a gauntlet of barking dogs!