Some advice needed on different things!!

[Nikki & Charlie]

Okay so I'm frustrated with a couple different things and instead of making seperate posts about it I thought I would compile it all into one big post.

1. I'm getting frustated with Charlie during walks. Our usual routine is in the morning we go to the park and I let him run and chase toys for about an hour. Then in the afternoon he gets another 20-30 min walk with my dad, and then in the evening again he gets another 30 minute walk or so with my mom (I'm not home much on weekday evenings). My dad tells me that whenever he walks Charlie, after Charlie does "his business" he walks nicely along side my dad. When myself or my mom walks him, he's constantly pulling. I don't understand. I took Charlie for a walk WITH my dad Sunday night and I could not believe how nicely he was walking!!! Charlie is my dog and I'm supposed to be the primary care giver / alpha. Why is he not walking nicely with me? I've tried using treats in my hand to guide him and every 10-20 steps he gets one and we contiue with that and it works perfectly but if I don't have a treat, he's always pulling to go to the grass, regardless of him doing his business or not. I hold him close to my side and don't let him roam but it's difficult because he's very strong and my hand actually hurts. Very rarely will he willingly walk nicely but I reward him whenever he does. What can I do to teach him to walk nicely beside me? He did a puppy class and she told me to keep him tight by my side and yell "hey!" or "nuh-uh" whenever he pulls but that does crap-all and he just pulls more.

 

2. Charlie has not had any accidents in our house in a long time. Whenever I take him to my aunts house, who does not have a dog, he will not have an accident. But when I take him to my friends house, who does have a dog, he pees everywhere!! Regardless of whether or not I have taken him out. We were over last Friday, I took Charlie out to pee, he comes inside and then pees more! Is this a dominance thing? Her dog is a small shih tzu and was a little protective over Charlie being in his territory. They would play together for a bit but then he would get irritated with Charlie. So my question - WHY is he peeing in her house only???

 

3. I find it really strange that when he is on his short leash, he pulls and tries to run around but as soon as we get to the park and I put him on his long leash, he's by my side and won't run around unless I chase him or throw something. This isn't frustrating, but it makes me curious. It's like when he's on his short leash he gets silly and has the zoomies and runs back and forth but when he gets on the long leash, where he has the freedom to run, he doesn't unless he's encouraged.

 

Thanks to everyone who reads this & replies.

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

Yarrow is so strong that when she's in a headstrong mood the only hope I have of controlling her, and her sister, is having the leash attached to their no-pull harnesses. Attaching the leash directly to their collars only makes them pull more. I've read that it triggers some kind of reflex. Not long after I adopted Yarrow's sister I was suddenly hit with a chronic condition which is affects my joints including my hands and shoulders. Without these gentle yet effective harnesses, I wouldn't have a hope of being able to control these two 85 pound, 14 month old pups. That's my advice, a no-pull harness. You do still have to teach loose leash walking and heel, but you have more control.

[Kathryn Clark]

I was having issues walking with our Dewey the first few weeks (and I might again, who knows). I found this video last week about teaching a dog to heel and it worked so quickly. Within ten minutes I had my dog right by my side on our walk. It helped using the awesome treats like hot dog bits. How well our dog behaves depends on the treat quality and when I'm walking him. If we're heading home he tends to pull more. Also, we switched from a harness to a martingale collar and that was also an instant shift in staying by my side. A lot of treats go a long way! Good luck!

[Mary-E]

Great videos thanks for sharing. 

[Rica + Margot]

1. We've done a couple of things to work on loose leash walking. We've paused/changed direction whenever there's a pull. Maybe Charlie knows that if he pulls he'll get to where he wants to go with you/your mom, but not your dad?

In our current class, they have us walking backwards with our dog following (walking forwards). Treats are held hight to our chests to help keep eye contact. We then treat low to their mouths when they make/keep eye contact. After a couple of days we then have switch to have them walk by our sides. They're still making eye contact and we treat them like before. Our pup has been walking really nicely by my side without a leash. We haven't tried this outside yet since she's still getting used to her winter booties.