Naughty...kind of.

[Amy & Bernie]

I just need to vent about a couple issues we're having with Bern lately. Overall he's a sweetheart, and isn't being naughty to be naughty, as in I really don't get the feeling he's doing what he knows is bad to get our attention. But lately we've had two (I guess very common) issues: walking without pulling and jumping up.

We've tried so many different things on his walks, and we give every 'method' at least a week's dedication before moving on to something else, but nothing seems to work. He doesn't seem to mind any sort of corrections we give him. He adapts to everything! Even stopping completely and "threatening" to go no further doesn't work. He just waits it out. I don't know how to balance not rewarding him (not continuing the walk) with exercising him properly so he doesn't get wild and crazy.

Then there's the jumping. This has just gotten embarrassing. We ignore, we correct, we turn away, he immediately turns with us, we do the 'sit first, love second' and as soon as we think he's getting better with us, we go out in public and he acts like what he's learned doesn't apply to strangers. The dog park is the worst because he's off the leash, so we don't have immediate access to correct him, at least physically. I know the simple solution is stop going to the dog park - and we don't go that often - but again we're running out of options to give him the exercise he needs but also doing it with a well-behaved dog.

I know this isn't a post in a training group, but I'm all ears so feel free to lecture, suggest, just laugh, whatever suits you! No pressure!

[Tessa, Ellie and Wheezy]

Your blog made me feel so much better.....Ellie is a jumper....and I was just releived to know others have the same problem......She is over a year old now and is getting better......she loves people!! She tries so hard to listen but she just gets so excited. She is getting better at the dog park.....most people start petting her and she calms down.....we have one of those foam swim sticks at home and when someone comes over.....I just hit it on my hand and say down and she will.....I don't know why it works....but it does. Wheezy doesn't jump like Ellie and I'm so glad......she listens so much better....funny how dogs are like people and they all have their own personalities!! Same goes with pulling on the leash....I used to keep the leash short and make Ellie walk by my side......the better she did...the more freedom I gave her....so far Wheezy hasn't acted like a wild dog on the leash like Ellie did.

[Amy & Bernie]

Exactly Caitlin, walk trumps disliking the GL!

[Amy & Bernie]

Okay, we went to Petsmart and got him a Gentle Leader. They had it in beige, which works well with his coloring and makes us both feel better that it isn't as obvious, we didn't want people to think he's being muzzled. I know that's our own issue and has nothing to do with the dog but I figure if we're calmer and more open to the lead he'll sense that. We put it on him and let him wear it around the house for a bit. He didn't love it, but as soon as we distracted him with something else, a mini training session, tossing the ball, belly rubs, he was fine.

I took him for a walk around the neighborhood and it was amazing!

He high stepped a bit, a developing trademark of his it seems, to brush his nose with his paw and he tried to sit down in the grass a couple times but the rest of the time he walked perfectly! The couple times he tried to stop I loved that I didn't have to forcibly correct him like I do when he's wearing his regular collar, just the tension on the lead was enough to make him continue to follow me. I just stood at the end of it, and as he shook his head, or tried to put his butt on the ground (more tension), it seemed like he was slowly realizing HE was making himself uncomfortable, as I was just standing calmly waiting for him.

I guess I could be giving him too much credit, but I really feel like he caught on to the gist of it. I'm not holding my breath that he'll learn to love it, but I'm convinced if we're happy and calm when we walk him he'll benefit and respond positively to that. Thanks for the advice!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tara was a wild and crazy jumper too. We tried EVERYTHING. I remember turning my back on her once and she jumped up and bit the coat I had on and just hung there on the back of my coat!! Unfortunately, the coat gave in before she did!! :( We saw a great improvement when she got a little older too just as Leigh did with Allie. It happened suddenly. Friends would come over and say she was like a different dog! So I think a lot of it is their maturity level. She still tends to give visitors or strangers ONE jump though and we are still working on that ONE jump!!

Now,that being said, I have to admit that a friend of mine just hired a private trainer for their 15 month old ALD who is still jumping on them. His advice was that when they arrive home (or in whatever situation in the home that triggers jumping) they ignore her and walk away from her and "secure the house". In other words show the dog that you are in charge and very busy and that when you have time and they calm down you will acknowledge them. It also involves the energy you project (the in-charge kind!! LOL!) My friend said this has worked well in their case.

I read recently (don't know if it is valid) that you need to give any loose walking training method a minimum of 2 weeks of serious practice before you can expect your dog/puppy to get it. So perhaps the one week for each method hasn't been quite long enough. It seems like trying to teach your dog to NOT do something (jump, pull) is much more difficult for them to understand than training them TO do something (sit, down, etc.). So if you have a method that seemed to show even minimal results after a week perhaps you could try that one for a longer period of time.

[Leigh & Allie]

In the last discussion about the gentle leader, someone said there is a difference between two of them. There is one that fits around the nose. Someone said they don't like that one. The other one goes around the sternum. The consensus was that the one that goes around the sternum was better.

How old is Bernie? I ask this because I never got a gentle leader, I just stuck it out with a regular collar. The past two weeks Allie has turned the corner with the pulling. She is 14 months old now and is soooo much better with pulling.

We also have the same problem with jumping. She has learned not to do it with us. She sits when we come in. She has a bit of a wiggly bootie though. It is so cute. It is like she is saying "see I have my bootie on the ground, give me some loving!!!", but we have not been so lucky with friends coming over. Sometimes I put her collar on her when we have visitors so I can correct her. I don't go to the dog park because my vet said that the dog parks have put his children through college!!! So many accidents, illnesses etc. so I stay away. I will be watching this for any new ideas about jumping on friends though.

[Amy & Bernie]

I agree Jane, no more dog park. Which totally bums me out because other than the jumping on the humans, he's really awesome with the other dogs, and listens to everything we say (except 'off'). Ugh. My husband doesn't like the idea of walking a dog with a "muzzle", as he refers to the gentle leaders, but he's also the one that gets the most frustrated with Bern on walks - which definitely creates bad energy. Is the gentle leader used as an interim training tool or is it something you need to use all the time? Do your dogs walk politely with a standard collar also? I just want to avoid a situation where he only behaves when I use the gentle leader because he thinks he's in trouble - then runs wild when we use his regular collar - like we're giving him the ok to be the way he wants to be.

Like I said, the toughest part with walking training is making sure he gets enough exercise without encouraging or allowing bad behavior.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

If you want, you could join us in the training group. There are many of us that are experiencing similar issues, and there have already been some great discussions. My personal feeling is that it's actually less about the collar, and more about the training. Ultimately, I want my dogs to heel, sit, down, stay and come regardless of what collar they have on. I totally "get" how frustrating this is. Have you tried a training class yet? If you have, your trainer may have some advice. If it was me, I wouldn't take him to the dog park to "practice" his jumping behavior. I'd work hard on stopping the jumping, and then use the dog park as a training "reinforcer", once he's ready.

[Phoebe's Mom]

Here is another vote for the Gentle Leader! Phoebe went from nearly pulling my arm out of my socket to being an amazing walker--so many people comment on how wonderfully she walks right by my side. Just like Caitlin, I noticed the difference on the very first walk!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Im having the exact same problems! Cooper knows not to jump up at us, but when she sees friends she cant resist. She too is pulling and I think an easy walk harness or gentle leader is the way to go

[Amy & Bernie]

Thank you Caitlin, my husband has the day off tomorrow and we're making a trip to Petsmart!