At the End of My Leash

[Psalms]

Thank you, ToffeesMom and all. Your encouraging words mean more than I can express. Janet

[roxyllsk]

Keep on keepin' on ... he will get better with time and patience.

Best thing that worked for me as others have suggested is to change directions if he starts up. Do it at the first sign of excitment, when his tail comes up or he tenses up. Don't let him get wound up and start barking. The idea is to keep him from getting to that point rather than correcting once he's there.

Also, maybe try some extra yummy treats like stinky cheese or chicken that you carry in your hand - you want him to be working to get the treat and not worrying about anything else. Keep the walks short and frequent for a while. Always try and end on a good note. And patience, patience, patience.

When a car passes, is he better if you are a little farther away from the road ? My pup was afraid of the cars but I found if I went a few feet up someone's driveway and not right on the sidewalks. Then I slowly decreased the distance and now he's fine about it.

Do you have a fenced yard ? Maybe try tiring him out a little by playing with him before taking him for a walk on the leash. If he's not so fresh maybe he'll settle faster and won't be so reactive.

As far as the car sickness - my little guy was VERY car sick when I first got him at 7 months. But I started with lots of very short trips to do something fun, like visit the pet store, or go to the park. If he gets upset even going in the car, try taking him in the car and sit with him in the back and don't go anywhere. Bring a book, just hang out for a little while. Give him some yummy little treats so being in the car is a good thing.

Changes won't happen overnight, but they will happen.

[Psalms]

Thank you so much! All those tips are very helpful. Yes, I have found that if we tuck into a driveway he is somewhat better, and we do that whenever possible.

We do have a fenced yard. I could try playing fetch with him before our walks rather than after.

He is very frightened if I even hint at putting him in the car, so I will try bringing him in and just sitting there with him, maybe letting him chew on his beloved stinky bullystick. Thanks again. Janet

[roxyllsk]

Originally Posted by Psalms

He is very frightened if I even hint at putting him in the car, so I will try bringing him in and just sitting there with him, maybe letting him chew on his beloved stinky bullystick. Thanks again. Janet

Great idea ! Just take baby steps with things ... there is no rush on ANY of this. :-)

[BarbV]

I'm going to say again that if your are still looking at harnesses, then the Easy Walk is the way to go.

It reinforces some of the techniques that were mentioned above about turning around. Because the lead is attached to the front of the dog, any movement that you make besides going forward, is going to force the dog to turn back towards you.

Personally, though, I think harnesses are a last resort, or only to support on ongoing training.

I highly recommend going back to training. In fact, I would recommend group training, not individual. You want to teach your dog to interact with other people and other dogs.

I learned so much at puppy school in teaching my dogs to "leave it", "off", "sit", "look at me" etc. Any distraction can be met with a few basic commands.

The hard part is staying on top of these commands and constantly reinforcing them. I know that is where I have failed.

But there is hope. You CAN teach on old dog new tricks!