Dog is wild outside the house, please help!

[J79]

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Need advice please. My 6 month old Cavachon is wild outside the house. We walk him twice a day and play with him in the house. The last few days his behaviour outside has got worse. When walking, he takes us for a walk! He is strong and pulls us along with such force he often ends up coughing as if he’s got something stuck in his throat. When he sees anything he jumps, barks and goes wild to get at the thing, whether it be another person or dog!
I’ve tried to stop and wait for him to loosen the lead before I walk on but he jumps forward and barks and cries to carry on?? I don’t know what to do and I’ve never had a dog before!! Any advice would be most appreciated!!

 

[excuseme]

Do you use a cage/crate when you are not home or when his attentions are not required?

 

[J79]

Do you use a cage/crate when you are not home or when his attentions are not required?

He is in our utility when we are out and at nighttime.

 

[JoanneF]

Can I suggest first that you get a harness, so he doesn't do any damage to his trachea.

Then, there are several things you can try.

This would work well with clicker training. When he pulls at all, you stop. And wait. Eventually he will release the pressure on the lead, and immediately you click and reward. And rinse and repeat. You are not doing this with the aim of going on a walk, it is purely a training exercise. I can add a lot more about clicker training but I don't want to clutter up this reply so please let me know if you are interested at all and I will put it in another reply.

The second thing is teaching that the end of the lead means relax the pressure, not pull.

 

[Finsky]

Need advice please. My 6 month old Cavachon is wild outside the house. We walk him twice a day and play with him in the house. The last few days his behaviour outside has got worse. When walking, he takes us for a walk! He is strong and pulls us along with such force he often ends up coughing as if he’s got something stuck in his throat. When he sees anything he jumps, barks and goes wild to get at the thing, whether it be another person or dog!
I’ve tried to stop and wait for him to loosen the lead before I walk on but he jumps forward and barks and cries to carry on?? I don’t know what to do and I’ve never had a dog before!! Any advice would be most appreciated!!

For start with, when he pulls that much, he can injure himself with sudden movement and lots of pulling when he has collar on. I would change into harness or use harness as well, but attach the lead onto that.
Sounds to me that his confidence is up and he is in dire need to be calmed down and start intensive training program with him.
But don't expect miracles in a hurry and maybe do the actual calmer walking training after he has got some of the steam out of his system and end up each walk with the calmer training/walking practice.
You may need to go somewhere where there is slightly less distractions around and you don't feel too embarrassed with the 'training'.
The way I've tackled the frantic pulling with mine was; keeping the dog on shortish lead, as soon as the dog start pulling...holding the dog back where it is and proceed to walk forward yourself (taking the lead). Now you might only be able to take a step before your dog charge forward again but it comes down to repeating this again and again. One step will eventually turn into two...then three. But you have to make strong distinction with your movements that he is not going forward first and particularly not when he pulls. You may even highlight this by every so often turning around and going to opposite direction where the dog is going.
Yes, you will look silly doing this 'stop and start' ...but it will dawn to him eventually what is your 'game' with him. First time round it may take and hour(or more) for the penny to drop...but you have to be more stubborn than him.
You will also have to carry on repeating the 'fun' everyday for some time for you requirements to come a habit with him. And then you expand to other issues. You could also start this training in house and walk him around before taking it to outdoors.

 

[J79]

Hi both and thank you for your replies. I started some training today with him on a basic walk with lots of treats. Only moving when he was next to me and rewarding when he walked nicely! Yes, I looked silly but I need to tackle this as he’s hurt my arm yesterday where he kept making a bolt for it!
I would be interested in clicker training as an happy to put the effort in. I’m a school teacher so figured if I can teach secondary kids I should ge able to tame my dog?!!!

 

[JoanneF]

The clicker is a sound marker that you use to click/mark the exact moment he does what you ask - like a snapshot - and also promises a reward for doing that good thing.

For training yourself in the timing, watch a tv programme and every time a character uses a particular word, click the clicker. This will train you to react fast.

Then charge the clicker for him. Like I said, it marks the moment in time that he does something you want. It also promises him a reward. So simultaneously click and give a treat. Do that five times then have a break. Then repeat that five times over the day (so five times five). Now he knows that click = reward.

Now putting the two together - teach something, like a nose touch (at home, away from distractions; that can come later). Sit down and hold the clicker in one hand and a treat in the other closed hand, at his nose level. He will nudge the treat hand, as soon as he makes contact, click, then release the treat. Do the five times five, or more repetitions if necessary. Then (and this is after a few days of practice) hold your closed hand without a treat. When he nose touches it, click and reward with a treat from a table, your pocket or wherever. Again do your five times five repetitions. Now he has learned to nudge your hand for a reward. Then you can start to put a word to it, to later ask for this behaviour when you want it - like ”touch” - and you can practice at least five times five with that.

The clicker is good because it is immediate and the sound is consistent - your dog knows straight away he has done the right thing and a reward will follow.

 

[Finsky]

Need advice please. My 6 month old Cavachon is wild outside the house. We walk him twice a day and play with him in the house. The last few days his behaviour outside has got worse. When walking, he takes us for a walk! He is strong and pulls us along with such force he often ends up coughing as if he’s got something stuck in his throat. When he sees anything he jumps, barks and goes wild to get at the thing, whether it be another person or dog!
I’ve tried to stop and wait for him to loosen the lead before I walk on but he jumps forward and barks and cries to carry on?? I don’t know what to do and I’ve never had a dog before!! Any advice would be most appreciated!!

And as for the barking and crying....once you have that walking business in hand, there is possibility that it will also resolve that issue too. It is difficult to say if your dog's behaviour is down to over excitement...or fear...or entirely something else. But at this point, don't raise your voice as it may contribute loud behaviour. When you come across other dogs...ask yours first to sit down before allowing any friendly meetings. It is these kind of little things that teach him to control his urges. But as it is still 'early days' with your youngster, you have plenty of time to learn and get to know each other better and establish what is the level of 'cheeky' behaviour from him that you allow him to get away with

 

[Finsky]

I’m a school teacher so figured if I can teach secondary kids I should ge able to tame my dog?!!!

Not that I have huge experience with teaching kids. But I can remember the endless repeats from my teachers; "WALK!..NO running on corridors!!!" Yeah..it did eventually sink in and we did as we were told. So yeah...if you are consistant with your instructions and don't give in.. even the most cloth eared dogs with thick & bony skulls will learn something good. I should imagine being a teacher would make one VERY stubborn person indeed!
And on the more serious note..at 6 month, they are not fully taking everything in yet..give another couple of months and you can see more intelligence peeking out behind your dogs eyes. It is big wide world out there, full of exciting things to explore and learn..so much fun to have..young brains can only deal with so much in one go and our human noises are rather boring to listen when there is so much interesting things to do..

 

[merlina]

All good advice from people on here- and he's such a baby so will be a bit of a handful. Can I just add that spaniels are bred basically to go ahead of you, scaring up game that you can shoot? He means well. Part of him will be trying to work for you! He doesn't know you don't want him to. So do try distraction. I've always had spaniels of various sorts. I put my hand up and say none of them walked to heel reliably...unless we were on our way back from the woods after a couple of hours of scaring the feathers off anything they could find.

 

[J79]

Thank you all for your great comments and advice! They are very helpful and so so reassuring!!! I’ve never had a dog before so not got a clue what I am doing! He is only and puppy and is full of beans, and guess I should enjoy him rather than expecting him to be perfect!!!!!

have another issue with him and this I feel is more serious, and this the behaviour where he actually won’t leave my daughters crotch alone! It’s so bad and I am disgusted with him. Does anyone have some good advice on how to curb it as it’s awful when she has friends around, I have to follow him round and pull him away! many thanks to everyone again x

 

[JudyN]

I can see it would be really embarrassing, but of course he's not being 'bad' and to him it's a perfectly normal behaviour - people's individual smells are as important to dogs as their facial features are to us, and crotches smell most interesting, regardless of how clean we are.

Is it just her he does this with? Obviously I'm not going to pry into her personal hygiene, but I'll just mention that not washing regularly might make the smell more interesting, and also scented feminine products (sprays, panty liners, etc.) or whether she is menstruating might make a difference. Just something for you to ponder.

As for addressing the problem - every time he does this, she should say nothing and walk away, shutting a door/stairgate behind her if necessary. In my experience, a firm 'No' will achieve nothing. If she shrieks, with laughter or annoyance, or calls for you or whatever, this might be exciting enough to reinforce the behaviour. He needs to realise that the moment he does this, the fun stops and life becomes boring. She could also try to teach an alternative behaviour as a default 'greeting', say a nose touch on the palm of the hand (which gets praise and a reward).

 

[JudyN]

Oh, and just to add, if her friends are rolling around laughing or shrieking too, that's likely to encourage him as well. They may prove harder to train

 

[Westie_Lover]

Some excellent advice.

Thanks

George

 

[Lorvig]

I always have big dogs, mastiffs and I using the domination method. Basically you have to be a leader of the pack, he should not go in front of you, he has to follow you, or go next to you. Do not allow him to go out of the door and gate first. Be raxed and confident, he fills your emotional state. If he pulling, take him back home and start again. Show him it's you in charge. The are other methods, but I prefer domination.

 

[merlina]

 

[JoanneF]

I always have big dogs, mastiffs and I using the domination method. Basically you have to be a leader of the pack, he should not go in front of you, he has to follow you, or go next to you. Do not allow him to go out of the door and gate first. Be raxed and confident, he fills your emotional state. If he pulling, take him back home and start again. Show him it's you in charge. The are other methods, but I prefer domination.

The pack leadership theory has been thoroughly disproven and widely discredited, even by the person who developed it. It was based on flawed conclusions drawn from poorly observed evidence. The wolf pack (and dogs are not wolves anyway, any more than we are chimpanzees) was not a real pack, and the situation (captivity rather than wild) skewed the data as their behaviour was not natural. In a true pack, the leadership is fluid depending on the circumstances. This article explains it quite well. Debunking the "Alpha Dog" Theory - Whole Dog Journal

 

[Lorvig]

. Debunking the "Alpha Dog" Theory - Whole Dog Journal[/QUOTE]
Thanks, JoanneF.Interesting article. I am from a military background and learn dog handling in the army. Army selecting service dogs and choosing not the nicest. This method works for me. My mastiffs have been stronger and bigger than myself, but I never had a problem. The key to this method is a strong bond between you and your dog to the point where your nerve systems connected. I have 6 months old bully kutta. Before he never has seen even a garden, but now he has a Daddy, Daddy loves him and he wants to be a good boy and listening to Daddy. Daddy shows him a world and explains how to behave. No problem so far.Happy puppy.

 

[JoanneF]

I don't think the things you describe are wrong - we all want our dogs to bond with us and look to us for direction. But there is a difference between domination and leadership. If you apply the terms to humans, and leave dogs out of it altogether, which type of leader gets the best out of their people - the ones who are respected, or the ones who use their position to exercise dominance?