Leash pulling, low confidence and aggression - Page 1

Okay many questions.

1) My 1 yr old czech GSD pulls on the leash when we go on walks. I started doing some training in our back yard but he doesnt pull nearly as hard there and stays pretty close. So I assume I should only train "heeling" when going for walks? He certainly doesnt know the "heel" command yet, but as I mentioned, doesnt really pull walking in our backyard. It may be that I just need to spend more time with heeling in my backyard and hopefully that will cross over to his walks as well.

2) He is very human friendly, more friendly than what Id like him to be. Is there a way to change that, like be weary of strangers at the door etc.? 

3) And this may tie into no 2. above, he does lack confidence and I assume that is also why he is aggressive to other dogs. We sometimes have other friends dogs in the house that we babysit for and he is perfectly fine around them, but on a leash, is aggressive, but I see the lack of confidence in his reaction. When I spoke to the breeder about it, he did mention a way to help with that is to have him be outside for extended periods, like in a dog run by himself. Does that work?

Thanks all.

What kind of relationship do you have with the dog??  Does he know basic commands such as down, stand, sit, stay etc and do you have markers in place to reward behaviors??  I'm not sure about the confidence situation.  The dog pulls when on a leash outside because there are lots of new things, smells, new dogs, people, and many new experiences.  My experience is that until you have two way communication with your dog the dog may lack confidence and be hesitant especially if he is getting corrected for things he has no idea he is doing wrong.  Some really hard ass dogs can get corrected and they don't care .. then you may have trouble getting control without going medieval on the dog.  Other dogs can be killed with an unkind word so with them you must be sure that they know why they are being corrected or you will destroy their trust in you and their confidence in themselves.  Neither type dog is better or worse than the other and can be excellent dogs but the training must fit the dog.  The sensitive dog may be willing to fight the devil himself to protect you and the knuckle head tough guy dog may decide to chase a squirrel at the worst possible time.  Clear communication or as some say obedience without conflict is the best way and with a 1 year old dog it probably needs to come sooner than later.  You may have to back up a few steps and get the basics clear with the dog before he gets 18 months old and is too full of himself to listen without a lot of pain and conflict for both of you.  You need to be confident that your dog is trying to please and if there is a problem it is probably your fault for not teaching and clearly explaining or reinforcing what the dog is expected to do.  The dog needs to know that you have his back and that he is not going to be punished for something he has no idea or has not clearly been taught not to do.  Finally the dog should know when he has done well and only those behaviors which are righteous and good will get him praise and rewards.  It is simple but not easy.

Michael Ellis is my favorite training guru .. he has free and pay to play videos online.  Heeling for a dog walk and competition heeling are two different things.  If you want your dog to go for a walk than you may need to use another term to teach loose leash heeling.  Competition focused heeling ( head looking at the sky ) has no practical application outside a show or competition ring or field.  The dog can go for a long walk on loose leash and have fun while the same dog trying to do focused heeling will blow up and lose it after 500 yards or much less.  If your dog is leash pulling then you are not at the stage to worry about style just yet but Michael Ellis can show you how to lay the foundation for either or both styles of heeling.

Bubba

Thanks for the reply. I suspect it is my fault with the heeling issue and my timing. Yes, he knows sit, down, come and will stay in that position till I release him. Will look at Ellis.

Any advice on items 2+3 above?  

I would do all of the above, look at Michael Ellis's video but I would also teach a better focus 'on' you...  He is supposed to be focusing on you while heeling;  not other dogs, people, etc.  That could help you somewhat with the forging while heeling.  good luck  Nan

Big thumbs up on the Michael Ellis suggestion, he is a great trainers trainer!!! There are situations you can set up in your back yard to help teach your dog heeling and use toys/balls as distractions. But in my humble opinion, I wouldn't worry as much about heeling as i would one/two way communication with your pup and being consistent in some type of marker training. I believe that once you have conditioned your dog to marker training and you have learned to be consistent, all your subsequent training will be so much easier, clearer for your dog and the result will come much more quickly with more reliable behaviors. Again this is just my opinion

Some dogs mature earlier, some later. This is about number 2 on your list. Being friendly does not mean that he cant be trained to protect, it does mean that he may need to mature more or that he is simply a dog whose temperament is not meant for protection work and I have seen both types. 

Number 3 on your list happens because when the leash goes on, the ability for flight goes away and a less then confident dog will react the only way it knows how, by becoming aggressive in hopes that a good show will drive what it perceives to a danger away. Classical fight or flight response. I have no idea what putting the dog in a kennel would accomplish as far as building confidence in that situation. If the dog is confident, it is confident genetically and if it has a few problems with some things, it will overcome them very quick when its exposed to them and shown that there is nothing to worry about.

Hi, i do not need your answers but I want you to kinda think about these questions and my suggestions.

To heeling:

Are you going to do sport (obedience or IPO or any other focus related sports)? If yes then you will need two different approaches to this problem. One where you will need to teach your youngster to be focused solely on you (sport) and one where you will teach your dog to respect the "walking" excercise. You see, there is focus and there is focus. While using Ellisses video to build focus is great but do you really NEED that type of focus while you walk your dog in the hood. Nope, you dont.

So my advise is..decide what you need from you dog: if sport, Ellis is great, if basic "walk with me politely" is your goal, you will need a one on one trainer and a group class from a decent pet trainer who has experience with this type of a dog (working dog). If you do that, you will also eliminate the "aggression".

Your description of your young dog is more of an confused one than agressive. The fact that he has no problem at your home with other dogs, tells me he is not really aggressive, just needs to be taught to respect your guidance and leadersip.

So find a trainer, one at the local club or one highly recommended by people in your area. DO NOT leave the dog with the trainer, rather participate and learn how to handle and train your dog. What you described is very normal for that age, you just need to learn how to stop his unwanted behavior and train him to a nice obedient dog before you create a really bad problem and he becomes out of control.

If you want sport, visit a local club and seek advice there. You want to make sure you can build focus yet establish boundries. It all can be done.

Good luck

Martina.

Michael Ellis teaches yield to pressure leash work to all his dogs at 6-8 months .. this is all you need to take your dog for a walk.  He also teaches the find the leg positioning as a seperate piece which is what you need for off leash unfocused healing.  The final piece for Michael Ellis is the focused healing piece which you likely do not need and is not useful for long walks with your dog as exercise and enjoyment.  After Michael Ellis teaches all these individual skills he back chains them for competition heeling.  The part on yield to leash pressure is the part your dog needs right now and before he gets too full of himself to learn to give to the leash without a big fight with you.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AoyTrf_dDBC2r0OlFk15dQKbvZx4?p=michael+ellis+yield+to+leash+pressure&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-316&fp=1

Thanks everyone, all good advice. I have utmost respect for trainers/handlers who are in tune with their dogs and know when and what to do. Its not easy.