leash "dragging"
Bruiser is absolutely terrible on leash. His forward pulling is an issue, but by walking in random directions i can usually make him stop. But he is constantly trying to come to a stop, and i do stop once in a while to see if hes trying to pee, but he isn't. He is just being stubborn and trying to control the walk. His tail is not between his legs, he does not wimper, there is just things that catch his attention.
I cant find a solution, i have tried keeping soft pressure of the leash, i have tried pulling hard on the leash, i have tried pinning him when he is being extremely stubborn. I pin him then i get him to sit and TRY to get his eye contact and give him a little treat and then we start moving again, he moves for a bit but then the behaviour comes back.
I started biking with him, and he began dragging when we were going fast and he catches the tension and ends up bouncing off the bike wheel. he is all beat up now with road rash and i feel terrible. But i am SO frustrated with his dragging. he has high energy at home and im trying so hard to drain that energy but he insists on not moving. he doesnt play fetch. all i can do is try to get him to run and he is making it no fun at all.
any solutions?
I cant find a solution, i have tried keeping soft pressure of the leash, i have tried pulling hard on the leash, i have tried pinning him when he is being extremely stubborn. I pin him then i get him to sit and TRY to get his eye contact and give him a little treat and then we start moving again, he moves for a bit but then the behaviour comes back.
I started biking with him, and he began dragging when we were going fast and he catches the tension and ends up bouncing off the bike wheel. he is all beat up now with road rash and i feel terrible. But i am SO frustrated with his dragging. he has high energy at home and im trying so hard to drain that energy but he insists on not moving. he doesnt play fetch. all i can do is try to get him to run and he is making it no fun at all.
any solutions?
Comments
I only correct with the collar when he breaks the plane in which I want him to be in. After time he will stay there.
Philsergeant is so right - EBTs are pure “Fun Machines”! They just LOVE LOVE LOVE fun and excitement.
Prong collars, chokers and Haltie's - used the right way are all options to manage walks and even train the dog. I am NOT a big fan of those things, but I also do not condemn their use. Because compared to classic dog training, which can take a reeeaallly long time - especially with an EBT - they sure are more immediate remedies.
My reservation is that these remedies really need to be used with caution and expertise, because if used wrong they can actually do harm to a dog’s neck and other body parts. This is true in particular with Bull Terriers, because they are so strong and at the same time really seem to have no sense at all for their strength and the fact that by their excessive pulling and whirling they can hurt themselves.
They just walk, cuddle and play relentlessly. Our former EBT Fancy once broke a toe during wild play, because the toe could not withstand her forceful sudden turns.
I have tried a choker myself, when Djamila was younger, but pretty soon decided against it. I am also even cautious with leash jerking on a regular collar, because I need so much force with all of those things for my strong dog to even notice, that I am truly afraid of hurting her.
Today I only use Martingale collars and harnesses and try to be patient and count on time and constant training. But that's just me.
The point with those walking issues - NOT walking one step at all as well as pulling - is that they really seem to have their own mind about what they are outside for.
Many - especially when young - don’t like to really leave their own territory or walk in the dark. That’s why it can be incredibly hard to make them walk away from the house. But once you drive them to places with a lot of distractions and people around their adventure spirit awakens and they just pull forward.
I personally have tried to find other ways of exercise for my EBT than walks, because I simply don’t like to DRAG her out for a walk. Sometimes however I still force or lure her and after the first few yards away from the house the walk - which is also not very interesting in our area - gets on.
I am pretty sure that I would be able to get her used to walking by making this a daily routine and having some patience. It’s just so exhausting and SO different from what you expect a dog to like, right?
If you are looking for other ways of entertainment for your dog, besides exercise you can also think about other options that challenge your dog mentally (trick training, searching, mind games …) and make these part of your daily entertainment as well. This is also good, because you always have an option handy for rainy days.
This may also be a great idea, because you mentioned that your dog is VERY active. The thing with very active or even hyperactive dogs is that you will hardly be able to constantly provide enough exercise to drain this hyperactivity by exercise alone.
It may even work for a day or a week. But as you train your dog’s body with lots of exercise at the same time, in the long run this concept would cause a “constant need for more”. And your dog will likely in general stay very active and on a high level of excitement, despite or actually BECAUSE of all the exercise.
Therefore it is still a great idea to provide your dog with a NORMAL amount of exercise and with EBTs ideally some diversion in it, because they need exercise - so much is true. But in addition I would always advise to look for calming games, calming activities and actively reward calm behaviors at home or on the go in your dog.
Your EBT as you describe the situation probably has a harder time to calm down than to crank up. So this calming is something your dog also needs to LEARN.
Also it is possible to TEACH dogs how to play. As well as you can teach them not to dismember every toy they get a hold of, you can also teach them any kind of game, also fetch. For starters you could use rewards (little treats) and reward any interaction with a ball and step by step move forward to make your dog understand that you want it to bring the ball back.
It’s not necessarily the case that your dog does not WANT to play fetch. But not every dog understands the meaning of this game automatically.
By the way, I have heard that Bull Terriers are not really “naturals” in terms of walking/ running long distances besides a bike, because of their size and size of their inner organs. They are not born to run marathons, but are rather great sprinters on the short distance.
I would not say in general that this is a reason to not let your Bullie walk beside a Bike with you at all. Only I would advise to start off slowly, first teach him how to walk safely beside the bike step by step - which he obviously needs to learn - and then only gradually expand the distance, because besides the fact that he needs to learn the proper walking, his body needs to get the time to adjust to this cardio exercise in order to avoid short-term overexercise or your dog collapsing etc.
The reason for this long list of different suggestions is that they not only help to better control the energy level of your dog, but also training and playing challenging games together teach your dog to pay more attention to you and to work with you. The combination of all these things - exercise, diversion, but also calming and working together - can very likely help your walking and dragging issues automatically as well in the long run.
Djamila is still not the perfectly walking dog under excitement. But compared to the amount of training we have spent on it and the way she behaved when younger, we have made A LOT of progress and she has become a lot more responsive even when excited. Sometimes I am a little lazy and I may be confident with a state that others would not want to or because of the area they are living in could not accept. But that’s also a good thing, because the eventual success only depends on the amount of effort you spend and the time you allow things to develop.
Good luck! And never forget .. you're in good company with all of your typical EBT issues.
They are a blessing one really needs to WORK for.
-Walk around the block first with a full bag of treats. Put one down every 50 feet or so.
Repeat with dog on a leash, they'll soon figure out that every 50 feet they get something out of it. If you do this daily for a few weeks, they get the hang of it, but after a few months of no sidewalk surprises, they may feel they got snookered and revert back to the fluffy speedbump.
-Take them for a car ride if even to a half block away. When they get out its a new spot and it perks their interest to explore.
-Walk your pup with a friend and their dog, preferably one that enjoys walking, It becomes a game to them to keep up with the other dog.
-Take them to a park, a field, the woods. The change in scenery and influx of new sights, sounds, and smells will get them going.
I have done all of the above, and all have worked. Chooba is 2 years old and we walk a minimum of a mile a day, weather permitting. If I start from home, I have to beg and plead for him to go. He sits, rolls, stares, develops a fake limp, you name it, he trys it. But once we get a few houses down in one direction, or head toward the park in the other, he's all about walking.
To me, its become about compromise. My bullie will never rival lassie in the structured walking department, but get them to a location their interested in, or with a walkmate they dont want to be showed up by, you'll want to end the walk miles before they do.
as for learning fetch, once i pull out treats to reward him, he forgets all about the rope, and nothing will get him back on the rope. He will go through a few tricks he knows in attempt to get the treat, and then start barking. at which point i suspend our session and well, no progress really gets made playing fetch.
I think it has to do with the bite training ive done, and have been treating him for not biting, he probably figures during training hes not supposed to bite stuff. i don't know, but i persist, he does fetch a little bit, but nothing more than a 10 foot lob.
he has good moments, but many sounds put him over the edge where not even a piece of hot dog will get his attention back.
I then did some reading and came to the conclusion to start walking him with a choke collar to see if I can correct his pulling and his stopping everywhere. It has been working ever since. He still pulls a bit, but corrects him self when I give him that quick tap pull on the chain.
Try walking him with choke collar but first learn how to use it so you don't really choke your bully because then he won't like it even more.
I still want her to be controllable, even though we don't need that kind of self-restraint very often on her part.
So I still practiced and over time she eventually got it ... without any choking, electro shocking or spiky collars.
It just took patience and repetition. We'll keep practicing a little longer until we master even the most exciting situations together.
It's such a delight to walk with a strong dog that is deliberately NOT pulling me down the street.
I understand your happiness in that regard @littlemack.
She also still has her moments, when her temperament and joy are just so overwhelming that she has a hard time listening. But I really see that she is trying and that placates me.
It's all about communication. They are amazing dogs. So smart!