Dog goes INSANE at walkie time, help!

mrcol1000

hayley11 wrote: »

I'm happy with the harness we've got and i'm never using a choke collar on him. I think because we've been a bit brain dead at thinking of ways to stop him doing these things, it's just got to where he thinks he can do what he wants. It's strange because he is so obedient usually, but walkies seems to bring out the devil in him! :rotfl:

He hasn't had any proper training yet (although I do a lot with him in the house) which i'm not happy about, we signed him up as soon as he was old enough and just got messed about so much, we found a new one but had to wait weeks, then he was sick when he was due to start, then we went away the next week.... He starts the end of May and he will be going NO MATTER WHAT!

Have you tried RSCPA? They do basic training. We did the basic training course for older dogs with them over course of 12 weeks for £50 and it made us more confident and her better behaved. Plus she was seeing the same dogs every week and were allowed a controlled play session. It was a bit like playgroup
Also your find that there are other owners in the same postion as you. We kept putting training off and off and were so happy when we finally did it. Also its quite a sociable thing as well so if you haven't been going out much its nice way to meet people as you only see them for the training session and you have your dogs to talk about so there is no akwardness.

hayley11

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Have you tried RSCPA? They do basic training. We did the basic training course for older dogs with them over course of 12 weeks for £50 and it made us more confident and her better behaved. Plus she was seeing the same dogs every week and were allowed a controlled play session. It was a bit like playgroup
Also your find that there are other owners in the same postion as you. We kept putting training off and off and were so happy when we finally did it. Also its quite a sociable thing as well so if you haven't been going out much its nice way to meet people as you only see them for the training session and you have your dogs to talk about so there is no akwardness.

I haven't put the training off, I can't wait to take him. I've been taking him to a socialisation things most weeks for a while now, he does some training and gets to play with the dogs. He used to be very scared of dogs barking but he's not now, which is great.

He's all booked on a training course now but thanks for the suggestion.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If he has one of those harnesses that goes round his chest (bit like a parachute harness, IYSWIM), put it on in the morning, then leave him in it all day - all you have to do is deftly clip a lead onto his back and before he knows it, you're off to the door, saying 'come on then, walkies' - no time for hysterics, because the front door is open and the world beckons!

Then, as the harness is taken off at night, he knows it's bedtime again.

But the walking off and ignoring him will teach him that throwing fits doesn't help get him out.

pruney

Haven't read the whole thread but thought I'd add that I have a cavalier and she's always done that and is now 7! Very recently, she's changed behaviour slightly and actually started listening to me when I tell her quiet but unfortunately the puppy then starts chewing at her back legs in excitement and so she starts barking/yelping/crying again. I went out once with her and she was barking as something or other in the street and this woman came up to me and said that she had 3 cavvys and they all did the same and she was deeply embarrassed every time she took them out lol.
In fact I do feel quite sorry for my Molly (that's the cavvy) as she has recently tried very hard to obey me when I'm telling her to quiet (think she might feel she has to set an example to the puppy, her new baby!) but then Bella (the puppy from hell - bless her!) starts biting her legs again and it all falls flat.
My cavvy also barks whenever we visit family or go up the playing fields, she knows when we're getting near and starts to cry and whine. They always hear her coming before we've even knocked on the door lol.

renegade

hethmar wrote: »

Get him a halti harness, it goes round his chest so no jerking of his head. If he pulls give the lead a tug and it will lift his front feet off the ground. He will soon learn that pulling effectively means not moving at all.

As you have another thread about his health, I think you need to get that sorted too as the peeing you are worried about may be related to you being reluctant to take him out?

Our dogs go berserk at the "w" word. OH is much better at this game than me. He puts down the leads and sits down and picks up a newsaper and pretends to read it. Once they see that they both sit and just stare at him and THEN he puts on the leads

I agree with this, a Halti is a great aid and it works! I have had different breeds of dogs over the years and used the Halti with those that used to pull.

renegade

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

If he has one of those harnesses that goes round his chest (bit like a parachute harness, IYSWIM), put it on in the morning, then leave him in it all day - all you have to do is deftly clip a lead onto his back and before he knows it, you're off to the door, saying 'come on then, walkies' - no time for hysterics, because the front door is open and the world beckons!

Then, as the harness is taken off at night, he knows it's bedtime again.

But the walking off and ignoring him will teach him that throwing fits doesn't help get him out.

I do that now with my very small puppy, he has got used to it and we don't have any more fuss when I attached the lead ready for walkies.

hayley11

Just wanted to say there has been a huge improvement at walkie time, he now sits quietly while I put his harness on, he still tries to eat it the harness a bit but overall it's a million times better. Really pleased with how quick he realised we weren't putting up with the mentalness anymore! :rotfl:

The walk itself is getting better but it's much slower progress but any progress it better than none!

Thanks again for all the great suggestions, they've been a great help.

Sagaris

I've found this on you Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DogsTrust

Very useful for all sorts of dog training info! Glad to hear your dog is calming down - ours is better now too!

hayley11

Sagaris wrote: »

I've found this on you Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DogsTrust

Very useful for all sorts of dog training info! Glad to hear your dog is calming down - our is better now too!

Thanks, I will have a look at that when i get some speakers for the computer.

LibbyR26

I had the same difficulty putting the lead on my dog. Like some of the other posters, as soon as he started carrying on, I removed the lead from near him, stood up straight, folded my arms and ignored him until he calmed down. I'd keep on repeating this till he stood or sat still - sometimes it could take a dozen attempts and 10 mins to get his lead on.

I kept doing this every time we went for walks and after a not too long he got the message that the quicker he behaved the quicker he'd get out for his walk.

Now as soon as he sees me reaching for the lead he stills quietly until I put it on.

This method does take time and patience but it works.

Good luck