I need a looonngg lead!

Lieja

Hello,

My Mal pup is the most energetic thing on the planet, so I try to let him off his lead for a run when we're somewhere I can keep him contained. Unfortunately he's started straying further and further and his recall abilities entirely disappear when there's anything remotely distracting going on, so I think it's time that he stays on his lead from now on. He recently learned to swim, and while at the river today he swam right across to get to a dog on the other side and wouldn't come back! Two soaking wet grown men later and we had him back, but obviously we don't want this happening again so we need a lead strong enough for a 28kg 6 month old, chew-proof (he chewed through his last extendable lead), and as long as possible so he can run around and swim while still being attached to us.

Does anyone have any advice? We had the 8 metre extendable lead for him but that was a bit short and he bit straight through, is there anything better we could use? My partner thinks using bungee cord or similar but I'm worried that it'll unfasten itself from him.

Does anyone have any good ideas?

Thanks

ClootiesMum

Lunge rein for a horse? That's what we used with a mahoosive dog:cool:

krlyr

Second the lunge rein. You can get some very well padded ones which should stop him chomping through it - my last lunge rein (for the dogs) was used as an emergency tow rope when a delivery driver drove into the ditch at our old house - it managed to pull his van out without breaking, though it was folded over a couple of times!

Definately agree with keeping him on a lead now though - his breed is bred to run, and run, and run, as you've seen. What you may also want to do is try to find some secure areas locally you can let him loose in once in a while - places can include local tennis courts, if fenced in completely, fenced in parks, school fields (a friend of mine with an Akita cross has access to a lovely huge field, separate to the school, and really high fencing that the dog has no hope of climbing - plus a locked gate she has a key for, to use whenver it's empty, I'm jealous!), horse paddocks, indoor riding schools/arenas, car parks/trading estates, etc. - so ask around friends and families, put an ad up locally, phone local stables and so on and you may be able to find somewhere to use once in a while to let him stretch his legs safely. I'd also use that chance to work on recall, emergency stop/down/etc. - with his breed, you may never get a good enough recall that it's safe to trust him off-lead in most places, but it could save his life to have the basis of a recall or an emergency down taught in an emergency (slipped collar, snapped lead, door left open, etc).

Lieja

I hadn't even heard of a lunge rein, but after a quick google it looks like the perfect idea, thank you!

At the moment he only gets let off in a nearby field which is almost entirely fenced in, and he always wants to play his 'attack' game which mainly involves running towards me at top speed, so he hasn't escaped from there yet but I know it's only a matter of time as he gets older and I don't want to risk anything. I let him off by the river today because it's always deserted - I didn't expect him to swim away!

I'm a bit stuck with how much to exercise him at the moment, all the advice says he shouldn't be out for too long while he's still growing, but if he only gets a short walk he's a nightmare at home. We've had big dogs before but Oscar is the most energetic dog I've ever known, as well as the naughtiest! I feel like its unfair that he doesn't get to expend his energy on a walk and so I can't tell him off too much when he behaves badly at home, but I also worry about walking him too much while he's young.

He gets on average about an hour long walk per day, which I know is more than recommended but I feel like even this is too short for his energy levels.

Where is the best place to buy one of these lunge reins?

_Andy_

Plenty on Ebay

trudij

You used to be able to get retractible lunge lines - that might be a good option?? Cant remember where though - will have to have a look...

GoldenShadow

Retractable ones are more dangerous IMO. 50 or 100 foot nylon leads available on eBay. Please connect to harness not collar though, all that force if he bolts is too much

krlyr

I got mine from an equestrian supplies shop, I could take a look/feel in person then. But my other (lighter weight) longlines were from Ebay.

Do you do much mental stimulation at home? Physical exercise isn't the only way to tire out a dog. Working on focus, attention on you, self-control, etc. in the home will not only give his brain a good workout, but provide a good foundation you can build on out on walks.

http://www.youtube.com/kikopup and http://www.youtube.com/pamelamarxsen are good channels for training videos

Lieja

I try to do as much with him as possible, at home we play tug a lot and he likes to wrestle with my other half, but at the moment he does seem to find the mental stuff more frustrating than anything. I've been really working hard on getting him to behave calmly, and he has learned that if I tell him to sit and he calmly does it then he gets his fuss, but if he sits for more than five minutes doing 'calm' then he has to have a crazy half hour afterwards! He has lots of toys and bits and pieces that he's stashed on various places around the house that he spends time hunting, and he digs like mad in the garden and buries everything he can. He's always on the go, I don't know where his energy comes from!

I wouldn't mind so much if he was smaller, as he's only ever wanting a game or a cuddle, but even his cuddles can be too forceful when he's really excited. There's no aggression whatsoever in him, but he could quite easily hurt someone while he's trying to be friendly.

I'm going to have a look on eBay, thanks . He also pulls like crazy on walks before he's had a run, and he knows 'heel' but doesn't take a blind bit of notice when he's excited. Are halti collars good? Obviously not attached to a long lead though!

krlyr

If he's getting frustrated then you may be trying to teach things too fast, or in a too difficult way. Try breaking things down into smaller steps - for example, rather than expect him to sit for 5 minutes doing nothing, go up in tiny increments - so if he can manage 2 minutes, do lots of sessions of 2 minutes thorought the day, then 2 minutes 20, 2.40, 3, 3.20, etc. - think of a dog like a toddler, they don't learn to go from crawling to walking in one day and one easy step.
You might also want to make it a bit easier and set him up for success by providing an alternative than just sitting there calmly. For example, your requirement might be that he has to stay on a specific mat, but he can sit, lie down, stand up, etc. and fidget.
Also, doing absolutely nothing might be too hard for a dog with pent up energy. How about looking at some of the training toys available, e.g. the Nina Ottoson games, so you can sit 'calmly' but still be engaging his mind.

I would maybe look at the kind of interaction he gets at present, and decide if it may help or hinder. For example, I don't have anything against tug with most dogs - but you have an excitable dog who struggles to focus on you when he's over aroused (I mean that not in a sexual way, but physically overexcited/stimulated). Tug (and wrestling) may not be the best game to encourage calm behaviour - you may want to lay off those kind of games for a little while. Not indefinately, but until he has more self-control, at least. When I was having problems with Kiki's anxiety, I put a rule in place - bed was a 'calm zone', no engaging in any games when she was on her bed. No playing with toys that wound her up, e.g. the Boomer ball which she barks at out of frustration of not being able to pop it, no throwing a ball back and forth (encouraging a dog's chase instinct builds up adrenaline in their system - not good for calming a dog). We switched to calmer games on walks or in the garden, so instead of throwing the ball, I'd drop it in some grass and then tell her to find it. Instead of playing tug indoors, I'd get her to fetch different toys (you can teach a dog to differentiate toys by names - e.g. "fetch your rope" and "fetch your teddy").

Chewing and licking are also behaviours than can help calm a dog down, so you may want to feed things that encourage this. E.g. stuff his dinner in a Kong - if he's fed dry food, you may want to add some wet, or soak his dry biscuits for a while. You can make Kongs more difficult by freezing them overnight - build up to this difficulty slowly, so the dog doesn't get frustrated and bored. The licking and chewing to get the food out will release endorphins than calm a dog, and the mental and physical exercise will help take the edge off his energy.

There are lots of calmative products on the market too that may help, e.g. Adaptil plugins/sprays/collars, Zylkene, Calmex, a Thundershirt, Rescue Remedy, Pet Remedy..lots of options that may suit him.

If he knows heel but doesn't listen, then it's not been proofed enough. You need to slowly build it up - from heeling in the house, to the garden, to up and down your driveway, an empty road, a slightly busier road, an empty corner of the park, a slightly busier park, etc. - again, baby steps.
A headcollar will likely be a quick fix and a good management tool, allowing you to walk him safely/without getting frustrated, but don't let it replace training loose lead walking. Check out the video channels I sent you, Kikopup especially does quite a few videos on loose lead walking. She also does a good 'default settle' video - this isn't about teaching a dog a down-stay, but to actually settle down and relax, not focussing on you for a treat/interaction.

Lieja

Thank you for such great advice, lots more than I was expecting. I'll definitely try to keep the excitable games to a minimum in the house. Now I think of it, he does seem to calm down after he's had something to chew on for a while.

I don't ever make him sit with nothing to do - I don't expect him to manage that just yet! I just ask him to sit when he wants a fuss (instead of jumping at me over and over) and as soon as he's sitting, I give him a stroke and a cuddle. He responds well to this and has stopped jumping up when he wants fussing, but it definitely seems like he has a huge amount of excess energy that needs using up, I don't think it's all just about being excitable.

For example, today I took him to my parent's house and he would normally get very excited and want to jump all over them and run around the garden causing havoc, but because he had a long walk and a swim(!) today he was very calm when we were at my parents, and even managed to do 'calm' with my mam, who normally receives the brunt of his excitement.

He's actually quite intelligent and learns pretty quickly, and when he's calm he does as he's told and behaves himself. He just seems to stop caring what we're saying when he wants to do something else, I can see he understands but just doesn't want to do it! That said, he is a lot better than he used to be and is slowly improving with most things. I always expected he would start to stray further from me while walking off lead, so I don't really expect to be able to train him to come back when he doesn't want to. It would be nice if he would stop pulling though, so I'll definitely try what you've suggested. We have tried 'heel' everywhere with him, and he understands the concept and does it when he's feeling compliant, but as soon as something exciting happens he doesn't want to know.

I've found I get the best response from him through using a happy voice and lots of fussing. He would rather play hunting in the long grass than return for a treat, but as soon as I tell him he's a good boy his ears go back and he trots over for a fuss before I put his lead on. He seems to dislike doing as he's told, but is happy to do it if he feels like he's chosen to do it himself!

I suppose at the end of the day he's a Mal, so wasn't ever going to be easy to train. It's just worked out that he's also huge and very obnoxious! My last Mal was a very calm girl, so although she had the same trouble with recall etc, she was mostly just happy to go along with what I told her. Oscar isn't quite so laid back!

Thank you again for all the help