# Leashing training -- at my wit's end



## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

My toy, Kozy, is almost nineteen weeks old. For a long time we did very well with walking on a leash. Suddenly he turned into "demon dog", flailing about, barking at me, lunging for my toes, biting my legs, etc. I've written about it on here before, but I'm really at my wit's end.

I've tried ignoring it (he'll stop but start right back up again when we start walking again).

I've tried yelling "NO!" (doesn't deter him).

I've tried picking him up, carrying him for a while, and then setting him back down (he does it again).

I've tried treating him when he does well (that's a disaster because all he wants to do is lunge at the pocket where the treats are).

I've tried squirting him with a water bottle (that works somewhat but I don't want to carry a water bottle around with me on walks).

Nothing seems to be working, and this is truly becoming a problem. It's very painful when he bites my bare legs (it's summer time here, very hot, so wearing long pants isn't an option at the moment). Nothing in particular seems to trigger this behavior. I'm truly at my wit's end.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think perhaps you need to find a fully qualified trainer or behaviourist to work with you - often someone else can see where you are accidentally reinforcing the wrong behaviour, or failing to be consistent in what you do. Take care to choose someone who does not use forceful methods or corrections though, with such a young puppy especially - it is very easy to make things worse rather than better.

In the meantime, I would work with him off leash, encouraging him to walk with you and tossing treats slightly ahead of him to keep his feet on the floor. And any biting would be an immediate time out, and 30 seconds of being ignored. No voice, no eye contact, no scolding - just game over. Every time.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

I agree --- it sounds like you need to go back to "square one" --- and getting a pro involved may save lots of aggravation for you and the pup going forward.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Do you know the temperament of his parents? Did they have unstable temperaments? 

Yes, you have majors issues if your own dog is biting you- not good.  You need a fully qualified trainer. The sooner you start the better. He is young enough to change this, but if it continues it won't be good your you or him. There was a chihuahua in a training class I took who did a similar thing. The trainer had the owners dump water on him the moment he started in and I mean DUMP WATER. They had a gallon container they carried and doused him but good. It did stop him. It took several weeks and lots of water, but it worked.


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## all that jazz (Feb 6, 2011)

I would suggest holding a short leash so he cannot get at your legs easily and sidestep away when you need to. That might also prevent him from biting the leash. And do put bitter apple spray on the leash when you go out each time. It does work. They hate the taste of it. It should get better. Mine did with time and the above.


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## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

Thanks, everyone. We did work with a trainer for one session, and she gave some good advice, but he (of course) did not exhibit this behavior while she was there. She counseled ignoring him when he does it, but, like I said, the bites are too painful to simply ignore.

outwest -- I adopted Kozy from a friend who thought she could handle a puppy but discovered otherwise. I believe she got him from a backyard breeder, so I'm not sure about his parents' temperament. The really baffling thing is that he is otherwise amazing! He's extremely smart and loves people -- it's just this one aspect that is really upsetting.

We are starting puppy classes on Saturday at Petsmart, so I'm hoping that will help.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Put him on a body harness. When he has a fit, first say "ot" calmly. This is a marker that tells the dog it is misbehaving and if it doesn't stop it will receive a correction. Correction without communication is abuse. This is absolutely essential. The marker will allow you to stop using correction (which is the gaol of correction - to never have to use it again). Soon, when you say "ot" your dog will stop misbehaving on its own, without the need for correction.

Immediately after saying the "ot" marker, use the leash to lift him up off the ground. No need for drama here, getting his front feet off the ground is usually enough. Let him hang there until he chills out, then set him down and continue walking. When you lift him of the ground, he cannot fight or bite you. His only choice is to stop the behavior. You'll reward the good behavior by setting him down and continue walking. 

After a few steps of good walking, then use the "yes" marker and reward with HIGH VALUE treats or toy. Repeat the reward *often* - try every 3 steps.

You can find more about this here: Leerburg | Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs DVD Several of the dogs I rehabilitated years ago are on this DVD.  If I remember right, there is a section in the DVD about puppies and they show picking up a puppy by the shoulders (squeeze the puppy's shoulder between flat palms) and lift if off the ground. They demonstrate on a tiny (hella-feisty!!!) corgi puppy. But I might be wrong, that particular clip might be on the puppy raising DVD.

So here the deal: At his age, I put this in a "naughty puppy" category. But this behavior will escalate and he could become truly dangerous. So take the info in the video, but with these 2 adaptations to make it appropriate for a puppy: use a body harness instead of the slip collar. REWARD GOOD BEHAVIOR CONSTANTLY.

*The behavior that is rewarded will be repeated. * Right now, you are having a strong reaction to the unacceptable behavior - you are accidentally rewarding it. Using the body harness gives you an opportunity to stop the behavior with zero reinforcement. Then, rewarding the good behavior ensures that he will walk nicely more often. You must use both together.

If you choose to only reward good behavior and not use the correction, you WILL get better manners, but you're unlikely to lose the temper tantrums - at least not anytime soon.

If you choose to only correct and not reward, you will have a seriously stressed out little dog - and that stress will show up in other ways that are harder to fix, maybe submissive peeing or separation anxiety.


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## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

Tortoise -- Thank you!! I will definitely try this!!


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

How much exercise is he getting? how much training and how much one-on-one play with you (like tug, retrieve, etc.)? Does he get to play with other dogs or have sessions of off leash running?

He sounds full of energy and obviously wants to interact/play with you although his chosen method of interaction is not acceptable. 

How long have you had him?


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## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

PaddleAddict said:


> How much exercise is he getting? how much training and how much one-on-one play with you (like tug, retrieve, etc.)? Does he get to play with other dogs or have sessions of off leash running?
> 
> He sounds full of energy and obviously wants to interact/play with you although his chosen method of interaction is not acceptable.
> 
> How long have you had him?


He gets two 20 minute walks a day -- one in the morning and one in the evening. We do informal training throughout the day -- usually 5-10 minutes of the basic sit, lay down, get in your crate, recall with treat rewards, several times a day. We also play tug, and we're working on fetch. (He's still learning what "drop it" means.) Right now I don't know many other people with dogs, so there have only been a few play dates. He has had bad experiences with big dogs in the past, and, unfortunately, most of the dogs I know are big. Because I live in a city, there aren't many places for us to do off leash play. We do go to a park where he can sniff around and do his own thing without having structured walking, but he is still on a leash. I've had him for nine weeks.


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

I am guessing that more exercise (plus the training classes) will help immensly. Two 20-minute walks a day would not have been enough for my mini at that age. (Actually, that's not even enough for him now.) You might try two 30 minute walks or a 20 minute and a 40 minute walk. I have found that walks in places with lots of people (like the farmers market, park on a busy day, downtown with shops) tires the dog out more, particularly if lots of people are stopping to pet him. It's great socialization, too. 

Opportunities for free running and play with other dogs will help, too. Maybe you will meet some nice dogs in your training class and you could arrange "play dates." I am not a dog trainer by any means, but it sounds like he's trying to engage you to play similarly to how he would try to engage another dog to play (you see the whole bouncing around, barking, nipping at heels thing between dogs all the time). So maybe he just needs some more doggie play time. After all, he's still just a baby and he wants to play and have fun.


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## Eddiepoo (Aug 18, 2012)

Do you walk him with a collar or a harness? My toy poodle has a harness, a collar hurts his throat/neck and scares him. Your puppy could just be in pain and frightened (just a thought) I also have a book called? stop your dog pulling....It is brilliant and talks about dog language
I would be wary about water!!! Could scare him more


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## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

Eddiepoo said:


> Do you walk him with a collar or a harness? My toy poodle has a harness, a collar hurts his throat/neck and scares him. Your puppy could just be in pain and frightened (just a thought) I also have a book called? stop your dog pulling....It is brilliant and talks about dog language
> I would be wary about water!!! Could scare him more


He has a harness. I've never walked him with just his collar -- he's way too tiny and fragile for that.

I don't think he's in pain or frightened -- I think he has lots of energy and wants to play, but hasn't quite learned the proper ways to express that just yet.  It's either that, or he wants do things *his* way and becomes frustrated when I don't give in.

I've been very lucky in that he has a great temperament and bounces back from things quickly, so the squirts of water really seem to puzzle him more than anything. It's been a good way to distract him and then redirect his attention.

We just came back from our second puppy class where we worked on loose leash walking, and he actually did pretty well! He got hyped up at the end of the exercise, but it was more because of the distractions of the store (other people and dogs) than anything else.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

A correction may very well make it worse. He might up the ante and try to out-do you. A correction can also further stimulate what sounds like an already over stimulated dog. It's been showed via studies that spraying dogs with water often leads to an increase in aggressive behavior. While some other dogs quite like it, view it as a game, and you end up reinforcing what you're trying to stop.

From what you're describing, it's hard to tell if he thinks this is some kind of warped but fun game, if he's displaying anxiety, is in some kind of pain or displaying another health problem, misplacing aggression due to something else he's seeing or experiencing, or what.

The first act of order should be a comprehensive health exam with blood work up. Sucks that it's an expensive act of order but it's for the best to rule out medical causes.

If you like, you can PM me and we can discuss it and try to get to the bottom of it and formulate a plan based on his reason for acting like this. If you don't know why he's doing it, then it's going to be difficult to fix the problem. A correction just suppresses, it doesn't treat the reason for the problem behavior. It's a bit like just slapping a bandaid on a festering sore and hoping that the infection goes away.


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## Kozy's_Mama (Jun 22, 2012)

Thank you for the advice, everyone, but he has grown out of this behavior for the most part. He's had several vet visits and everything is fine. I've very rarely had to use corrections with him -- I think he just had to learn over time that I'm the one in charge of the walks, not him.


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