Will He Ever Get Better on the Lead?

[GreendaleFive]

I'm really at my wit's end with our dog. He is lovely in terms of never having shown any aggression towards people or other dogs and he just loves cuddles and fuss. But his behaviour is really getting to me and the worst part is walks.

He's a year old and a GSD/husky cross (I know - but we've had both breeds in the past so I thought it would be okay!!).

He seems to have excellent senses - amazing sense of sight, smell and hearing - so he is excited by EVERYTHING when we're out. And I mean everything: the wind turbines miles away, planes flying overhead, the rodents tunnelling underground, the sheep in the fields nearby, the cows, the insects, trails/scents from dogs who walked past hours ago, bits of grass being blown along, a random glove by the side of the road...EVERYTHING.

And he won't walk without pulling really hard. I have built up such muscles in my shoulder/arm and still comes home aching after every walk.

He yanks the lead suddenly when he sees something exciting (which, as mentioned, is every-damn-thing), including into traffic/in front of tractors etc. I've had several minor injuries from him suddenly pulling when I'm on loose ground etc.

I tried training him with treats for ages but a) he's really not that fussed by treats (I tried loads of different ones to get him interested) compared to all the other things around him and b) on the occasions he did seem interested he would immediately pull again the second he had a treat every time.

I've tried the 'changing direction when he pulls' thing but he doesn't give a crap because there are exciting things everywhere so it doesn't really matter where we go.

I'm currently on just not moving whenever the lead is taught. I thought we were making progress after a week as we had a couple of walks where he was pulling a lot less...and then over the last week and half it's worse and worse every time we go out. It's like he realised it wasn't a one-off thing and he's just refusing.

Also, even when he occasionally does walk with the lead slack, it's normally because he's snuffling around in the verge after rodents and every few metres he'll find one and suddenly yank me over as he tries to catch it arctic fox style (leaping into the air and pouncing down with his nose and front paws) or he suddenly digs for it if it's underground.

Do I stick with it?? Or is this just not working for him? He's getting so little exercise right now since we only make it about 300m from the house sometimes (in an hour long walk) because he is just constantly pulling so I can't move. The lack of exercise is just making him worse but if I give up, I don't know what's left to try!! I do try exercising him in other ways (we have a good sized garden and I throw a ball etc.) but it's really not enough and I work/have two autistic kids to look after around school so I can only dedicate so long to this each day.

I'm so ashamed to admit it but I've totally lost it with him at times. He's hurt me, he's put us both in danger, it's so frustrating. So, I have yelled, I have tugged him back on the lead (not that he really cares/seems to particularly notice), and even grabbed him by the scruff.

I looked into dog behaviourists in the area but then our oven broke and the car broke down at the same time so I now don't have spare hundreds of pounds (the cost of the behaviourists). Plus, we're in the countryside (in case you couldn't tell!) and these places are all a good drive away, which is hard time-wise and anxiety inducing for me as an autistic person.

I love animals. I've had dogs since I was a kid. I just want to cry and cry.

Will anything work?

Sorry - trying to answer all questions.

He's just over a year old.

Does anyone know how much neutering is likely to help? With him being a larger breed, the current guidance is to wait until he's 18 months to get him snipped. DH seems to think that will make a huge difference since testosterone is an anxiety suppressant, so he just never has any worry about his actions/about running head first at anything interesting.

I'm not convinced it's going to make a big difference, though!

I'll try looking again but I don't think that's an option here. I couldn't find any trainers or behaviourists who would come to the house and nothing that costs less than a couple of hundred as a minimum.

We're in a relatively rural part of Scotland, so what's available in most of the country isn't necessarily what we have available here, unfortunately.

Last time I looked into classes, there was very little in terms of groups available (I think a legacy from Covid - obviously there were more restrictions in Scotland until very recently so many things are still far from being back to 'normal').

The issue with his car sickness is also a big problem for getting him to a behaviourist etc.

I don't know that we'd make much progress when I'd have to manhandle him into the car, he's throw up the whole way there and be feeling awful when we got there, and then repeat for going home.

My plan is to drive him to a spot that's less than a mile away that's near a paddock I can let him have a bit of a nosey in to build him up to further drives. He loves the paddock and the distance seems to be just about short enough he's not sick if I drive slowly (though, he's still drooling uncontrollably even after such a short distance).

No, you should wait until he's 2 to get him neutered, so all his growth plates are closed. He needs his hormones to grow. The reason he's jumping about is that he is anxious, so taking away testosterone to make h8m more anxious isn't going to help him.
Low arousal places to walk him is the right thing to do. If he doesn't respond to treats, does he respond to a toy? Something like a tug toy will help him.
I live in a built up area, and my pup saw the hat trick of a squirrel running towards him, and then being chased up a tree by a cat! I put him in a sit and rewarded him. I do this often, just randomly put him in a sit during walks, or a down. I then stop for a bit and make him stay there. It has made a big difference. He now will sit as soon as I stop walking

WhenI got my first rescue (very large) Great Dane, she was about two and arrived with a choke collar, swapped it for a halti and it worked a treat.

Yes a harness gives the dig the most ability to pull. I can't tell you enough how much the halti head collar will change things for you. My dog used to drag me down the road. Once they are used to the halti they know they can't pull and they walk nicely.

Again, I really want to thank you all.

I think I just needed to hear that there is hope and there are things I've yet to try.

My mental health has taken a bit of a nosedive recently (I can feel my disordered eating creeping back in). DH's MH is also rock bottom so I have been trying to support him. Work is incredibly busy/stressful right now (I work part-time largely from home and any day I do go into the office is co-ordinated with DH so he can work from home and the dog isn't being left for hours or anything). There's stuff going on with the house and the kids...plus the general doom and gloom of the world right now.

I can keep going if there's still hope, and you have given me that.

It’s really common for over aroused dogs not to want food outside, but, it’s worth trying as many different things as you can to see if one will be exciting enough, mine will only do liver cake out and about, my last dog it was primula that did it for him.

your harness - if he can pull from the back ring still, you’re holding the lead in the wrong place, you want to slide your hand forwards so that when he pulls the pull goes to the front and instead of him being able to pull in the direction he wants, it turns him sideways.

roughly where abouts are you? It’s probably the wrong end of the country, but I’m in Scotland as well.

Hi Green you've had a lot of good advice here. Have you tried anything for the car travel? A Ginger biscuit or if that's no good then the vet can prescribe anti sickness medication? Top tip get it prescribed and then order online from one of the vet suppliers like Hyperdrug or Viovet, so it's cheaper.

My dog had similar issues with over stimulation and car travel (though to a much lesser extent) so I really understand your frustration and how disheartening it can be!

Mine has calmed a lot naturally (she's 3 now and a naturally more placid breed) but I've also worked a lot on car travel (very gradually building it up) and have started group training classes which have been amazing (I had the same worries about the car journey too). There are more things starting up now post COVID.

My friend has a similar cross to yours, she's about 18 months now and still quite exuberant but definitely more focused than before. They walk her with a headcollar and that's helped a lot. She's also a gorgeous dog as I'm sure is your boy ☺️

Ps also in Scotland but more urban than you, whereabouts are you? Also, when walks were sooo hard I did lots of training at home. Calm training where they have to use their brain can tire them a lot too. Maybe a secure dog field if there's one nearby as well?

Appreciate you don’t have a local trainer option but have a look online as there are some very good virtual trainers who would be able to help for a small monthly fee or one off charge. It can be useful for someone to see the behaviour (via videos) if not in person to see what would best help.

There's no easy answer to this. Dogs like this cannot be exercised adequately on a lead. Actually, most dogs can't be exercised on a lead. He's bound to get over excited because he's understimulated in his life. I don't have any answers I'm afraid and I'm not criticising you in any way. It does raise the question of why we have dogs at all and whether it is ethical to "own" pets. And I'm a dog lover with a dog...

I tend to take a mix of treats so he never knows which he'll get to keep him interested but that's not really working. I buy a new selection every time I go to the supermarket and get ones online etc. to mix it up, plus have tried little bits of cheese, bits of dried chicken strips etc. but nothing yet really grabs his attention outside the house. I'll keep trying new things in case something does work.

Even when I only have the lead attached to the front harness ring (and when it's on both I do try to hold it further forward) he's just so strong it doesn't really seem to matter to him.

I'm in the North East of Scotland.

I think I assumed the vet would only prescribe something for travel sickness if we had a particularly long journey to go on so I haven't really gone down that route. Sounds like it's worth looking into, though, thanks.

Lots of his less desirable behaviours (chewing up everything) have been getting better with time so I am hopeful he'll calm down a bit naturally, too. Fingers crossed!

He is a stunning dog, if I do say so myself! I'd share a picture but he's relatively distinctive so it would be pretty outing (though, this thread probably is already!).

There's supposed to be a secure dog field opening up nearby soon! I can't wait as I think that will be fab for him.

I'm NE Scotland. Not totally remote - pretty close to the nearest town - but not actually in a town or village ourselves.

That does sound like a good option, actually. I'll look into online trainers, thanks!

I also have a big, strong dog (45kg) and a few times he’s jarred my shoulder lurching for things. I now have him on a collar now rather than harness and have more control. Another thing that really helped was a lead with a bit more ‘give’. Highly recommend the Ezydog zero shock lead and also the Ezydog checkmate collar - massive difference. Good luck op

Halti and secure fields are your best bet.

Do a daily 10/20 minutes circle of calm walking on lead , without halti, between 2 points around 5m apart and just trudge up and down, ignoring dog until he’s so bored with his surroundings that he focuses just on you. This does work but it’s time consuming and will take a while for dog to catch on. The first time I did it with mine she took around 20 mins before she walked nicely it’s quicker now.

other days do a sniffy walk. Always working on calm.

then the secure field is a god send.

after 4 years of doing this we now only need the halti on new walks

my friend works with rescue shepherds and many of them need the halti. I was reluctant to try it but honestly game changer.

Why don't you try Canicross.? Or bikejoring or the scooter.?

It will be a Fantastic outlet for your dog.

Yeah, I’m nowhere near the north east, lol.

but, the trainer I use drives about an hour to come to me, so it might be worth checking if anyone working from the nearest biggish place would come out to you.

OP I feel your pain.
Our 10 month old Lab pulls like a train.
I have recently started stopping as soon as he pulls and it seems to be working a bit.
I've tried a GenCon but he scratched his nose so much trying to get it off that he bled, so I stopped using it.

You've got loads of great advice here, I'll add some things that have been useful for my over stimulated dog:

Bungee lead - obviously they can still pull, but it minimises that really hard jerk when they hit the end of the lead or dive off in a different direction suddenly. Obviously training not to pull would be better, but this minimises the physical toll on you a bit in the meantime.
Walking on a waist belt - same as above, gives your shoulders a break.
Walking the exact same route every day - my dog definitely felt less stressed when we went the same route at roughly the same time every day. It's boring, but she was much less hyper. After a while I added in little detours or extensions to this main route.
U turn - rather than stopping when she pulled, I would say "let's go" and turn and walk a little while back on myself. When she was walking nicely (not pulling or trying to go another way) we'd do another u turn and continue with the route.
Time - she's calmed down a lot with time. From one to roughly two and a half she was absolutely nuts!

Again, I wanted to add my thanks to everyone. I've got a really busy day with work etc. today but I am still reading comments.

My plan at the moment is to do as many short bursts of different activities as possible around work etc. each day. Plus, a walk where I'll drive the short distance to the nearby paddock at the quietest time of day I can manage and wonder round there in a low-stress way.

Yesterday that meant taking him for the walk as soon as I got back from school drop-off (and even the two times I've done it has massively improved his relationship with the car!!). Then I spent 10-15 minutes playing tug of war with him in the garden when I had a chance mid-morning (he doesn't actually yank very hard with that game so that's not a strain on me), as he didn't seem interested in the ball at that time. Then, I gave him a box with treats in for him to rip into while I was on a couple of work calls. Then I threw the ball for him for a while when I got back from the school pick-up (he was much more interested in the ball at that point). I'm making fetch more interesting by running and hiding once I've thrown the ball so he has to come find me as well and he seemed to love that. He also got a carrot to chew on, too (he loves carrots).

That's on top of all the fuss, tummy rubs, little bits of playing indoors etc. he typically gets through the day.

He seemed much less hyped up yesterday so I'm hoping if I keep up with this sort of routine it will help keep his body and brain active without totally overloading him!

I have a head collar ordered, too, so that will arrive soon.

It doesn't help his hormones are clearly going mad right now, either! He's a bit of a horny teenager right now and I know that just needs time...

I use a slip lead (sometimes looped over the nose) and a balance of rewards and corrections, and off-lead heelwork, to teach my dogs loose lead walking.

Re treats, I have a dog who wasn't interested in treats outside. I just kept on pairing praise with offering treats, and using treats in training games. It took about a year, and it might just have been maturity, but she will now work for a treat in fairly distracting environments.

You've had great advice already and a secure field would be excellent.

Please please don't use a prong collar like someone has suggested. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't, you sound like a good owner but sometimes desperation can drive people to extreme measures. Prong collars should never be an option.

Good luck.

I won't be using a prong collar, don't worry. I was reluctant enough about the head collar until saw how many posters recommended them! I have ordered one, which I thought would be arriving today but a couple of the local delivery drivers are a bit shit (some are amazing, though) so I imagine it will arrive tomorrow or Monday.

We had quite a chilled day today as we were celebrating DH's birthday. So, lots of time in the garden, loads of tug-of-war, and fetch and fuss. He does have such a lovely temperament, and once he chills just a bit I think he'll be an amazing pet.

I keep reminding myself of how far we've already come. For instance, he's much calmer with the cats these days (still gets a bit intense with sniffing them and can't help himself chasing if they dart off, but never aggressive) and even seems to have a weird friendship with our half-feral youngest cat, who was also a bit of a 'problem pet' when younger.