Leash training a Pitbull/Boxer mix? (1 Viewer)

[74fj40]

I have a 3.5 year old pitbull who is a fantastic dog, house broken, kennel trained, does not bark growl or show any signs of aggression. He just wants to be loved. With that being said, he is awful on a leash. Walks side to side, pulls, ties the leash around me. when he sees another dog or a rabbit he bolts and nearly pulls me over.

I would rather not use any pain inflicting tools to leash train him, but if it comes down to it I will. It is rather embarrasing to have your dog walk you. Not to mention, when he pulls, spectators associate it with aggression. With pitbulls having such a bad stereo type, well...you know how it goes.

Thoughts? Ideas? to be a perfect dog this is all he needs and I'm willing to try anything!

 

[Chang-kuao-lo]

just try a pinch collar, they have plastic type ones that aren't as harsh. i had a dobermanXrottweiller that had much the same issue. after about 2 days, no problem, not perfect but manageable. much like a bit on a horse, it's not a steering wheel or a brake, it's just an amplified signal from you. "check-release", he strays from you a bit, one qucik-sharp pull and tell him to heel. she would actually get exited whenever i picked up the pinch-collar, she associated it with going out and doing something rather than a painful experience. work on it every day, and make it part of the whole routine.

and if you see something coming that you know is going to distract him, wait until he sees it, lead him in a circle around you, and make him sit. this is usually enough to "distract" them from the distraction. shuts the chase-instinct of for a moment, worked like a charm on the dobie-rottie. after about 2 months of consistent leash training, she would do all the same things totally off-leash.

but when in doubt go see a trainer, and avoid those that use treat rewards.

 

['74 UA FJ]

My dobe was the same way when he was around five months. I had a choke chain and about two forceful stops and sits did the trick. Later i walked him off leash with a shock collar on and he was the perfect example. He did everything I told him to.

 

[informationjunky]

Walk in figure 8s over and over and over until he gets that you leading him. Seems like the constant change in directions helps.. and yes I'm sure my neighbors thought I was nuts but it greatly helped my dale.

 

[IanB]

Pinch collar is key, they aren't nearly as bad as they look. Slip one over your arm and tug if you aren't sure. My dog (husky/GSD) would pull with any other collar, but trots along like a showdog with the pinch collar on. It's night/day difference.

 

[74fj40]

Last week I ended up with a couple things from petsmart, pinch collar and a halti harness. Today I got off from work, and decided to walk him. Used the Halti harness and walked him in figure 8's in a parking lot for about 10 minutes. Worked like a charm he was right by my side by about the 10th 8. Then I walked him to the park and he stayed by my side for the whole walk. nearing the end of the walk he wasnt getting in front of me anymore, but he was straying off to the side.

So overall he is learning, but it obviously wont happen over night!

 

[sparkplug]

Used the Halti harness and walked him in figure 8's in a parking lot for about 10 minutes.

Who got dizzy first?

 

[little_joe]

We have had great success with the Halti and the EasyWalk body harness. Regardless of the tool, however, you just have to keep at showing him who the boss is. One effective technique is if you find yourself coming onto a situation where the dog would ordinarily pull, turn around walk away. Then turn around and walk towards it again. Keep doing this until he calms down and "gets" that he has to stay under control to continue on. This is just like the aforementioned figure-8 process.

Prong collars on a pit are useless in my experience, due to their prey drive and disregard of pain.