# Difficulty Walking with Leash



## Heel Touge (Apr 13, 2012)

Okay so my puppy is now 12.5 weeks.

He knows Sit, Laydown, Stay, It's okay, and Place.

When he is out on a leash he is either:

trying to go off to go smell or eat anything _(he likes to eat those seeds that do the helicopter thing when they fall and he also will try to eat small rock)_ pulling on the leash hard. He has an adjustable nylon collar suitable for his size.

or 

He is trying to play tug-of-war with the leash.

The tug-of-war thing is where more of my concerns are. When he does this I will stop, bend down, and tell him drop it. I will say drop it a few times and he will, but as soon as I go to resume our walk he will start the tug-of-war thing. I will do the same thing again but then he will drop the leash only for a sec and then pick it up again, then he will start barking at me and growling, because every-time he puts the leash in is mouth I will tell him drop it. He also will bight my hand and I will say no bite and pop his nose (gently of coarse).

Should I switch to a harness because it seems like when he sees the leash then he wants to play with it, the harness will make it less visible to him.

or

Do you have any other suggestions to stop this behavior.

A short walk (approx 1/8 mile) can end up being a 30 min walk because I won't allow the bad behavior. I will stop and wait till he listens.

Also on a side note he has become a spaz lately, zoomies then he'll run lay down for a sec and then chase his tail then zoomies.

Thanks in advance for your input.


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

fwiw see my post here :

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/training-our-puppy-basic/182025-leash-training-help.html


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## Heel Touge (Apr 13, 2012)

kidkhmer said:


> fwiw see my post here :
> 
> http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/training-our-puppy-basic/182025-leash-training-help.html


You've got some great pointers here. I will try to retroactively work with these ideas; but this still does not suggest how I should deal with the tug-of-war with the leash thing.


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## MilesNY (Aug 12, 2010)

Have you tried soaking the leash in Bitter Apple or something similar? making it taste horrid may break the habit.


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## MilesNY (Aug 12, 2010)

Also for Dante, as a puppy he was a huge landshark so I taught him to always have something in his mouth. He could walk for a long time with a toy, then when he dropped it I would pick it up and if he started going after my pant leg again, it would come back out so he could carry it for a bit more. He LOVES to carry things now, and when he get excited you see him look for something to put in his mouth and dance around with. I also used this for walking past barking yappy dogs, I would pull a tug out and walk him by holding onto the tug with him. I called it his pacifier. lol


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I personally don't like to make walks a battle of wills for a puppy. They should be fun. They should be exercise. And we need to keep seeing how 'good' our puppies are!

So I think you are right BUT not to get a regular harness. Gentle Leader makes a good one that attaches in the front of the dog so they turn and come your direction easily.


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## MilesNY (Aug 12, 2010)

I gotta say I am not a huge fan of those harnesses. I understand they work great for some people but I don't like how they fit on the dog, and how when the dog does pull it twists their body. For me it was a week of learning not to pull on a leash and nylon martingale and Dante was good untill he was 7-8 months when he started to get his own opinions. Of course I am also big on him never being on leash unless I could enforce the no pulling so most of his exercise was done in the yard or house. We did walks after morning play session. I dont think they are a terrible tool or anything, it just wasn't my cup of tea.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

MilesNY said:


> I gotta say I am not a huge fan of those harnesses. I understand they work great for some people but I don't like how they fit on the dog, and how when the dog does pull it twists their body. For me it was a week of learning not to pull on a leash and nylon martingale and Dante was good untill he was 7-8 months when he started to get his own opinions. Of course I am also big on him never being on leash unless I could enforce the no pulling so most of his exercise was done in the yard or house. We did walks after morning play session. I dont think they are a terrible tool or anything, it just wasn't my cup of tea.


For me, I'd rather have the pressure be on my pups chest as they turn/slow/stop than on their neck with a regular or martingale collar. I don't turn around to walk the opposite direction (causing more of a bend for the dog to turn) I just slow or get their attention so they aren't having any bending.

For TRAINING I'm a fan of the prong due to the same reason, these collars pinch, don't strangle or put pressure all along the front of their neck. But this is a 'training' collar and I don't use them on younger puppies either.


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## MilesNY (Aug 12, 2010)

I agree, Dante went to a prong at around 7.5 months, by that point he was over 70lbs and my positive only friends gave me crap, but none of them had a huge high drive working shepherd. Some were more understanding than others. I never really pulled on the martigale, mainly like them because I can leave the collar really loose without having it come off the dogs head. I have a weird issue with collar wear lines in fur.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

I really think you have a handle on the situation and continue your course on training and working with your dog. Remember, tool decisions for your dog should be based on what is most effective for him and not what your fancy is. Good Luck!!


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## Heel Touge (Apr 13, 2012)

Thanks for everyone's input thus far.

My thought process here is that I want him to know being on a leash is not play time.

He is on a leash to potty and when I walk him.

Once he gets the leash thing down I want to start working on off leash training. The difficulty will be that I live in an apartment, and so the space is minimal inside to train and outside he must be on a leash. Now if I go to my parents they have a big yard so I could practice there but that is not really practical.

Again thanks, everyone.


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## kidkhmer (Jul 14, 2010)

I just don't know why anyone who lives in an apartment would get a large active dog. Dogs need space 
. Pure and simple.


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## Falkosmom (Jul 27, 2011)

Heel Touge said:


> Thanks for everyone's input thus far.
> 
> My thought process here is that I want him to know being on a leash is not play time.
> 
> ...


That is all fine and good, but where does the exercise part come in, especially since you live in an apartment?


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## Heel Touge (Apr 13, 2012)

kidkhmer said:


> I just don't know why anyone who lives in an apartment would get a large active dog. Dogs need space
> . Pure and simple.


I am a very active person and plan to have my dog with me as much as possible. I in no way feel that my dog will feel unsatisfied with his activity level.

I have future plans to have a home with a fenced in yard. My puppy is a rescue, and the opportunity was right for me.

I get were you are coming from, and for many people that live in apartments they are not willing to go above and beyond to ensure their dogs need of exercise and exploration. I am *not* one of these people.


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## Heel Touge (Apr 13, 2012)

Falkosmom said:


> That is all fine and good, but where does the exercise part come in, especially since you live in an apartment?


Right now:
I take him on short walks (due to his age) about 5 times a day.
We play together inside.
We play tug-of-war.
He will go to the park and I will play with him their.
I am always teaching him and working on tricks.
He loves the 32oz gatorade bottles, he will chew and toss it around, and run around with it for an hour before he is done with that.

I am glad for your concern, but he is well taken care of. He is my pride and joy and I want the best for him.

FYI he comes to work with me too.


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## HelloNico (Mar 31, 2012)

Heel Touge said:


> I am a very active person and plan to have my dog with me as much as possible. I in no way feel that my dog will feel unsatisfied with his activity level.
> 
> I have future plans to have a home with a fenced in yard. My puppy is a rescue, and the opportunity was right for me.
> 
> I get were you are coming from, and for many people that live in apartments they are not willing to go above and beyond to ensure their dogs need of exercise and exploration. I am *not* one of these people.


FWIW, ditto. Even my mom said her peace when I told her we were even _thinking_ about a dog. My husband and I both work from home 90% of the time, and we're walking distance to the biggest park in NYC. I'm convinced Nico gets more exercise and attention than the majority of dogs who spend all their time in the yard with or without supervision—I mean this in general, not in terms of fellow board members, of course. I read once that there are more dogs per capita on the Upper East Side than any other zip code in the country, and almost all of those dogs are happy and well socialized (they have to be)! 

Do I wish we had a big yard? Of course. Will we have one in Nico's lifetime? I hope so. Would I have gotten him if I thought he'd suffer in our apartment? No. My biggest regret is that our street can get pretty filthy, and potty time can be a struggle since his "Leave it" isn't 100%. I swear he's learned to fake looking for a spot to poop so he can go eat that chicken bone.


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