His bad behaviors are getting worse... :(

For the past few months now, Odie has taken interest in cars, motorcycles, other dogs, etc. while we are on our walks (he gets 2 walks per day). It has gotten to the point where we have to drive him somewhere, where we know there will be no cars driving by and no other distractions... because he barks LOUDLY and pulls HARD on his leash. I have a harness that I use, for my own peace of mind, to pull him out of harms way... I have tried just about everything I have read about... but there is absolutely NO distracting Odie when he focuses in on a car, motorcycle, etc. I've tried turning him around, offering him treats, teaching him "leave it". My husband says that maybe he's just going to be this way... does that mean I have to get used to this? I've checked into local trainers here on the coast, but they charge an arm and a leg (and not sure how good they'd be) and I can't start him up on a program with PetSmart in Portland, because once the winter weather really hits, I won't be able to drive there on the black ice!

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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Comment by Jane Christensen on September 22, 2010 at 8:47pm: I agree with Bev...get rid of the harness! When you are walking does he always go ahead of you? The way to stop this is to either immediately stop and turn a 180 going the other direction or to stop and back up...so he gets nowhere. Can you have someone at pet Smart help you fit him with a prong collar? This would only be for walking and it would be nice to get some advice before using. You need to be in control and he needs to know it.. Treats and eye contact are important. I use a clicker for training and I would recommend but you'd need to use it for all of the training this tells the dog when they're doing things right and then they get a treat!

Comment by Carla on September 22, 2010 at 7:46pm: I'm not sure if you've tried this, but if it were me, I'd have him on a VERY short leash (like a 2 foot leash - so the only place he can be is right next to you). Walk him with you closest to the distractions. If a car drives past and he tries to jump/lunge at it, two things will happen: first, he's on a very short leash, so he's not going to get very far. Second, and this sounds terrible, your going to kick him. He's going to lunge right in front of you if you're between him and the car, so just time it right and when he lunges in front, give him a swift kick in the side (don't boot him so hard you break his ribs, but it'll startle him and likely get his attention). Casey used to try and lunge in front of me when other dogs were walking past, and she'd get a very swift kick if she got underfoot. It stopped that behaviour right quick and now she is very cognizant of the location of my feet when we walk, lol.

You could also try giving him leash "pops" if you're good at it and feel comfortable doing it (he would need to have a collar for this though, not a harness). I actually found that, when properly executed, were much easier for me than trying to do positive reinforcements while walking down a street. Just pop the leash when he starts acting out, and relax it when he stops. I'm sure between the two of them, he'd get the picture.

Comment by Bev Levy on September 22, 2010 at 7:43pm: Ditch the harness. It just encourages pulling. Have you watched any Animal Planet?? There are a lot of training shows that deal with this. Primarily you need a training collar (used to be known as a choke collar) or a martingale type of collar. Look around in your area for classes. In my area the local school district offers Community Ed classes that include dog training basics. Start small by teaching him to look at you. I hold a treat (a really good one) up by my face and say" look". When he does -treat. Once he gets good at that you can try doing it on walks. I still think a class would be the best thing to do and you could probably complete a session before the snow flies but if you can not check a training book out at the library. It is dangerous for him not to learn to walk nicely on a leash.