I have a 14 month old chocolate lab. He is a wonderful dog in many ways but we are working on a few issues (leash problems, stealing, some general disrespect, mouthing). But the leash issue is the absolute worst. It's not really aggression it doesn't seem. He more tries so hard to get the leash and chew it in half, and bruises and paws me in the process. A stranger would think he was attacking me. But if my hand ends up in his mouth, he will not bite me. The leash, he will destroy. He still tries with the chain leash. I've done so much research and tried every technique to desensitize him and nothing has worked. I'm so at my wits end with this. I can't even take him out on a leash unless I plan to get muddy and abused. We've been working on this since he was 5 months old and I can't remember why it started back then. Any advice is appreciated.
Hi Megan - Let me see if I understand right: Your pup is constantly chewing on the leash between you, to the point that he will chew through it? Does he do this for the entire walk? Only the beginning? Can you tell us more about his daily routine and exercise, so we can have more information? Does he get off leash exercise daily? I think we can better help if we have more info.
Thanks Jo. Something I've noticed this morning while training on it is that we can do well on the leash inside. It takes a lot of work but we can do it. But as soon as we step off the porch outside, he turns and lunges at me and the leash and is relentless with this, trying to play and chew the leash in half. We do have an abnormal daily routine as both me and my husband work a swing shift. Typically he gets out of the crate for breakfast around 8 am and we used to play a good game of fetch but that has also become very difficult. It used to wear him out well but did not help with any leash work. We end up spending this time training, trying to play tug of war, and coaxing him to give up everything he steals. We do this routine 3 times a day for an hour or two and he is in the crate in between or relaxing in the living room in his downtime. We are not able to go on walks at all and never have been. I tried so hard for many months to take the abuse (the mud slinging, paw slapping, mouthing and bruising, him bleeding from attacking a chain leash), and never saw any tiny improvement. There are times that he will walk very well, at heel with corrections, and then randomly he snaps throughout the walk. It can take 10 minutes just to get him to calm down and walk again to try to go home. These are short 0.25 mile walks that end up taking lots of time.
Hi have you tried using a harnes, with Bruce it’s like night and day with a harnes and collar.... Lee
I have tried using a harness, several. He chewed every one in half at the chest if we left him unsupervised for any short amount of time. And he attacked the chest area when on leash too. When he was younger they worked well, but once the problem started, he still attacked the leash on them. The prong collar has been most helpful but has not broken the behavior. It is what allows us to walk at all, dealing with the outbursts as they come. I've also tried hooking 2 leashes and trading out the one he's attacking. This intensifies things. I've tried a soft muzzle like a gentle leader with a chin clip, that didn't work. I've tried slipping PVC pipe over the leash, he just attacked the PVC. I'm currently totally reintroducing him to the leash from baby steps but having no luck.
Hi I know it looks like you have tried everything, we use this harness https://www.amazon.co.uk/HALTI-HARN...&qid=1545855097&sr=8-3&keywords=halti+harness With this https://www.amazon.co.uk/PetTec-Ext...8-2-spons&keywords=Dog+long+tracing+lead&th=1 We never really let him off the lead as I don’t trust him with other dogs enough,he just trails it behind himself I don’t actually hold it it just drags behind him. I can see you have tried loads of stuff so good luck!!! Lee
Hi @Megan Duvall What caught my attention was that he will walk inside without biting the lead. It's when he goes outside and steps off the porch that the problem begins. A question. Would it be possible to get him to walk around the porch on lead without him biting the lead. I have tow other questions. 1. If I proposed to you that you will teach him to walk off lead, are you able to practice off lead walking in your back garden without him running away? 2. Are you able to use a long line so that he can expend some of his pent up energy before you attempt to get him to walk on lead?
Thank you both for your suggestions! Yes, we have a huge backyard that I train him in and we live on a huge farm that the owner allows us to roam on, so we can do tons of off leash. He does not run away, he knows to stay within the yard. He loves to walk at heel inside off leash, and loves to learn. I could certainly try a long line, but I've tried attaching him to a chain run line before and he barked nonstop for an entire hour when I left him alone on it (but never attacks it...) and when I'm within view he gets a little boisterous. He is an attention seeker. And I can get him to walk on the porch without biting the lead, yes, but not around it on the ground lol.
Thanks @Megan Duvall for the feedback. My intention was to put you on the other end of the long line. I wasn't thinking of tying him up. The idea is to get him to use up some of his energy and frustration before attempting to train him. Here's something to try. Play with him in the garden for about 10 minutes. Fetching a ball, which is something he used to do. Then go to the porch. I am assuming you have three steps. And that the treads are wide aod that it is safe to turn around on the stairs. Heel on lead around the porch. Positively reinforce with treats for walking nicely. Now put one foot on the step and encourage the dog to do so. If he does not grab the lead, give him a treat. Allow him to back up the step or turn around. Rinse and repeat a few times. Go and play. Finish the training for that session Next time the aim is to get 2 steps down without him biting the lead. Rinse and repeat. Reward. Finish with a play session Next session three steps, turn around or back up the steps. Reward. Finish with play session. Next session. You go down the stairs and stand in the garden at the foot of the stairs. If he does not bite the lead. Reward with a treat. Turn around go back up the porch. Then finish. Repeat say 4 more times. Next session take two steps into the garden rather than one. Reward if he does not bite the lead. I'm sure you get the idea now. You are going to reward small steps () for walking on lead without biting it. Since you have a history of many problems with leads, it is going to take a lot of effort to stop his behaviour. In order to get success, you must have patience, the best treats he values (sardines? cheese?), and reward small increments in the desirable behaviour. Once you get him walking say two steps in the back garden without biting the lead, then start training out the front door. One step into the front garden at a time for each session. Let us know how you get on.
Thanks for the suggestions! I have some items on the way from amazon, and will let you know how it goes! I'm going to start with the long line and simple harness, using treats for tiny accomplishments. I'm really excited to try working with a long line.
Hi @Megan Duvall With the long line pay out say only half of the length and get used to using it. Try letting the line falling on the ground with your foot ready to stomp on the line should you need to prevent an escapee. Wear some gloves and jeans if you have bought a long line made from cotton or cotton and some synthetic material. It is very easy to entangled in the line or it wrapped around the dog's legs. So it does take a bit of practice, and proceed at a pace that builds your confidence and ability. You'll soon get the hang of it. The following video will give you some idea of how it can be used. If you find the long line useful for training, then might I suggest you get one made from biothane. The material does not pick up twigs, and is much easier on your hands. You can also wipe off moisture and the biothane leads are easier to keep clean. Reward the dog for checking in. I would revert to a conventional length lead when you start the he heeling on the porch.
We started with the long line today and it was... okay. I thought the harness was going so well. He didn't even notice it was on and it worked perfect all day. However, once he was lying down with his toy tonight, he decided to chew the chest piece in half. This is the third harness I've bought that has lasted less than a day. I would have stopped him or taken it off but I thought he was just chewing on his toy. It took him 60 seconds to chew it in half. As for the long line, now that he shows the same behavior but from 25 feet away, I realize he is definitely playing a game of tug with the line. His favorite game. He tries to chew it in half (like he does a tug rope if I don't put them away), which I fear will be hard to stop in time from so far away. His recalls were great though. At the end of day 1, I'm left with an intact long line (miraculously) and a collar to train with. We just used today to see how he acted on the line. I think tomorrow we'll start back with treat training for not mouthing the leash, and expend even more energy before trying. But, sadly, without a harness.
Oh dear, @Megan Duvall, it's not so much being outside that the problem. It's that he is so mouthy. I'd teach leave it inside and then outside and then generalise that cue to leads, harnesses, and long lines. Here is a method I wrote in terms of stick figures. I got the idea for a pictorial representation of teaching exercises from Trish Harris. Routine (a combination of luring and capturing) 1. Your dog should be on a lead. Stand near your dog and have her sit. 2. Show the dog a treat and place it on the ground. Cover it lightly with your foot. 3. Allow your dog to sniff the area but ensure the food is covered so that she cannot get it. 4. As soon as your dog loses interest and looks up at you or away, mark (Yes) and give a food treat from say behind your back to your dog. 5. Pick up the foot treat that was under your foot. 6. Rinse and repeat five times. 7. Now each time the instant your dog looks up at you, or away, say "Leave it”, then say “Yes” and give her a treat. 8. Rinse and repeat at least 5 times 9. Now when the dog looks at the treat on the ground say “Leave it”. If she turns and looks at you, then say “Yes” and Treat 10. Work towards having your foot hovering over the food, ready to put your foot down to prevent your dog from taking the treat on the ground if she should break from the sit. 11. Increase the level of the distraction: Place the food on the ground but do not have your foot near it. Use the lead to constrain the dog should she attempt to get the food on the ground. Soon your dog will learn that “Leave it”, means look away from whatever is tempting her and look at you instead. Practice now when your dog is standing rather than sitting.
This makes perfect sense. I'd not had luck teaching "leave it" in the past because he is very, very mouthy. I see this in all aspects of his training, I just didn't consider how much it was really affecting everything. We will definitely try that technique and focus on "leave it". Thank you!!
