4 month old Lab mix

[elektrasmom]

Hi,
We have a 4 month old Lab who is doing really well in her training with all but a few exceptions. She knows "sit", "down", "stay", and we are still working on "come" and "leave it" but doing relatively well. She is very smart, cuddly, and affectionate but very stubborn at the same time, and quite a drama queen!

The problems we have are with walking and jumping. She inevitable jumps all over visitors and people who give her attention outside. While we tell her "off" and with-hold attention, not everyone else does, which reinforces her behavior. Is there any way to practice with her to teach her not to jump on strangers. It's cute now, but she is already 28 lbs and will only get bigger.

The second problem is with walks. She pulls almost constantly, to the point where she will wear herself out in just a short distance. I have tried the "be a tree" method, but she just lays down next to me and does the same thing as soon as we start moving again. I feel bad for her because I can't imagine that so much pulling does not cause discomfort. It is exhausting to walk her and again, she will only get bigger and stronger. Any suggestions? Do harnesses work? I've heard that they only give them additional power from their legs to pull with. I've also tried walking on a leash around the dining room table, but she does fine there.

Part of the problem with the walking is that she COSTANTLY wants to eat grass. Her nose is always to the ground, trying to eat grass and weeds, even between sidewalk cracks. I can't leave her on a tie-out while I do yardwork because she'll just eat grass the whole time.

Any suggestions for us?

Thanks,
Elektrasmom

 

[Christin Luvs Dogs]

The jumping behavior can take a long time to root out. Don't be discouraged since your pup is only 4 months! Keep encouraging people not to pet her when she's up on them and keep treats with you at all time so that you can reward her in the split second where her feet are on the ground.

As far as the pulling goes, I would consider a Sporn No Pull harness or a Gentle Leader head collar. The object of both would be to eliminate pulling while you train loose leash walking. Obviously, if she is that interested in pulling, you must be having a difficult time teaching her what you want her to do.

Both the pulling and the grass eating have greatly to do with the fact that her head/nose is down. You may need to use some really smelly treats and teach her to lift her nose while walking. This will stop the pulling and the grass eating. You said she is doing well with "leave it", have you tried using "leave it" when walking and she's pulling down towards grass? Just be sure you provide a good reward whenever she does leave the grass!

Overall, she sounds like a typical high energy puppy. A lot of these things will improve with time as long as you continue the work you're doing. Good luck.

 

[animalcrackers]

Try an Easy Walk Harness -- it's specially designed to help stop leash-pulling. A solid "Leave it" should work for stopping her from eating the grass.

 

[Brandyb]

Sounds like you've been doing well with your training - good job.
As far as jumping goes, you can use the sit command, and have others ignor her until she sits, treat her while in position, and have the strangers or guests give her attention and treats only while she is sitting, if she breaks position, all attention must stop immediately, and she should be commanded to sit again, treat and praise, and allow attention while in the proper position. You'll have to build up the time that she sits and waits gradually as she is still very young, and most likely can not hold a stay for long periods. You can use this process throughout a guests visit. You pup only gets attention when she is calm and in the sitting position, this helps to reinforce to the dog that sitting equals good things, jumping equals loss of attention.
I would suggested getting a no pull harness or a head halter. However, you need to couple this with some training as well. You need to make it fun to be with you while walking, not being ahead of you, or eating grass. Carry treats with you or a favorite toy on all walks. Make the walks short for now, and frequent as to not loose her attention. Use a command such as "lets go" to begin the walk, use a high pitched voice that gets her attention. As soon as she directs her attention your way, praise and treat. In the begining you may have to lure her to your side. Give the command "lets go" to start the walk, then if she surges ahead give a "lets go" in a singsong voice, show her the treat or toy, lure her to your side, praise and treat her when she gets there. Carry on on walking, and repeat as soon as she forges ahead. Start with 5 minute walks a few times a day, always ending on a positive note, and when you feel she's progressed, add more time from there. Eventually you will be able to phase out the food lure, and just use it as a reward, from there, you should be able to phase out the reward as well, however, I would recommend carrying treats on all walks, regardless of if she still needs them or not - its always nice to be able to reinforce good behaviour every now and then. The same process can be used with a toy if she is not overly food motivated.
Good luck with your training!!