Help - Unruly Dog

[rockyracoon]

You might remember me telling you that we adopted an 11 month old Bullmastiff back in October. Well, he's a great dog indoors but an absolute mare outside. For the first few weeks that we had him, he was keen to greet other dogs and whilst he pulled on the lead, it wasn't too bad, then we had him neutered, and the problems started. He pulls like a tank on speed, my husband who is very strong can barely hold him. We've had 2 trainers for 1-1 visits, one took the line of, reward good behaviour and distract from bad, which seemed reasonable to us. So we ventured out with him hoping to give him treats when the lead slacked, needless to say, we came back an hour later with a bag full of treats having got no further than the end of the road. This went on for a few unbearable weeks, he just wouldn't learn. When we stopped walking, he was quite happy to wait until we were ready to move ahead when the lead slacked, then he'd be off again. We were walking him on a Halti harness, clipped to chest and back.

We got another trainer who said we were using the wrong lead and came for a walk with us with Rodney on a slip lead. Whilst the trainer was there he walked like a dream, but the next day, off he went. He's also been quite aggressive to other dogs since he has had his bits removed, which is quite disappointing. He gets super excited when he sees a dog, screams like a banshee to say hello, then growls at them.

Has anyone got any advice. We tried the Halti face harness but he would end up injuring himself with that, any how he got it off as I think his snout is too short.

I wish I hadn't got him neutered. It seems the problems started just after.

[rockyracoon]

Just to add. He flatly refuses to respond to treats outside of the house. He is completely uninterested and totally focused on his walk.

[dannyk13]

When I have dogs in the past that pulled on the lead I found that this worked. When the dog starts pulling do an about turn and when the dog follows you turn back to your original route.It takes a little patience but it does work.

[rockyracoon]

Thanks Danny. I'll try anything at the moment.

[dannyk13]

Are there any dog training classes being held in your area? If so I would try one.

[barry1010]

Nothing to do with him being neutured. It's because he is no longer a pup

[rockyracoon]

They don't want him at the classes until we have a bit more of a handle on him. At the moment, it'd be like taking a fox to a hen house.

[Khandro]

What Danny suggest can work & is the advice Jan Fennel gives. It might make you a bit dizzy though :0) Good luck.

[nescio]

not for all dogs, Danny. I spent several hours over the course of a few weeks with Buster (my avatar image) trying just that, to absolutely no avail. He pulled like a steam train and nothing would deter him. I even resorted to a full-on choke chain - no effect. He just kept on pulling until he nearly choked himself, but it did not stop him. I just had to put up with it. We had him for almost 13 years. We later discovered that all 10 of his siblings had been returned to Dogs Trust within the first year, because they were completely unmanageable. The woman told us that she was surprised we had kept him, based on what the other owners had said about the returned dogs. We also tried professional trainers, who basically agreed that it was a waste of time trying to stop him pulling. One stated that he had never encountered any dog in over 20 years, which could pull as hard as Buster, and was totally unamenable to training.

[rockyracoon]

I went against all my instincts and got him neutered, even when the last dog we had done, not a pup, got aggressive with other dogs out of fear. I always though neutering calmed them down, it seems to have revved Rodney up.

[bhg481]

My wife was trained by Barbara Woodhouse many years ago (yes, it's the owner that needs training). Her solution was a choke chain with a good sharp tug and "HEEL" when the dog pulls; it works.

[Khandro]

[rockyracoon]

Nescio, that sounds exactly like Rodders, the slip lead was nearly choking him.

[dannyk13]

nescio, did you ever try a Halti, the type fitted over the head?

[Khandro]

bhg; That's appalling advice

[nescio]

bhg,
like I said (or wrote), it does not work with every dog...

[Bobbisox1]

Lola ( a Cockapoo) small for her breed and relatively easy to handle but is horrible to other dogs when we are out with her, growls and pulls at her lead, also anyone wearing hi-viz, yet I have a dog walker takes her twice a week with several other breeds of all sizes.....and she’s a dream for her, she puts vids up on her FB to let you see what she’s been doing and she’s a model dog on it

[rockyracoon]

I don't think you can buy choke chains anymore. The slip lead is a similar principle and it really isn't working. His desire to do what he likes far outweighs his desire to please us.

[nescio]

A Halti harness only allowed him to pull even harder, because he could use his whole body, rather than his neck. He weighed about 50kg and when he decided to pull, all 20 stone plus of me (ex prop forward) had difficulty.

[nescio]

also, a Halti head harness type. He pulled so hard with that, we were concerned it was damaging his eyes.

[bhg481]

The slip lead looks like a rope version of the choke chain (available on Amazon) - it's the sharp tug that does the trick, not just allowing the dog to pull continuously.