Am I missing something???

[DelmariasMom]

Okay we have a 41/2 month old white boxer who we love to death, we think of her as our 3rd child, but we are having a terrible time with some of her training. When we have our little training time every day she does awesome!(We use the clicker and treats to train her) She will sit, stay, come, shake, lay down, high five, and play dead. But she will do nothing outside of her "sessions" I guess you could call them, we have to tell her to sit like ten times to get her to do it. She also jumps all over anyone who comes in the door no matter how many times she has seen this person. I watch a little girl full time so my pup sees her parents twice a day when they drop off and pick up their baby, but she has to jump all over them every single time.

Walks have been terrible to, she pulls so hard that she nearly takes me down, and lunges at anyone who walks by. She's not aggresive just very excited and wants to get going and see as many people as she can find. After taking her for a walk last weekend, the side of my hand was bruised and swollen from her pulling, it's still bruised. We went the next day to petsmart and asked one of the trainers there for advise. She told us to try the easy walk harness first and we tried one on but even after we tightened it all the way we couldn't get it to fit snug enough, it was loose around her chest, and the lady said that if we went with a smaller size we were runnng the risk of her breaking it. She suggested a pinch collar which I'm not all that fond of, she told us that it wouldn't hurt her, that the pinch reminds them of the way their mama would have corrected them with her teeth. We started using it yesterday and it is working, she won't pull the way she did before but I don't think it's really teaching her to heel, just not to pull while that collar is on because it will pinch. And now she's started a new thing with my husband, she will just sit down and refuse to walk.

We are using a clicker and treats to train her but is there anything that worked better for someone else? We're up for almost anything at this point. Does anyone have a way that they got their dog to start listening better? When she doesn't want to do something it's like talking to a wall. Help!!!

 

[Althea]

Ooo, she sounds like a boxer! I suggest taking her to some heavy duty puppy classes. I always recommend going to a local dog training organization and get your girl in the groove with who's in charge.

It's her nature to jump and greet everyone. My guys see me all the time, and still tend to jump on me when I walk in. I trained my previous boxer not to, and this one will also have to be trained to act appropriately with guests. They just have so much love to give! lovicon

She's also still very much a puppy. As you progress in training, and as she gets older, some of that will go away.

 

[Cami]

Nix the pinch collar. Don't need to say anything else about that since talking about them here is forbidden.

She is only 4.5 months old. No where NEAR old enough to be able to take in all of the things that are being thrown at her as far as training is concerned. It really is a life-long progress. The sessions of training ARE WORKING (you said so yourself) BUT require constant reinforcement. Day in and day out. As she ages/matures she WILL understand what is expected of her as long as you continue to train her.

Boxers are high energy dogs and puppies have the attention span of a gnat (some adults too). They are also highly intelligent but one of the more stubborn/head strong breeds. Not such a good combination if they don't receive continued training over the course of their lifetime WITH a whole bunch of mental stimulation and exercise.

Tire them out a bit before a training episode. They will have a bit less energy and are able to focus more hence being able to retain more of what is being taught.

The Gentle Leader Harness comes in a variety of sizes and the stores don't always carry every size (they even come in 1/2 sizes). There will be one that will fit her you just have to find it. It is a great training tool but not something that will STOP them from pulling entirely but enough so that you have a bit more control when they DO plus you are still training to walk nicely on a leash and this helps to eliminate the pressure around their neck. Same rules would still apply....they pull you stop. They pull you turn around and head off in the other direction. They act up too much and you return home. They will get it!