Frustrated With Walking

[Khadijah]

I'm not really looking for advice here, because I've tried so many thigns already, just need to vent...I love Kuda to pieces, right now she is curled up on my feet...but I'm so frustrated with walking her. We have made a lot of progress: she walks a few steps in front of me now and her pulling has gotten much better. Her reaction to new people has curbed significantly as well, no more uncontrollable lunging and huffing. But she still goes nuts when she sees other dogs. And I mean seriously, hackles raised, foaming at the mouth NUTS. On the days when we don't see other dogs on our walks, it's so great! But then we'll have one day where she sees one after another (and usually by the second reaction, I am too frustrated to continue and we head on home), it is simply impossible to 1) re-direct her attention while the dog is in her sight, and 2) calm her down quickly and continue the walk without her constantly looking back over her shoulder and still pulling toward the other dog. I know she is very young (7 months) and her attention span is not great, but she is getting HUGE and needs the exercise! There are SO many dog owners in our apartment complex, I don't want her to get a reputation as a "bad"/"wild" dog...I would hate for her to spook one of these little dogs and spark a complaint.
We start obediance class at the end of the month but until then I just feel trapped. I'm not going to stop walking her because we both enjoy the time together, when there are no distractions. I guess I'm just looking for prayers of patience until we both get through this tough phase!

 

[BouncerBear]

That sounds like it would be frustrating. Has she ever played with any other dogs? I'm sure it will come with time, don't give up, she is young and still has so much to learn!

 

[IndysDad]

I feel your pain. My 8 month old is doing the same thing. Do you have her on collar or harness? I put Indio A Gentle Leader No Pull harness and it helps, even when confronting other dogs she doesn't pull as hard. Patience is the best thing though.

 

[Khadijah]

She plays well with others

I have tried traditional collar, slip chain, pinch, and harness. I couldn't wrap my head around the GL, and I bought one but felt too weird about it to put much effort into acclimating her to it. We go out for some off-leash activity EVERY Saturday, rain or shine. She plays well with other dogs, especially BIG ones...she seems to think she is bigger than she is...loves to run and doesn't really bother humans while she is off leash. I think that maybe I should start taking her out for off-leash play on Sundays as well, maybe she just needs more socialization than what she is getting right now. Because when she sees other dogs on walks, she seems more excited than aggressive, and only rarely barks at them, which seems to me like she just really, REALLY wants to play.

 

[CoraBoxer]

Off leash and on leash is two different things though. Very possible for a dog to be great off leash and have issues on leash. If you want to work on walking her on leash, letting her run off leash isn't necessarily going to have the desired effect. Socializing is great but just make sure she isn't put in a situation where she's learning on her own. She could pick up unwanted behaviors from dogs that aren't a great model for her. All it really takes is one incident especially at that age.

I like the martingale best. Its very easy to pull the collar up on the neck and lead the dog through some distractions (better control without snapping pulling etc). Otherwise it sits loose. Also what I find works is to focus on one thing. If you're trying to keep the dog under control, correct, keep the dog calm, walk by distractions etc you're doing a lot all at once. Sometimes its best to just sit in one spot and focus on one. I used to take Kahner down to the lobby of our building after a walk and we'd sit there as people came in and out, with dogs, with kids etc. It didn't take long for him to just plop down on the ground and start ignoring everything. It was easier to get him settled because I had one thing to worry about, and was easier to have people go about their business without coming up to the dog like you might encounter on a walk, in a park etc. You may want to start at a distance and see if that helps.

 

[kcttiger]

All boxers have this problem.....

I am afraid this is a boxer thing, Peyton is now 1 yr. We are just finishing the intermediate training class at Petsmart. He is very smart, learns quickly and will do anything for a treat.....almost. He does great with "heel" and loose leash walking, well loose leash walking was a little rough, but after he learned "heel", he does great. He is this great dog until he spots other dogs. He bucks and twists, and pulls, twists, turns, jumps, barks. It is so embarrassing and i am shocked i haven't pulled a shoulder out. It's like he has split personality disorder.
We lost Harley just over a year ago, he was 8 yrs and the most healthy boxer ever.....he died suddenly, we were devastated. But i remember he did the same thing. After about age 3, he was the perfect boxer, handsome, well behaved, listened, did anything for a treat. EXCEPT, he would act like a madman on the leash with other dogs around.
During training when he was young, say 6 yrs ago, we used a "halti" , it worked great for his pulling. i guess you could try that. However, he was a crazy dog around others too.
Gotta love a boxer......They will embarrass you to no end.