Need help, Please read! She pulls when I walk her

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MikeAM

Boxer Pal
My puppy is now 6 months old and getting bigger and stronger everyday. I take her walking every afternoon but she is a serious puller. I'm not a small man but yet at nearly 40 pounds she pulls with such force she nearly drags me. She actually chokes herself she pulls so hard and gets dizzy sometimes and nearly passes out and gasp for air. I also can not leave her out when company comes over. She has to jump and play with everyone! She knows the sit and stay command and will pay attention to me as long as no one else is present. I'm @ a lost, I've tried everything but she is so hyper! Can anyone help?
 

Amanda22

Boxer Booster
Hey,
You are not alone...lots of boxers pull. There have been several recent posts about pulling. 2 general suggestions though. 1. Try the stop method. When your dog pulls, stop walking. Start again once she stops. 2. Try getting a gentle leader or halti halter. This type of halter is very much like the ones used on horses, it helps guide the dogs head in the right direction. Try using the search function. Simply type in "gentle leader" or "pulling" or "stop method" and you will get lots of useful information. The search button is located under the "Welcome, MikeAM" banner. As for greeting guests appropriately, a search will also help answer this question. Maybe try searching for "jumping" or "guests". Good Luck.

Amanda
 

vichy

Boxer Booster
Hi MikeAM, my boxer is also nearly 6 months old and we have exactly the same problem, and yes they are very strong at this age.... Buster also looses his attention as soon as he sees a dog or a human. I try to always keep a treat in my pocket which I pick up whenever I want his full attention. The stop treatment seems to work pretty good aswell!
 

MikeAM

Boxer Pal
Thanks

I appreciate the help. I just wonder how she is so good with me in the house but she looses her mind outside and pulls like one of the worlds strongest men. I have the head halter. It's helped a little. She doesn't like it and fights with it more than anything. I guess it takes time though like anything else. Well, I'll work at it. Cross you fingers for me. I need all the help I can get.
 

boxer

Boxer Insane
Definitely use the search here - there is tons of advice here about pulling. The "stopping" method the instant the dog starts to pull is the best one. You can try devices such as harnesses and gentle leaders if that fails, but (as is pretty much always the case with dogs) teaching the dog that pulling doens't get it what it wants and how you DO want it to behave on a leash is the best way ;)

One bit of advice that's worth remembering is to never, never get into a pulling war with your dog. You will lose, and actually reinforce the behaviour. Instead, every single time the dog even starts to put its weight into its collar STOP WALKING. It's time consuming, frustrating, but it DOES WORK.

Good luck :D
 

Linswatson

Boxer Booster
I'm a small woman and at 8 months old and 75lbs, Buford can pretty much drag me wherever he so choses. I heard about the gentle leader here and I tried it out - AWESOME! He got used to it pretty quickly and it is SUCH a help! Although I do often have to explain to people what it is, (they often think that it's a muzzle and he's vicious - yeah right!). It gets pretty annoying when you hear people walk past and say, "Look at that poor dog with that thing across his face" when in actuality it is way more gentle than a choke chain! But the benefits far outweigh having to explain myself to ignorant people!
 

Tulsa-Dan

Your Friendly Moderator
The search engine is the first place to start looking for answers. These subjects are very, very common and you need look no further than the search engine. Please utilize the services provided for you here before asking questions that have been asked and answered hundreds of times before.

I have used several of the techniques you will find by using the search engine such as the turn-around and the stopping techniques quite effectively. I had a client who weighed 120lbs who was desparate to walk her Great Dane but the dog pulled her to the ground. In a matter of just a few weeks, we had the dog not only walking nicely by her side, not pulling and paying attention to her, but not barking and trying to lunge at other dogs on their walks. She was thrilled and it just took trying a technique, sticking with it and being consistent.

Again, use the search engine to find more techniques which may be helpful to you with these very common issues.

Moderator
 
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