Lunging

Billy lunges at some people and some dogs when I take him out for a walk, he does not growl or bark, he just gets so excited and his tail wags away.

But how can I stop him, yesterday he was up on his back legs with me pulling him back, he is getting very strong also it looks pretty awful. I have lots of treats but that does not seen to work, he does not pull on the lead when we are walking, just when he zones in on something.

I'm just taking a guess in the dark here, but he needs a reminded of who is walking who. A non pull harness could do the trick, certain type of harness throw dog s off balance if they try to pull so in the end they can't.
I will not suggest any type of semi-choke in this situation because of the risks of him breaking his neck.
Try the controller collar from Cesar Millan though. It could do the trick.

I'd try a front fastening harness, like the Halti Harness. That way as soon as he lunges forward, his own weight & momentum will turn him to the side. Also, you should try distraction or just completely turning the opposite way as soon as he lunges. Don't just turn around, but turn & keep walking away from the person/dog he wants to see. That way, he should soon realise that the lunging behaviour gets him the opposite of what he wants.

Lynne i've just bought a halti for Samson he walks ok with me or my mam but pulls with my dad but mainly i want him to get used to it so he walks nicely with a pram and it works superb you can hold the lead in 1 finger.

or buy from pets at home a can of pet corrector i used this to stop his jumping at visitors you could use it on your walks both have worked very well

sorry but the Cesar Milan illusion collar will not work for a staffie as their necks are too short. I know because a friend bought one from US for me.

I heard the pet corrector might work, but someone said that the halti might not work as they can pull really hard and it could hurt them

Thanks

The Halti Harness could, though. As I say, it has a ring at the front of the harness (on the chest strap) which draws the dog's own weight against him. As he pulls, the lead turns the dog around & back to you!

I use the halti head collar with a double ended lead so its attached to his collar and the halti and only use the halti to control the head if he did start to pull most the weight would go through his collar but its not an issue as he's never tried pulling in the halti

Ah okay =/ My bad x3

We had this problem with Tinkerbell when we first got her a few months back. Every person or dog she saw in the street she would drag us over to meet and jump all over them. She was really bad in that she would suddenly jump on someone if they even walked past us ignoring her.

We corrected her with the halti headcollar and a lot of hard work. I walked her by my side on a tight lead and socialised her by walking her in places that I knew would be loaded with people, such as town. She was made to stay by my side at all times. I really had to pay attention to her body language to correct a lunge before she got into a full blown lunge, if you get my meaning. I could tell who she was wanting to jump on by the way she watched them and her body getting ready to jump. A simple no and slight downward pull was enough to correct her, and I then reinforced her heel command by repeating it to her. It took a fair while to do, lots of walks in busy areas and patience on both our parts.
She is now able to walk by my side, and next to the buggy and will only wander if I give her the ok to do so. And it has helped prevent her generally pulling on the lead. So that is something that has worked for us. She has now finally learned that not everyone wants to see her, and if they do they will stop and talk to us and then she is to sit to be stroked.

Hope that helps and you can use some of it. I do like the sound of the halti harness though.

We do still need to sometimes go back to this training with her for a short while, mostly when somebody has approached without warning and made a fuss of her. She then seems to think after this meeting it is ok to go back to her old ways, but within 5 minutes of correcting she soon learns it isn't tolerated.

Oh and something that seemed to not work for her was to praise her if she ignored someone. If I were to say "good girl" after she walked past someone without lunging, she would get confused and the next person to walk past would be lunged at. So we did have to just ignore her good behaviour and correct the bad!

Take a squeaky toy, it might be more of a distraction if he isnt interested in the treats?

again i think the stones in the bottle thing. its enough of a noise to distract and break the fixation or what ever behaviour you are trying to correct. watch the dogs behaviour and the minute he fixates shake the bottle and when he looks away to see what it is walk in the other direction when he has calmed and the behaviour is good then tell him good boy and praise him

Marty wrote:I use the halti head collar with a double ended lead so its attached to his collar and the halti and only use the halti to control the head if he did start to pull most the weight would go through his collar but its not an issue as he's never tried pulling in the halti

This worked for me as well.

wow thank you lots of really good advice, going to order the halti, and hopefully it will work, and going to fill up a bottle just in case.

god think i gonna need a suitcase when walking billy, at the moment we have treats (lots), poo bags, bottle of water, my fags, mobile phone (just in case), door keys

I personally use a dogmatic head collar bloody brilliant things!

I'm having the same problem, and I want it to stop, because even at just 7 months, Violet weighs nearly half of what I do, and she is 99% muscle whilst I am most definitely not!

What we have been doing with some success is when we see someone coming, I say 'Nice and calm' and I hold my finger up, then she concentrates on my finger and we walk by, and she gets praised. So far this works for 4 people, then the fifth person to pass will get lunged at, but it's an improvement on jumping at every person that goes by, and I have just ordered a halt collar, so hopefully that will sort it completely!

what size do you order it say size 2 for staffys is that big enough, cause I am useless when it comes to rteurning things

What are you ordering the harness or headcollar? If it is the headcollar we ordered a size 2 which fits a staffie, but is too big for Tinkerbell as she is only a small staff.

thinking of going for the head collar, as billy does not pull on the lead, just lunges when he sees something

would this be the best thing ? size 2

I don't really know. Caryll advised the harness, which sounds fab as it turns him away. We have the headcollar and as soon as it is put on she knows she is on best behaviour. I found that easier for lunging because I could pull downwards on the lead (not hard) or turn her head before a lunge happened so she couldn't do it. I suppose it is just personal choice really, my last dog walked on a headcollar because he chased cars and had a huge herding instinct so just used to them more!

If you do go with it, Billy looks larger than Tinkerbell so size 2 should fit but couldn't really say. Tinkerbell's is on the smallest setting around the head, and the nose strap is still too big for her so if given a chance she can get it off.

now i am confused again

headcollar or harness or both

Personally headcollars without a doubt

For lunging I'd choose a harness (and do lots of training).. I'm afraid the twisting motion of a head collar with the force of a lunging dog could do some serious damage to the neck.

if you decide on the head collar you need a size 2 Lynne

good luck and for all the stuff you have to carry buy a doggy back pack let Billy carry it all, why have a dog and carry it yourself

Marty wrote:I use the halti head collar with a double ended lead so its attached to his collar and the halti and only use the halti to control the head if he did start to pull most the weight would go through his collar but its not an issue as he's never tried pulling in the halti

that sounds good where did you get your lead from

lynne wrote:that sounds good where did you get your lead from

You can get them on ebay - the softex ones are good, very easy on your hands!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Softex-Soft-Twin-Handle-Dog-Training-Lead-4-Colours-/270795381870?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&var=&hash=item84b8448a30

thank you caryll they look nice

Yeah thats the one i have on Caryll's recommendation they are good