Nightmare to walk!

Hi everyone, I just registered here

Anyway I need a bit of help. I have a 4 month old staffy, she is generally a well behaved dog around the house, lovable, cuddly and not aggressive at all...... but in public she is actually a complete nightmare! taking her for walks actually depresses me, she is such an embarrassment. She jumps up at her lead and chews it, when I try and take it out of her mouth she growls at me aggressively and will not open her jaw at all, she jumps up at me and bites my legs, she screeches at the top of her voice out of frustration when I don't let her go the way or the speed that she wants to go at. She doesn't even like stopping, which is extremely inconvenient as plenty of people want to stroke her and ask me about her, she starts biting and growling at the lead if I dare stop and chat to people. I have tried taking her out on a walk with our other dog but she still carries on shameful, she tries to bite him and jumps all over him.

I am at the end of my tether, I am SO worried about what people think when they see her behaving the way she does. There are judgmental people where I live who think staffies are the Devil's dog and here's me walking down the street with one actually acting like the Devil's dog... I know she is a puppy and will probably outgrow it but I really don't think I can wait that long! in the house she understands and responds to "no!" but in public she has no respect for me, she doesn't listen at all  It is literally like she has 2 personalities! one is nice and the other is just horrible. She is not improving at all, each walk is worse than the last.

Has anyone had any similar experiences with their pup/dog, or any advice for me on how I can try and correct this behavior?

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Can you tell me how you got your pup used to the collar & lead, and what you did the first time you took her for a walk?

Also, what food do you give her & what sort of exercise does she get on a regular basis?

Caryll wrote:Hi, welcome to the forum.

Can you tell me how you got your pup used to the collar & lead, and what you did the first time you took her for a walk?

Also, what food do you give her & what sort of exercise does she get on a regular basis?

I walked her around the garden to get her used to being on lead. Errrm her first walk was just a 20 minute walk around our estate at a quiet time of the day, so it was uneventful, nothing happened that could have possibly made her hate going out in public if that's what you are implying?

She is on wainwright's puppy food and we have a reasonably big garden which she is constantly running around with our other dog, the pair of them are never still!

Roxy used to do this, she would chew at the lead and attack my ankles so much so it was embarrassing, she is about 4 months herself. I now keep her on a tight leash by my side, I do not let her pull, I even try and keep her slightly behind me.

The main thing is is to be persistent and things will get better.

Do not worry about what people think, she is a pup who is learning.

Jay wrote:Roxy used to do this, she would chew at the lead and attack my ankles so much so it was embarrassing, she is about 4 months herself. I now keep her on a tight leash by my side, I  do not let her pull, I even try and keep her slightly behind me.

The main thing is is to be persistent and things will get better.

Do not worry about what people think, she is a pup who is learning.

thanks for replying. yeah I do not let her walk on the full length of the lead, I have to wrap it round my hand and tightly hold the lead to keep her by my side.. this is usually what makes her kick off and bite the lead, but she does nothing but pull on a long lead so I can't win either way. After every walk I come home with an achy arm and shoulder because I've had to have that much of a strong grip to keep her at my side. sucks!  

You could also try letting her take a toy to carry on walks, that may help, Roxy bit my ankles for a month before it started to get better, believe me it will get better with persistence.

Just stick with it it will improve.

Daisy used to get really excited and start biting the lead on walks, so I started doing time out, make her sit calmly then set off again, if she does it again another time out until she started walking properly. Just switch off to anyone around and how their looking at you!

How much training have you done so far? Have you done any heel walk training with her yet?

I haven't had trouble with growling or biting at the leash, but what I did do was make sure Wrig was already tired out from playing before trying out the lead (ie we would go for a long walk on the beach then I'd put his leash on halfway back on the return trip). This way they aren't choc full of energy and learning to deal with restraint at the same time. Good luck with your training!

Hi you could try taking small treats and every time she walks nice praise her and give her small treat.mine loves walking and his lead but we do carry water and treat bag. Don't worry about other people there not training her you are. X

Walking like all things is a behavior that takes time and patience for a puppy to learn .. we've all been there!

Have you had a look at this link? https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t26013-training-a-puppy-to-walk-on-a-lead

May I ask whether you use a collar or harness ... and if a harness, which kind? Also, what do you do when she does pull on the lead?

Kell wrote:
Walking like all things is a behavior that takes time and patience for a puppy to learn .. we've all been there!

Have you had a look at this link? https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t26013-training-a-puppy-to-walk-on-a-lead

May I ask whether you use a collar or harness ... and if a harness, which kind? Also, what do you do when she does pull on the lead?

I use a so called 'comfort harness' from pets at home... It's a soft material and looks like it would be comfortable. When she pulls I stop walking until she sits down and before setting off again I say "walk", which usually works for about 30 seconds then she starts again. I feel like I have tried everything possible, she just refuses to listen. I know she likes being out in public because she gets extremely excited when she sees me pull the lead out of the cupboard. In the house she understands several command words but in public everything she has learnt just goes out the window!

It really is up to you and your dog what you use - however do be aware that a harness does make pulling easy for your dog (that is why sled dogs wear them!). I don't mean to say that you should change, however you might like to try a front attach harness for example, which makes pulling a pointless exercise for your pooch

All commands (even the ones a pup knows well at home) take time to learn when there are distractions .... and imagine all of the exciting smells, sights and sounds while out on a walk! Keep working on the st and start - I can remember feeling a complete nutter when Chiquito was little and learning (all I did was stop, sit, walk and repeat again after two steps) it does work in time though

Teaching the 'watch' and 'beside/heel' commands was also really helpful for me ... lot's of treats to start with on those walks while you are doing it too!

I'd like to make a couple of sugestions...

1. Get the lead out several times a day, but just clip it on & let her drag it, don't necessarily take her out. Eventually that should lessen the excitement associated with the lead & her walks.

2. Smear a little Vicks Vapour Rub on the lead - dogs don't like either the smell or the taste & that should help with the lead biting.

3. Whenever she pulls ahead, say "heel" (or whatever word you want to use) and immediately turn back the other way, giving a little tug on the lead at the same time as you say "heel". The second you dog gets alongside you, repeat the action so that you're going back in the original direction. Then, when she catches up again, give her a treat & a little praise, using the word "heel" (or whatever). If you do that every time she pulls ahead she'll soon get fed up with it & start to watch you & hang back to walk with you.

4. She's only 4 months old. Have a lot of patience, and keep the walks & training sessions short (walks at the moment should only be about 20 minutes on lead, with a little off lead play), and always end on a good note, with something you know she can do!

Everything a dog does is a behaviour, and all their behaviours are totally natural & instinctive to them. What we have to do is teach them which behaviours are acceptable to humans, and which ones aren't. It takes a while, but you'll get there in the end!

All great advice above, and it definitely does take a lot of persistence, patience and consistency, most of us have been through it all as well, and from experience I know exactly how you felt, at times you want to pull your hair out! Keep up updated on your progress and good luck

Hi.
I had (have) this issue too but mine will be 5months on sunday and has really gotten better, ours used to jump and nip my mum and caught her a few times on the tummy!! So was all bruised, then she ripped my trousers etc etc etc and like u also say the growling and spinning on lead is extremely embarassing, and to make it worse theres always someone else about!!!!

I started making sure i had high value treats ie dog hotdogs or nature menu treats or whatever, and wen she started would distract with a treat make her sit wait or lie down and reward.
It takes time and she sometimes goes to do it but we can tell wen and its instantly sit down n wait then reward and walk again lol.

They r hard work but amazing

hi, i was the same,it was a dread to walk my dog,i even came home and brock down in tears and that was not so long ago.but coming on this site has realy helped me.as i was ready for giving up on her.but we r getting there slowly.if you get stressed the dog will get stressed and thats what i was doing getting STRESSED.but hey try the VICK rub as it does work.please dont give up.and good luck it takes time  

Great advice from Caryll above and others as well! I can't really add to it but I can say I've been there. Gwen never cared about biting/chewing on the lead but all the training would go out the window the second we were in public around distractions! She would jump up at people as they walked by, jump up on me and nipping me! She has started to improve but its taken a lot of time, patience, hard work, and consistency! Don't give up! Follow the advice above and remember consistency is key!!!