Pinning herself to walls etc when walking

Hello
Please can anyone help, I rehomed a SBT x EBT 6 weeks ago, approx. 3 years old, I don't think she has ever really been trained in anyway as she didn't really even know the basics like sit etc, I have managed to get her to sit, wait at door, sit on side of road etc, but walking her is a nightmare, she pulls so much & pins herself to whatever she can that is solid, walls, railings shop windows etc, even if people are standing there she will charge into them, as she wants to come through, as you can imagine people do not want a 20 kilo dog charging into them when they are looking/standing around, I have tried her on a semi choke, a normal collar & a harness, she just pulls so much she has actually cut under her leg & removed most of the fur from her under neck.

What lead are you using? Try the shortest chain possible for bull breeds but the most important thing is just stop walking when she's pulling and turn back she will soon learn there's no . this is ongoing training no quick remedy .

What kind of collar/harness, get one as wide and padded as possible (we use Ezydog which you can now get easily in Pets at Home)

It won't be a quick process but go to a park (somewhere you won't get in the way) and just walk as soon as she pulls,say 'heel' (once) stop where you are and turn to face the opposite way. As soon as she is back to heel continue on the way you were going. And repeat. As I say it won't be quick but have some nice high value treats in your left pocket and every time she is back at heel treat her

Thanks for your reply, I have a leather Staffy harness, I have tried that, stopping saying heel etc. She just literally twists her whole body & stretches & pulls her neck so much & she is not having any of it.
She won't touch treats when she is outside of the house, she is even funny with them in the house, I don't think she has ever had them either.
I trained my other SBT x Shih Tzu from 9.5 weeks & have had to do the usually retrain sessions with him as he has got older hormones etc,
She watches him in some ways & has learnt bits from him it is literally just being on lead, even when she is on the extension or off lead she still pins herself too something.

The problem you have is that this behavior is normal for her now, she thinks thats what you do on walks! So you have to re-train her to break this behaviour. I would try a sit heal method, so sit and heal by your side, then one step, sit and heal, the progresssing to two, three steps etc you get the idea, keeping the lead loose at all times. Its a slow process but you each time you walk her and allow her to pull you are reinforcing the behavior.

Great advise from Saz there - it takes consistency

What do you use for treats? Day to day Ledger has gravy biscuits but for training it's garlic sausage (sliced is really cheap in Aldi/tesco) two spaniels that have been delinquent at flyball for the last month have discovered Aldi meatballs and suddenly the recall has improved and the previous obsession with each other is virtually non existent

A leather harness may not be the best here. You want something kind to her skin and fur while she's getting the hang of things. A staffie will go on pulling if they feel compelled to do so, even if it means damaging themselves. I agree with previous comments about the quality of the treats - to really get her attention.

But the main point I wish to make is to say that it may take MONTHS for the dog to settle down. She should be given enough slack to calm down in her own time. Judging by the experience of my own rescue dog (male, neutered, 3 y.o, staffie/EBT cross) it certainly took months rather than weeks for him to stop viewing walks as tug-of-war competitions. I did see small changes straightaway as we started gentle training, but it took a full 6 months for him to feel secure in his home and for the trust to build - and that is what, I believe, made the difference. Yes, he was a naughty boy - pulling wildly, turning around chomping through his lead (got through loads of them in the early days), even nipping my ankles in ways that certainly did not feel pleasant. In his case, he received no correction specifically for these misdemeanours - just gentle encouragement and reassurance when he was doing the right thing. Time was the magic ingredient in his case - he needed enough of it to sort himself out, making plenty of mistakes along the way.  Now he only pulls if a pigeon is within lunging range, or if he smells a cat (when obviously he is tightly restrained). In fact, i often have the opposite problem now: where I stride out in that A-to-B way that humans have, but he just wants to stand stock-still (or even park his rump) and sniff the air.  

Worth also thinking of the types of situations where she pulls most and if they can be avoided - at least for now. For example, is it worse in crowded spaces, where there are lots of feet tramping about and noise? May be better to try and take her to more peaceful environments if possible while she's getting used to things. Good luck...

Mines a Staffy English Bull Cross.

Pinning herself when out could be down to being very anxious when outside, she may simply be utterly overwelmed by everything happening around her and is unable to focus on anything you ask of her. From your opening post I think your dealing with an anxious dog who has not had much if any real experience of outdoors. You may need to help her gently acclimitise to outside using 'desensitaization' methods if she is simply head down and focussing to get the walk out of the way as fast as is possible.

I have two harnesses I vary using to reduce the amount of friction rub on Pink. The Ezydog harness from Pets at Home is pretty good as it has a wide padded chest plate that moulds to the shape of your dogs chest. If your dog chest is closer to bully rather than staffy it should offer a better fit.
I also have a fleece harness made by this company http://dog-games-shop.co.uk/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness They can fit extra d-rings for training leads if you need to use a double lead to help your dog learn to walk with you. Staffies can pull but bullies can really pull. A staffy/bully cross who might also be anxious over something new and for them a tad scary can really haul! Using a double ended lead gives greater control if your dog is struggling to learn to walk. If she is wary of her collar pulling and turns into what my son nicknames a 'bullosuarus' a harness with a front d ring as well as a back d ring might be of use.

My dog is not on the treat based economy either. She prefers one good meal in the evening thank you very much. She will accept a Burns Keltie or the occasional Fish for dogs dried fish treat but that is about it. She does however love playing fetch with a hard rubber ball.

It could be woth going right back to the core basics if walking has become a bit of a nightmare. Poor girl does not sound like she has ever had chance to learn to walk on a lead before you had her. I am assuming you have a garden- head out there and do very short walking on a lead sessions. Keep it fun, happy and above all else short. If she likes playing reward any effort of good lead manners with a toy she loves. Save the toy or game she loves the most as your best reward for good attempts at lead work.

Once she has the hang of being on a l;ead and its fun and okay in your garden then transfer to outside of the home envioronment. Do everything in small steps to both boost her confidence and yours. Break the task you want of her down into smaller bits so you set her up to succeed and be told she is a good dog.
For example one very wild dog [serious issues] I not only did lead training in the house then the garden, then the front garden and only then could she manage at most 3m down the street. Its hard work but its worth perservering for both your sanity and your dogs well-being.

The Dogs Trust Youtube site has a couple of videos on teaching dogs to walk on a leash and how to stop your dog pulling on a leash. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3B73E2767DC19590
If you find the ideas there make no in-roads it might be worth contacting the rescue she came from and seeing if they have any suggestions or a behaviourist they could recommend.

Good luck.

aww poor girl,where you have rescued her you dont no what she's had to put up with when she's been on walks,back to basic training with her sounds good,sash used to pull a lot then i got her a ezydog harness,and it worked well with her,you could try very small pieces of cheese as a special treat.do let us know how she gets on   

Many thanks all your replies especially Cait as you seem to be understand where I am coming from it is the actual pinning to walls etc, that is bothering worrying more as she pulls too get to the wall, once she is on it she stops pulling, but I want top be able to walk her without having too have a wall for her & her barging into people on the way.
She won't eat any treats even in doors, I have tried various ones all high quality as my boy has skin/food allergies so only high quality food in this house. She doesn't play with toys either so I can't even use a toy for training, she looks at my boy as if he is mad throwing his toys around, & charging about growling at his rope, he keeps sticking balls & ropes in her face trying too encourage her, she has occasionally grabbed at it but that's it.
@Stella I rescued her from FB as person was going back too work & said she didn't have time for her anymore, they told me they has rescued her about 2-3 yrs before hand from someone that had used her for breeding, they said she was a bag of bones when they got her, they said she was at least 6yrs, but when I took her to vets they said she is no more than 3, they messed me around saying she had had her jabs in past but needed them as they were due, but had no booster card as had been in a fire, then vet had died as I said vet would have records, then when I contacted the vets she was registered at they had no record of her. (I now don't believe a word they said too me)
She is very anxious, she does play with my boy & when they get too much & she has knocked bowls over, she will pin herself too floor surrendering, she has come on far since this she very rarely does it now, so we are making progress with her. I know it is going too take a long time, I don't expect miracles!

good to hear she's making good progress kelly   

Ah Kelly, just wanted to say well done you for rescuing her. Sounds like you've got a mission but with perseverance it will all pay off. She's very lucky to have found you. Looking forward to reading about her progress.   

Have you tried a gentle leader ore halti? They might be a good option to get her to understand that the pulling and yanking isn't going to serve her well. Sounds like she is a bit insecure so being patient and is going to be key, but it needs to be controlled. The head collars really do help with that aspect.

Had a thought, it sounds like she is extremely anxious outside and is using the wall and physical contact as a dog version of a small childs security blanket. It might be worth looking at a 'Thundershirt'. Its akin to having a gentle all over body hug that provides a tactile sensory feed back at the same time.

Another option might be using something known as the 'tellington touch'. Its a calm, consistant but firm form of touch that is almost a massage used with some rescue dogs who have sensory issues form say being scared of touch or who suffer senosory overload.

If simple methods do not work and she continues to be anxious outside have a chat with your vet, there are some mild herbal and stringer drugs that might help with very anxious/ reactive dogs. The drugs work in a similar way to anti-anxiety drugs for people. They work by giving a window from anxiety so you can get some behaviour stratergies into place, as the behaviour becomes second nature the dog becomes a bit more confident and more able to trust you to keep them safe in the big scary outdoors. This route does need to be supervised by a vet. If the dog is truly struggling check your pet insurance to see if you have cover for dog behviourist referrals from your vet.

You may need to get right back to the basics and do lead work for very short but fun bursts in a safe garden. If you can make the whole being on a lead equals good things in a safer enviornment then you can begin to try and transfer that skill outside, again only so so for very short and hopefully fun sessions. If you or the dog begins to feel a bit stressed STOP and go home before its no longer fun. With one dog I had it took four months of garden walking on a lead before she could cope with even a 3m walk on the pavement. Now that dog had some very serious sensory issues caused by being locked alonein a room with nothing to do for most of puppy and young adulthood. Hopefully your dog has had chance to gain some experiences and if she trusts you and is learning how to trust form your other dogs example then she has a better chance of getting there. It will be hard work but if you can stay calm consitant and keep new things to short and fun then you can gradially build up to longer walks outside.

Another option and one I am using with Pink is to locate a Kennel Club Good Citizen scheme near where you live. They offer puppy, pre-bronze classes for dogs who need the very basics and ove through bronze to gold levels. It includes lead training and many clubs can offer a mix of trainers who have worked with all kinds of dogs with all kinds of histories. Pink has just been promoted into the Bronze training class and has been allocated a trainer to work with both of us who is a rescue dog fosterer for cruelty case dogs who 'gets' where she has come from and can come up with some helpful ideas and solutions tailored for her. The cost is not too prohibitive. I paid £15 for a years club membership club and its £3 per session to cover the hire of the hall and public liability insurance. A good club will chat to you about your dog, any problems you have with them. Often give some real help before something that is difficult for you to deal with gets well and truly entrenched. If they feel your dog would do better with 1:1 training to get the basics needed before you can join in a group they will tell you and should be able to recommend who could help. In my area such clubs tend to be run by people who really care about their dogs wellbeing before any idea of running them as a profit turning business.

Have you tried using a slip lead?. i always use slips and always will i feel though you have maximum control as long as they are used correctly.