naughty puppy...

hi..tia is coming up 6mths and in the last few days she has been ignoring me a lot and really pulling on her walks ..she is a staff/lab cross and at nearly 12kgs, today surprised me how strong she can be . so is its time to up my authority ? It was fairy hard work to walk her by my side today which is odd as usually she is great . i know she is going to get a lot stronger and don't want any issues later on with me not being able to hold her if i need to ..does any one have any ideas ? thanks..   

When she starts to pull either have her sit or change directions. The watch me command is also helpfull and there are no pull harnesses

i was getting her to sit and wait a lot and i know its all takes time so im not epecting it to all be easy .. I haven't done a watch me command with her .. she always has been a bit i cant hear you so im going to ignore you, but she is very well behaved and has a beautiful temperament I was surprised she has started to be like she is .

A little early for the teenage phase but they all have phases like this. The watch me command is great espically if they have certain things that set them off. For Suki its cats so if we see one we show her a treat and lead her away so she doesn't pull in that direction

yeah Tia has suddenly became aware of everything sometimes she is a bit jumpy esp at shadows. With cats she is unsure what to do when she sees one so i just always lead her away , we have met a few very barky dogs which she also seems to say oh whats up with you do you fancy a game ? she keep her nose low to the ground sniffing when she is pulling tail up ears back or up and takes no notice of me when i say her name . Do you have any tips on the watch me command that would help me ..

We just say gohan which is Japanese for rice or food and hold a treat in a closed fist so she can smell it. She will watch or hand and forgets about anything else. I've always had food motivated dogs and this has been really helpfull

i do have treats with me and give small bits on our walks , the other day she was trying to nudge it out of my hand which she has also never done before . I have to watch treats atm as she is 3weeks in on her RMB diet .my main concern is getting her back on heal and paying attention to me as if she was so strong pulling today i need to nip this in the bud ..

Do you have treats that fit with her diet? We feed raw so we use dehydrated chicken or beef as a treat

the thing is i am a veggie which sounds mad to most that i put my pup on a raw diet but its because i know its the best thing for her . its hard for me to handle the meat so i buy lot of disposable gloves ! i cant be doing the feeding her meat from my bare hands when we are out , dehydrated would be hard too as id have to ask someone to do it for me as i dont have meat in or near anything the kids and I eat. awkward i know lol

That does make it harder but anything you use as a treat would work.

Could you try cheese as a treat? To teach the look at me command, try saying it and when she looks in your eyes praise and treat. Start this just sat in the chair with her in front of you. It doesn't have to be the full 'look at me' command, find what works best for you.
Pete

P@H do dehydrated things. We get the Duck strips for Flo which she just loves. They come in a sealed pouch too. Might be something to try as they are raw