New member newly adopted 1 year old

Hi everyone,

I joined the forum couple of weeks ago when we were due to adopt our gorgeous boy Pablo and I've been reading all of the posts with interest, you're all so knowledgeable!

This is mine and my partner's 1st dog and so we are learning as we go along.  Pablo was 1 in June, he's still very much a puppy and he had 3 homes before ours so we are doing a lot of work on building trust with him with lots of positive training as well as discipline because he had no manners!

We are getting there with him in the home, he is perfectly toilet trained, he is respectful when we're eating, he is crate trained and loves his bed.  He has a LOT of energy and at first we were struggling to handle that and he got way too excited and ended up jumping up and 'biting' us.  We realised he needed more 'rough' play so we now play tug with him a few times a day as well as stimulating him with reward training as well and this is helping him to be a lot calmer and behave better.

I walk him twice per day for at least 30 minutes.  I've not let him off yet as we're still working on recall.  In the meantime he really needs work on the lead.  He pulls constantly and gets particularly excited when he sees another dog.  It's difficult because we don't know his history but he doesn't seem to have been taught how to walk on the lead.  He was at the shelter for 4 months and they used a harness but I felt this just encouraged him to pull??

I would really appreciate advice please on how best to train him to walk nicely on the lead.  Any suggestions?

We are also working on getting him to be more sociable with other dogs as well but that's for another post I don't want to go on too much!

Hi & welcome.

Wow, you've made a great start with him! What food does he get, as some ingredients can cause hyperactivity & that may not be helping.

There are a few ways of encouraging loose lead walking. One, is to stop dead every time he pulls & just wait. The idea is that sooner or later he'll come back to you to see what you're doing & you then praise/treat him using your trigger word (heel, clearly se - whatever you use). Another way is, every time he goes ahead of you, say his name & your trigger word and do an about turn. When he catches up, trigger word, about turn & treat. Do that every time he pulls ahead.

It'll take you ages to get anywhere, but one of them should work, and he'll get more exercise (mentally & physically).

Hi Gilly,

thanks so much for taking the time to reply. We are feeding him James Wellbeloved kibble with water. I give him some added protein with it 3 or 4 times per week in the form of raw egg, tuna just to mix it up.

I do think maybe I was overdoing it with the treats to start off with so I cut back on those. We gave him Wagg bone treats but I was giving him a whole one every time, didn't realise you could break them up!!

Great advice re loose lead walking thank you! I can see I am going to need a lot of patience. I will give this a try on his walk this afternoon and update you.

I'm beginning to realise that the mental exercise is just as important as physical.

Thanks Gilly

Hi Liz, welcome from Misty and I. Isn't your boy a little stunner!! I love hearing of dogs finding their forever homes

Misty is a horrendous puller, she wears a harness as I feel she would slip a collar or choke herself! We do the start stop technique as mentioned by Gilly above. Yes it does mean our walks can last forever as every few steps we either stop or turn around but it's the only thing that works. We also train using a huge amount of treats as she is a food oriented dog.

Totally agree mental exercise is amazing for dogs. We feed Misty on a snuffle mat for lunch and spend a bit of time each day playing quiet training games like high five etc. We have just started on the snoot challenge which is all over Facebook now where a dog runs to you and sticks their nose between your fingers which are in a square. Great fun and Misty loves the praise!

So glad to hear of your rescue and can't wait to hear more.

Which James Wellbeloved do you give?

I'd use sardines in oil rather than tuna - they're better for them!

@Mistys Mum - Hi Emma thanks so much we think he's rather handsome too and we are so happy to have him in our family! Your Misty is a gorgeous girl too and she sounds very similar to Pablo, they are a similar age. It's good to know you're using the same start stop technique as well. I tried it on a walk this afternoon and used treats too and he definitely paid more attention. Will need more practice! I still feel I have better connection with Pablo using the collar than the harness but that' just personal preference I think.
Thanks for the tips re games - Pablo loves the praise when he gets things right as well. No idea what a snuffle mat is, I'm googling that one!

@gillybrent - we feed James Wellbeloved Lamb flavour - does it matter which one you give?? I'll definitely get him some sardines, omg he will love those! Thank you

Hello and welcome.
What a handsome chap, and so lucky to have found you too !

Sound advice already given. Maybe start to do a little research on canine clubs in your area that you could go to later on to help with socialising. Staffies are very very clever and many are rather food orientated. There’s no harm in exploiting that !

The type does sometimes matter, especially if the dog us intolerant of a certain protein (poultry is very high on the list).

Have a look at the All About Dog Food site & see what they say about the various dry foods.

Hi Liz, welcome to the forum from Flo & me

I can see how Gilly’s advice could look odd but she has a point with what the main content is. Jameswellbeloved is a good food as far as my girl is concerned but there are some flavours that she will steer clear of.

As for the pulling and harness, give the suggestions already given a go and let us know how you get on.

Thank you so much Gilly, Ian and Nifty for all of your advice. I am learning so much all the time!

I will take on board what you've said about food. Pablo certainly seems to like what we are feeding him, he's never left a single morsel yet! In addition, his coat has thickened and glossier and the dry skin and rash he had when he arrived has completely cleared up. His stomach seems to digest it well too. So it does seem to agree with him.

We made some progress today with meeting a couple of dogs while we were on our walk. Really trying to allow him space to interact.

I still haven't plucked up the courage to let him off his lead yet. I'm terrified he will run off and not come back!!

Try training with a long lead Liz, that way he will feel some freedom whilst you still have control

Thank you Ian. I have a Halti training lead at moment but you are right I need a much longer lead so he can have some freedom. I need to get one this week. Thank you

Hi and welcome from me and mine - sorry for the late welcome, we've been away.

Hi Liz

Thanks for the welcome. Hope you had a nice holiday.

Looking forward to more chats on here :-)

Liz