LUNGING on walks

[babyjoemurphy]

I am going to fire off an email to his previous owner and see if something happened before. I really hope we (as in us and you guys) are on to something. I would have never EVER thought something like this. I will start sitting Murphy at the edge of the street and have quality time with the sidewalk lol.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Just having to talk it through, and explain it to someone who can't see it often does that!

Heres hoping!

 

[babyjoemurphy]

After talking with my husband. And trust me I thought he was gonna think I was insane. We have agreed it for sure seems likely that the issue is the sidewalk. So here is the next "good" question. How in hell does someone teach their dog not to "protect" the sidewalk lol. How do you teach a dog that the sidewalk is not his "safe place", or "his" period. We laughed when he though how horrible it would be to try and walk him on the grass. And how unsafe it would be to walk on the road. This should be interesting. But we do agree the sidewalk is the key issue.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

Soooooooooo, we brought Murphy to the beach last night. I was finding myself saying sorry to a lot of people for him. He was constantly barking and lunging at everyone on wheels. I told my husband that it was a bad idea but he didn't listen. People were jumping out of their skin. I told him that it would be too busy for him just yet, lets go somewhere else. So it ended up with me not walking with him cause I was stressed right out. My husband now talking through his teeth with Murphy corrections which didn't help Murphy and us home. I do agree Murphy needs to be exposed, but not on the boardwalk at the beach. Poor Murphy was so overwhelmed, we let him go to the water and was surprised to see he actually LOVES water, but only to his chest. He wanted nothing to do with swimming.
I am so frustrated

 

[Jadotha]

Hmmmmm, I'm assuming the boardwalk is like a big sidewalk? Have you had a chance to discuss this with your trainer? At one point, as I recall, you were going to order and use a muzzle when you were in areas where Murphy might lunge -- as, at the very least, you could feel less stressed and more confident as Murphy couldn't actually harm anyone? (It really doesn't sound to be like he would in any case, but it could also make his lunges less alarming for people).

 

[ruthcatrin]

from my limited experience the boardwalk is probly very sidewalkish to a dog, so yah, maybe not a good idea. Now, if you can find a quiet time, when there aren't lots of folks on the beach, THEN, it might be very good exposure. Hind-sight and all that....on the other hand now maybe hubby will listen next time you say it might be a bit much for him.

 

[musicdeb]

I'd recommend a muzzle until he learns not to lunge. I believe you need to give Murphy more time to trust you. You've had him for a short time. I've had Titan for 6 months and he's finally trusting me. He actually listens to my commands about 98% of the time, which causes me to fall over because I'm shocked.

I will give you one piece of advice my trainer gave me, Murphy will feed off of your frustration and fear that he will lunge. He feels your fear and thinks he has to protect you. You need to let him know that you've got it and you will ask for his help when needed. This takes you being calm at all times. Believe me, I know that is very difficult. When Titan gets excited or wants to lunge at someone, I take a deep breath put my shoulders back and give him the command to sit. We're still working on it. It can take a re-homed dog up to a year to totally trust you.

Patience my child... *winking*

If you have read some of my earlier posts when I first got Titan, you would probably laugh and say, that's me.

 

[Jadotha]

It can take a re-homed dog up to a year to totally trust you

Excellent point! This was one of the most important bits of advice I got from my IWH forum after we adopted Ike. It really helped me adjust my expectations and to be patient.

 

[Helen]

Boo use to lung when he sees another dog, regardless if the other dog is small or large. Boo was already two years old when I adopted him so he was quite strong. A few times I landed flat on face on a concrete sidewalk. I also walk my 70lb lab at the same time. I'm only 5 feet 2 inches, weighing 110Lbs, you can imagine it was a real challenge walking a corso who lunges and a large lab. I consulted with an experience dog trainer and was advised to use a dominant slip collar that sits right behind the dog's ears and have him on traffic leash (short leash about 13 inches long). This forced Boo to walk next to me at all times. When he starts to stare at another dog or small animal, I give a correction and say "NO". If that didn't work and he starts to lung, I would say "NO", pull the leash straight up and keep the leash up until he calms down. By pulling the leash up, he can't breath and therefore he stops lunging. This does not hurt him at all, he just can't breath. I used this method for a few months and finally Boo got the message and now I use a regular flat collar and a regular six foot leash. When he gets that look, I just tap him on top of his head with my finger and say "NO" and then he just look away from the object he was fixated on. You can get the dominant slip collar and traffic leash at Leerburg's website. I never had to use a prong or e-collar. Corso is a dominant breed and will test your leadership when they are no longer a puppy. I hope you find this helpful.

 

[bahamamarg]

Babyjoe - I feel your pain! Although I can't imagine taking Dex into that busy an environment. Mind you, we only had a couple of lunging incidents early on when in a crowd. All the rest is on an isolated beach only meeting 1 or 2 people max.

We also made mistakes in the beginning atnit only sets you back. Sometimes difficult with a partner that may not exactly be on the same page!

Jadotha- that was me and Dex with the muzzle - hard to keep straight I know since both dogs are so similar. We are STILL waiting on the custom one to arrive - finally found out they had the zip code wrong and was sent back! No luck with the US trainer and just had another recommendation from one in Nassau that I will follow up on.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

I knew right off the bat that the beach was a bad idea. I suggested a path to a stream that would have people but not like the beach. Our trainer has set us up with all the Crap we need to do with Murphy when he lunge but Murphy was so overwhelmed that he was all over the place in his head. I don't think he would bite someone either but not willing to take that chance. I suggested a muzzle for Murphy.

I fully understand that Murphy gets his feelings off us, that is why I gave up my lead to my son, to see if his vibes would be better for Murphy, but it was just too much for the poor guy. I never once was concerned about him getting loose, I was more concerned over the poor people being terrified. And for all the corrections poor Murphy had to deal with because of stupid idea.

I don't expect Murphy to trust us get especially after making him endure the beach but he has to know we will never let anyone or thing hurt him

I know I have to take a big breath, relax and be positive.
Thanks everyone

 

[bahamamarg]

Yeah - take a breath and move forward. It's sounds like consistency is what you need -IMHO. You seem to have trusted your trainer and reported very positive feed back after the "mine" training and also after the session with the double leashes - it's so hard to go slow sometimes. We recognized (after GREAT support and advise here) that we were trying to move too fast with Dex to engrained him in our lifestyle. We have not taken him anywhere for months - sometimes I'm not sure if we are doing the right thing and wonder if he feels isolated with just us, but each time I'm tempted, I remind myself that he ALMOST made contact with a person and that we do still have an aggression and/or fear reactive dog who could seriously cause harm. It's our job tomkeep him and everyone else safe - even if it means he has to 'lose' out in our eyes by not participating in everything we do.

 

[joshuagough]

I'd suggest you invest in a choker collar, and work with him in your home using the "stay with me" command for 5-10 mins at a time. This builds a great bond between you and the dog, basically he's doing what your doing when using this command, he should be no further than the full length of the leash from you, if he goes beyond the full length of the leash or tugs at it..you snatch the leash and use the word "no". It's hard to do as a parent but he learns quickly something he did was incorrect, after you use the word "no" use a high pitch tone and call the dog back to you "offering praise" **this is VERY important**.

Do this for a few weeks in the home, then the goal would be to move it out side, keeping him on "stay with me" as you get to objects that spook the dog make sure he's by your side (don't try to drag him to the object) rather keep him by you insuring him "it's ok", he/she will go through a progression of taste,smell, etc. At that point you've been standing by the object for a few minutes, the goal is to insure you never leave that object allowing him to hide/bark/or show aggression.

The bond with "stay with me" is the building block for pretty much all things.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[ruthcatrin]

I'd suggest you invest in a choker collar, and work with him in your home using the "stay with me" command for 5-10 mins at a time. This builds a great bond between you and the dog, basically he's doing what your doing when using this command, he should be no further than the full length of the leash from you, if he goes beyond the full length of the leash or tugs at it..you snatch the leash and use the word "no". It's hard to do as a parent but he learns quickly something he did was incorrect, after you use the word "no" use a high pitch tone and call the dog back to you "offering praise" **this is VERY important**. ......

I wish people would read the whole thread before offering advice.....

 

[Jadotha]

^^ + 1!

 

[joshuagough]

I actually did go back and read through them after posting. Cheer's to you waking up on the other side of the bed tomorrow!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Really, cause you basically repeated things she's already doing or has tried and determined they didn't help. Try re-reading please.

 

[joshuagough]

Yeah if you "RE-READ" my comment I said I re-read the thread after I posted.. you can only edit once or I would have simply deleted it.

Did you're parents ever clue you in on the "if you don't have something nice to say"? Show the world some love, there's enough jerks in the world as it is.. love you!

 

[babyjoemurphy]

Trust me I don't need this thread going sour. After our horrible walk last night I have given up. Murphy wasn't bad just a lunge at a car and a person on a bike. It was the hubby and I. I am no longer double lead walking with him. I will pay the extra for the trainer to come walk with me.

 

[dpenning]

Do you ever walk him by yourself? I couldn't imagine having to agree with hubby on anything when it comes to walking the dogs. He gets one and I get one. It may not be right but I have my treat bag that I use for training with me on walks. If I 'm walking Daisy and I see something that may be too much of a distraction I pull out the big guns juicy treats and make her watch me. I also use bribery to keep her at my side and "stay with me". I'm thinking that would be tough with a double lead. It would confuse me anyway.