[dez1978]

Sooooooo, we went to the park today. My hand HURTS! Lila is REALLY bad about pulling on her leash and when we are at the park she just does NOT hear me. It is as if I didn't even exist. We worked on "heel". Any time she would pull, I would stop and say heal and pull her to my side and then we would start walking again with praise on the couple of steps that she took by my side. I am sure this will get better with time and practice.
What really bothered me, was that there was a guy jogging and the first time he passed us he jogged around us by about 15 feet... the second time was in a tight space, so he waited for us to pass. Although he did not speak English, it was clear that he was telling me he was afraid of Lila and did not want to be anywhere near her. I seems the feeling was mutual. I have only had Lila since Sunday, but this was the first I have seen of this behavior. She did not bark, and it was not a full on growl, but a few scruffy, snorty, half barks. Her hair on her back was standing straight up. She was trying to pull away from me, towards him... but I do not think she would have "gone after" him. It was wierd, and bothered me. From people who know more about this behavior, should I be worried?
Right after this encounter, there was a lady and her son that came right up and pet Lila and she had no problems with them. ???

[PNWPBR]

Ok so sounds like you are having some control issues. Are you walking her on a flat collar and normal leash? If so, stop.

Start small with training devices and with time, patience and lots of work... you may eventually get her to a flat collar.

Try either a Gentle Leader or a Sporn Harness. We use both of them in our program and the dogs do really well. The ones that dont respond to the Gentle Leader respond to the Sporn and vice versa.

Second, no more outings to a busy park! Again, start small. If that park is your only option, pick quiet times to go... maybe early morning or dusk. Was she not walked a lot with her past owners? Is it possible that this is overstimulating for her?

Take it slow, walk somewhere quiet and never miss an opportunity to praise her when she does well! If she is food motivated, load your pockets with her favorite treats. Ball motivated, bring her ball. Use whatever she works for to your atvantage!

Since she is still pretty young and still unspayed, spaying her and working on this now will be in your favor. Just be patient, be confident when walking, and also always be on alert. I wouldnt allow people to pet her just yet. Focus on walking and getting her used to the stimulation before you allow people (espically children!) to walk up and pet her.

[dez1978]

I do not know much about the people that had her last, except for that they had young children and she spent most of her time indoors.
I do not know what the collar is called, but it is chain and has a ring at each end. It slips around her neck and if she or I pull, it gets tighter. Her leash is also chain, which might be why my hand hurts.
She is not food motivated. She could care less about every snack I have bought her. The only food she gets really excited about is cheese flavored Pringles. But I am not to keen on the idea of training her in a park with a can of Pringles. I will take her sock toy next time. Maybe that will help.
I will stop letting people pet her. Sorry about the kid thing, but I have a 10 year old and so I figuired she would be okay. I will not allow it again though.
I am not sure if I am doing all this correctly. I have never trained before or owned a Pit. I am a total newb.
She knows "sit" and is doing better with "stay". She has not gotten "drop it" though. So if I take her sock toy to the park with me, I think I may be getting her to "drop it" more than "heel". Should I save the park walking for a later date when she has "stay" and "drop it" down better?

[PNWPBR]

So she is on a "choke" or "training collar" as some people call it.

At most pet stores they will let you try the products on the dog before you buy it so take her in and try both the gentle leader and the sporn and see if you feel like you have more control. On top of that make sure you get a leash (4ft instead of 6) that is comfortable for your hands and ensures a good grip.


She may be good with children in the home, but an overstimulated dog in a new environment can spell disaster so thats why I urge caution. Start the walking and the training and if people ask if they can pet her just tell them politely "No, she is training right now but thank you for asking!" and continue on your walks. As she gets better and is less stimulated with her surroundings you can ease her into people petting her. Always have her in a "sit" position and make her hold that when they approach. Reward her for her behavior, but if at any time she acts nervous, stop. Slow, slow, slow.

Do you know her lineage? Her sire and dam? It would be helpful to know their personalities or even the exposure your dog has had since birth.... sounds like you have a long road ahead of you, but if you are patient it will all be worth it!

[dez1978]

I got Lila Sunday from a family who lived next door to her original family. Her origional family left her in the back yard when they moved with no food or water. The neighbors that I got her from had tried calling all kinds of shelters with no luck, either they would put her down imedeatly, or they would only give her a few days and then put her down. All the rescues told them that they were full. This is all I know about her past besides what the neighbors told me about the family having small children and that she was kept in the house the majority of the time.
I will look into the collars this weekend. You give great advise, thank you so much!
I am not sure where to walk her though. That park is the only one close to me, but because of that, everyone in the area uses it. I will look around and see what else I can find. Maybe there are some walking trails somewhere.

[fearlessknight]

Originally Posted by dez1978 I do not know much about the people that had her last, except for that they had young children and she spent most of her time indoors. I do not know what the collar is called, but it is chain and has a ring at each end. It slips around her neck and if she or I pull, it gets tighter. Her leash is also chain, which might be why my hand hurts. She is not food motivated. She could care less about every snack I have bought her. The only food she gets really excited about is cheese flavored Pringles. But I am not to keen on the idea of training her in a park with a can of Pringles. I will take her sock toy next time. Maybe that will help. I will stop letting people pet her. Sorry about the kid thing, but I have a 10 year old and so I figuired she would be okay. I will not allow it again though. I am not sure if I am doing all this correctly. I have never trained before or owned a Pit. I am a total newb. She knows "sit" and is doing better with "stay". She has not gotten "drop it" though. So if I take her sock toy to the park with me, I think I may be getting her to "drop it" more than "heel". Should I save the park walking for a later date when she has "stay" and "drop it" down better?

You are using a "Choke Collar" or "Choke Chain" some will refer to it as...
They are not that safe either...they lay pressure in the wrong spots on the dogs neck and can cause severe damage on a rough puller.
You should try a "Prong Collar" These tend to even out pressure, and take more of hold on the dogs neck, without causing as much damage if any. And I would not recommend any of these at a park of any kind...they are training tools and you should try to use them at home. A choke chain and a prong collar are just the same a slip lead and MAY come off......there is ALWAYS that possibility.
It seems that this dog is new to you, and you should be more cautious of her behavior...you need to learn each other before exposing her to things that she may or may not be familiar with. Again..this means at home. As was said before...TIME and TRAINING.....training a command of "HEEL" is not going to surpass the dog in a few days to the point that you know for sure no matter where you are she will obey..it takes more time than that.
It also seems like SHE is playing alpha...instead of you.
Research the breed before you buy or adopt folks....There are SOOO many things that hurt this breed because of neglagence or absolute lack of knowledge. Please take time to research......
Good luck with her!

[Michele]

excellent advice in this thread

[Drgnrdr]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents. A prong collar is also called a pinch collar, make sure you know how to use either the choke or pinch collars before you use them, they are good tools if you know how to use them properly. I agree with pnwpbr, use a sporn no pull (goes by neck size so find that out before you shop) or gentle leader (goes by weight, if your dog has a big head you probably need to go up a size) to help you, these are also good tools, but the sporn let's you make mistakes without damaging your dog, (get the shepra sleeves under the arm pits real good and watch them riding up on your dogs inside legs)and the gentle leader comes with a DVD to show you how to use it and teach you how to walk with it, that in itsef is a big reason I recommend the gentle leader, so even if someone can not pay for a lesson with a trainer they have the DVD with it to show and teach how to use it, and how to teach you how to walk with your dog, which is really worth the 24.99 ppl pay for it here in my city, you might be able to find it cheaper I ordered a purple one, it only took 4 days to be shipped (free I might add), and it only cost 19.99, and I got the color I wanted.
I agree that you need to practice in a non distracting area first, before trying such high distraction with her like a park, also see if she likes fat free hot dogs and make sure she is hungry when you start training, don't let her have breakfast/dinner then try and teach her and focus on you with a full belly, make her earn her breakfast/dinner, work first.
And do read the NILIF thread, if you haven't had a chance yet, it puts you in the leadership role in a non confrontational way.
sorry that was more like a nickel

[babyblues]

ok. i saw one in this website http://www.dogscene.com, now they have 2 types, the
Gentle Leaders that go over the head and they have Easy Walk Harness which one is better?

[Drgnrdr]

Go with the gentle leader, again: it should come with a DVD to show and tell you how to use it. The easy walk harness is difficult to fit I have found, and it isn't as efficient as the gentle leader it's better for control of your dog, make sure you watch the DVD is must be used properly to have maximum effect.

[babyblues]

OK thanks, Shadow is a bit of a puller also just like Lila, I have the prong collar but sometimes I feel like he's immune to it, cause he'll still pull at times, he has his good days then other days he's just horrible, I oredered it already hopefully it'll get him to walk with me not in front of me.
Thanks for this post & advice guys

[PNWPBR]

Just adding my two cents again....

I never reccomend first time pit bull owners to use a prong without proper HANDS on instruction. Prongs are very often used incorrectly and dogs have been known to associate walks as something negative. I use a prong as a LAST resort.

[fearlessknight]

Originally Posted by PNWPBR Just adding my two cents again.... I never reccomend first time pit bull owners to use a prong without proper HANDS on instruction. Prongs are very often used incorrectly and dogs have been known to associate walks as something negative. I use a prong as a LAST resort.

This is very true, and I didnt think about it when I posted what I did....these collars can be very dangerous, if not used properly. Just one of those things....you know how to use it and assume others do as well....LMAO! I tend to forget sometimes!