[pit bull godess]

My 3 year old red nose pulls when i walk her, to the point where she is chokeing her self. My 8 month old red nose is doing very good at not pulling, i think it might be because the 3 year old(Mystique) was never taken on walks when she was younger. Is there any way to get her to stop? I have had to stop taking her, but i feel bad because i take the other one on walks every day.

[monkeys23]

Do they have names or are you just naming them by the color they happen to be?
Sorry, I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but I've run into too many *ahem* disreputable individuals get all freaky excited over popular slang like "nose" color. Its one of those things that just grates on my nerves.
Show us cute pictures and tell us their names instead of calling them by their color, its much more fun!

As I'm sure others will advise you, two methods for dealing with pulling on leash are to use a Sporn no-pull harness or a gentle leader. I leave it up to more knowledgeable people to expound on how each works.

In the meantime, try to play with her before walkies so she is a little tired and not as excited to go. While on the walk, you can try just stopping if she pulls (like you're an immovable tree) and walk three or four steps the other way. Repeat until she realizes you aren't going anywhere until she stops pulling. It works, but it takes a ridiculous amount of patience.

Oh yeah and she might also be pulling because she is not getting near enough exercise. Plus if she wasn't walked or socialized earlier in life she might be a little freaked (or excited, depending on her temperment) by all the sounds, smells, etc. out on walks.

[tat2stuff]

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthread.php?t=2367

[pit bull godess]

Yeah, her name is Mystique, she is the one that pulls. I have pics up under the thread "what do you think of my babies?" She is a very very very hyper dog, each time any one comes over she goes absolutley CRAZY, i mean I cant even begin to tell you how excited this dog gets, even if she just seen the person a few hours ago and they walk through the door again, she jumps and jumps and just wants attention even when she already gets soooo much of it. If only you could see it, she just LOVES people. I thought she would have calmed down by now, shes 3, but nope, not one bit. So when we go on walks she is just very excited!! I have tryed the stopping thing, but she just stands there and waits for me to go and does it again, I end up having to turn around go home, because she just pulls way to much, ecspecially when she sees another dog or any animal. It gets even worse!!! She listens very good except with walks.

[screamin'eagle]

There are several ways to remedy this. The first is the realization that at 3 years old she may be "turned on" and demonstrating dog agression. If she's pulling to get at other dogs there is little that will distract her from this. Knowing this is half the battle because you can schedule her walks at times where alot of dogs aren't out, etc.

Second along the same lines of dog aggression, and its called prey drive. Alot of APBT's are full of prey drive, and if she's pulling to chase birds, squirrels, etc there is little you can do about that either. If she wasn't taught when she was younger to walk on a loose leash it will be difficult, but not impossible to train out of her. PM me, and I will send you a suggestion for positive clicker training to produce the desired effect. I would post it, but I'll have to wait until I have more time.

Third, I had a question...are you walking both dogs at the same time? If so she may be pulling to get in front of the younger dog (dominance) or jealousy, etc. I have an easy fix for that too. One, walk them one at a time if you're not...that three year old APBT is strong enough to drag you where she wants to go if a bad situation arises, and having the other dog there wont help at all. THe other part of that fix is to tire her out a bit before a walk. Use a flirt pole, drag weights, play fetch, etc. before taking her into the neighborhood. Getting rid of a bit of that energy will prove wonders in less pulling (unless again its related to prey drive, or dog aggression)

All of the above should improve your situation dramatically.

[pit bull godess]

I do try to schedule her walks when there arent so many dogs out, and I only walk one at a time, my goal is to be able to walk both of them, I would love that but I know better right now that it probly would not be good. So I have tryed a few things, and I only have choke chains for them, but did not know it could do damage, i will try to get a harness a soon as I can.

[monkeys23]

Originally Posted by pit bull godess Yeah, her name is Mystique, she is the one that pulls. I have pics up under the thread "what do you think of my babies?" She is a very very very hyper dog, each time any one comes over she goes absolutley CRAZY, i mean I cant even begin to tell you how excited this dog gets, even if she just seen the person a few hours ago and they walk through the door again, she jumps and jumps and just wants attention even when she already gets soooo much of it. If only you could see it, she just LOVES people. I thought she would have calmed down by now, shes 3, but nope, not one bit. So when we go on walks she is just very excited!! I have tryed the stopping thing, but she just stands there and waits for me to go and does it again, I end up having to turn around go home, because she just pulls way to much, ecspecially when she sees another dog or any animal. It gets even worse!!! She listens very good except with walks.

Aren't they adorable when they just love people!
If shes that hyper its probably a combination of the drive the screamin eagle talked about (or da) and the only getting one walk a day. Some dogs tend to have more energy than others.

When I first took Sparky from my bf, he would pull a lot the first ten or fifteen minutes of our walks, until he got a little tired. Unfortunately he also has fear issues that got worse before I took him permanently and he pulls whenever he wants to get away from something (barking dogs terrify him also, poor thing tries to cross the street to get away, thank goodness for the traffic leash). We're working on it, but its slow going. Be glad Mystique is just hyper, its so heartbreaking to work with a terrified dog.

I really need to get a harness too!

[screamin'eagle]

Originally Posted by pit bull godess I do try to schedule her walks when there arent so many dogs out, and I only walk one at a time, my goal is to be able to walk both of them, I would love that but I know better right now that it probly would not be good. So I have tryed a few things, and I only have choke chains for them, but did not know it could do damage, i will try to get a harness a soon as I can.

Here it is...tips from a positive approach. Taken from Gerilyn Beilakiewicz's The Everything Dog Training and Tricks Book.




From your response...I'd say the best thing you can do is tire her out before a walk. A good flirt pole, fetch, or chase session where her tongue is damn near dragging will make for a more enjoyable walk for your arms!

For the safety of you, and both dogs...I'd stay away from walking them at the same time. Both are very strong, and if you're attacked by some irresponsible person's dog...there is little that you can do.

IMO there is nothing wrong with choke/prong collars as long as they are applied and used properly, and only used as a training device for walking. Don't leave them unsupervised with it. A harness it sometime an improvement, but can increase pulling. That just depends on the dog. Some people will use a head haltie...which although it has its advantages I don;t really like. Some people have success with it though. Just remember that too is a training device, and not a fix all. Good luck.

[lockjaw]

screamin eagle has given great advise..for me every dog is different...some i have to tire out first...some i have to stop and sit there for awhile and start again..if they pull stop wait try again....and i had one dog who i didnt walk because the whole time he screamed like satin..just remember a tired "pitbull" is a happy "pitbull"

[marysued]

Deke will pull for the first 10 min till he knows that i wont walk fast till he is by my side. We go through this every walk. Sometimes when i have the stroller with me he has to walk right beside it to make sure my son is ok. he wont leave the side of the stroller.