[GuerreraJaguar]

Hi everyone! We saved and picked up a male puppy from the street (he was going to be ran over on a highway) since he was 8 weeks old, apparently he is a mix of german shepherd and unknown or another type shepherd, he already has all his shots and in his last visit to the vet everything was fine. He is a very hyper puppy, he is currently 5 months old, I walk him everyday for about 35-45 mins. When I walk my puppy he automatically sprints forward until the leash stops him, he then proceed to calm down and stay behind smelling stuff until he feels like sprinting all over the front again. I tried a lot of leash training recommendations, such as allowing him to smell and see everything he wants until he is done, I've tried restricting his interactions, I've tried to motivate him to walk with my with very good treats but he totally ignores them, I've tried to stop moving until the leash is loose again but give it up since it took forever to move 1 block , I've tried changing directions unexpectedly but he keeps pulling and sprinting wherever he wants to go, I've tried running on the opposite direction so he can follow me but it ends in him strongly bitting my ankles . I've tried collar and harness Leash; long and short. But he still sprints forward pulling the leash, stays back and pulls the leash back way and then sprint forward full speed to the front and repeat everything all over again. He is not my first dog, but he is the first one that has shown this type of issue with the leash. I understand that he still being a puppy requires time and patience, but I am seriously concerned that I am not doing it properly or If I will be able to see any results with any of the methods I've already tried. Something that bothers me too is that he will grow into a big and strong dog and if I am not able to correct his pulling, walkings will be terrible for both of us. I am already starting to develop some back pain from his pulling, even though I don't pull him back, the strength I use for restraining the leash from escaping my hands is enough to cause me back pain. I am honestly kind of desperate because I don't know if I will be able to fix it. Thanks for reading my long post and all your help will be appreciated.

 

[parus]

There are a million threads here full of great suggestions for teaching loose leash walking, but I'll be frank: none of them worked on my most recent puppy because he was just too amped up anytime he got to go for walks somewhere exciting, and for him anything other than our living room is exciting. Way beyond reason the minute he stepped out the door. He'd just spring around in all directions like a yo-yo. I mean, I could "be a tree" for an hour and he'd just be a yo-yo attached to a tree for an hour. So I pretty much gave up and put him in a front-clip harness to stop him from pulling me off my feet when I did need to have him on a leash, and found other exercise/enrichment besides walks.

Now that he's over 18 months, all of a sudden he is Mr. Reasonable Leash Walker. The change from yo-yo to sane dog happened over the course of a few weeks, without me doing anything differently or making any effort to teach him anything new.

It's not like I've never trained a dog before, even dogs much more challenging than him, so maybe I just suck, or maybe he really wasn't developmentally ready for the task yet. Honestly, I think sometimes they just need to grow up.

 

[parus]

I should mention that we have been working on OFF LEASH heeling around the house, treating it like a trick. He likes it as a game, but at least until recently the concept just did not transfer to the great outdoors, or dog class, or other public places.

 

[Aussie Love]

If you haven't already tried one, maybe a head halter.