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Hey, first time poster here. I adopted a german shepherd a month back. She is very sweet, and does very well with training at home. She is like 99% perfect, and I really lucked out with her.
However, going for walks is stressful. She tugs the entire time, and gets very distracted by squirrels and dogs. Squirrels excite her, and make her want to chase them. Other dogs, whether seen or heard, makes her scared and angry, and she goes into fight mode. Ignores cars and generally ignores most humans (thank god).
I've read a lot of advice. They suggest 3 things. 1) Start at home, then generalize to the yard, then generalize to the driveway, then generalize to the street (basically, baby steps). 2) Start and stop. When she tugs, stop moving. When she has a loose leash, commence moving. 3) Use the good rewards!
All of that sounds great, but... it goes too slow, and we barely go anywhere! We can spend 45 minutes just start stop and treating in the driveway, and not even get to the end of it. Her compliance starts to drop off after 15 minutes of intense training. I don't want to inadvertently reward her for the wrong thing by ending the training session at that point, and starting the normal walk. But I also don't want to not give her the walk she needs. When she doesn't get her walk she seems so "down" (and a little less compliant overall with other previously learned commands around the house which is concerning). Then there's the treats. It's like they don't exist outside. I'm using some pretty good ones too! I'm struggling to find a treat that is more rewarding that the prospect of killing a squirrel or forging ahead. And that problem is magnified greatly if she sees another dog because there's an anxiety component at that point.
I just need some advice. Is it wrong to just do a normal walk (tugging and all) after 15 minutes of training, or should I pack it in and go back inside at that point? What are good treats to use? How do I give her the stimulation she needs from walks without rewarding her for walking wrong?
Thank you so much in advance.
However, going for walks is stressful. She tugs the entire time, and gets very distracted by squirrels and dogs. Squirrels excite her, and make her want to chase them. Other dogs, whether seen or heard, makes her scared and angry, and she goes into fight mode. Ignores cars and generally ignores most humans (thank god).
I've read a lot of advice. They suggest 3 things. 1) Start at home, then generalize to the yard, then generalize to the driveway, then generalize to the street (basically, baby steps). 2) Start and stop. When she tugs, stop moving. When she has a loose leash, commence moving. 3) Use the good rewards!
All of that sounds great, but... it goes too slow, and we barely go anywhere! We can spend 45 minutes just start stop and treating in the driveway, and not even get to the end of it. Her compliance starts to drop off after 15 minutes of intense training. I don't want to inadvertently reward her for the wrong thing by ending the training session at that point, and starting the normal walk. But I also don't want to not give her the walk she needs. When she doesn't get her walk she seems so "down" (and a little less compliant overall with other previously learned commands around the house which is concerning). Then there's the treats. It's like they don't exist outside. I'm using some pretty good ones too! I'm struggling to find a treat that is more rewarding that the prospect of killing a squirrel or forging ahead. And that problem is magnified greatly if she sees another dog because there's an anxiety component at that point.
I just need some advice. Is it wrong to just do a normal walk (tugging and all) after 15 minutes of training, or should I pack it in and go back inside at that point? What are good treats to use? How do I give her the stimulation she needs from walks without rewarding her for walking wrong?
Thank you so much in advance.