does anyone know how to deter a dog from barking and pulling on the lead?

Question

my dog is a female doberman and is only ten months old.she barks at dogs,birds and anything she cant catch.she wears a harness to help me handle her but shes getting to strong and still pulls.

i want to take her to training classes but she will bark the place down!!!

and i wont use a shock collar unless absolutely nothing works.i read up loads before i got her and had her socialised well so this didnt happen!!!!

i know quite a lot about dogs, pete. it doesnt mean that there will be no problems with owning one!im just not one of them owners who get rid of their dogs when they cant handle it! thanks to everyone else anyway and ill defo take the advice given

Answer 1

http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Levels/LevelBehaviours/TL15Leash.html
That is the best explanation that you will ever find with instructions on how to teach loose leash walking. I do not blame the barking on lack of socialization, from your description it does not sound like it is aggressive barking but just normal dog excitement. The problem is that the normal excitment is bothering you. You could teach quiet by 1) say quiet 2) Throw a penny can (this will shock her into quieting down) 3) give her a treat before she starts barking again. Gradually fade out the panny can and the treat and you will have quiet on command. This will not end barking all together, but it will give you a tool to hush her up. some of this barking may fade with age, it might be a puppy thing. There are alternatives to shock colors such as citronella and the beepy collars. I don't reccomend ultrasonic collars as they rarely work but the ones that make an audible (and annoying) beep work a pretty good percentage of the time. Good luck, you sound like you really are willing to do what you need to.

Answer 2

Look up private pet trainers in your area. I have the same type problem but with a 10mth old pitty. She showed me how to teach him to walk on a lead without pulling. Also putting the dog in a harnass (which i did) basically makes them a strong sled dog, get an anti-pull harnass if you are going to use one. We are about to start the process of training him to not bark when other dogs are around. She came out to my house for an hour as he would also bark the place down if i took him to a training class! Im sure you have some private trainers that would make a trip to your house or arrange a meeting with you and your dog only

Answer 3

Once again persistence, persistence, persistence, on your part. Have a chocker collar on her and place the collar on her in a backwards "P" and high on the neck. That is the proper way to placing a chocker. When she pulls on you...you dont pull straight back to lift her front end off the ground you pull sideways and up alittle and release saying heal. If she starts walking faster or pulling...stop and pull and make her sit. Your teaching her patience. Change direction when shes pulling. This will get her to follow your leg and to pay attention. Dont keep a taunt leash all the time since this will teach her to lean on the leash. Once you correct her releash the leash and dont correct until there is pressure again. When she barks tell her NO in a firm voice and pull on the leash. Keep telling her No til she stops. The persistenc of you over and over again will pay off. Shock collars should be last resort. A shock can frieghten a dog when they dont understand the command to begin w/and its your responsibility to put some training in to teach her some. Dogs do learn when that collar is on and when its not. So when that collar isnt on your back to the problems you had before. I am not against the collar for I have used them in the past but only turn to it as a last resort. Shes young and your willing to work w/her so it will pay off for the best. Good luck.

Answer 4

If she is pulling while she is on her leash the first thing you need to do is come to a complete stop. Do not start walking again until she has come back to you. Do this each time and she will figure out that she shouldnt be pulling. The barking is a little trickier, you should have a command such as "quiet" or a hand signal to indicate to your dog that you do not want her to bark. This should be for any time she is barking, not just at birds, etc..

Answer 5

Buy a choker collar.Its not cruel - its simply a chain which goes through itself to create a collar which tightens up when given a sharp tug. The dog remembers not to bark or pull as this causes discomfort but care should be taken not to pull too hard.
The collar releases as soon as the "tug" ceases.
This "education" together with training her to respond to voice commands in a firm voice will stop the problems you are having.
Another good idea would be an obedience school to teach you how to control a dog correctly.

Answer 6

There are some things you put on dogs' collars that spray water when they bark. I have a dog that pulls like a truck, so I got him a gentle leader. They fit over the nose and behind the ears and put pressure on the muzzle. My dog hated it at first, but he is so much more well-behaved now and heels perfectly (it took him FOREVER to train him though, so be patient)!

Answer 7

Although a harness is good try a "halti" this goes around the nose area and when the dog pulls it tightens slightly this sounds cruel but i have a wayward staffy and this stopped her. As for the barking at things this could just be puppy like as things that move are interesting..is the barking like i want to play or like i want to eat you? If it's i want to play try puppy socialising classes, also something to try is treats in your pocket when barking try to distract her away from them.

Answer 8

Hi,
Please don't use a shock collar,they are not necessary,the KC are calling for a ban on them in the uk.
For pulling onlead i would recmmend a halti,and for the barking i would ignore it and praise/reward non-barking.Try and get your dog to focus on you.
Maybe finding a good training class would help.

Answer 9

for the barking you can get her a shock collar..or a muzzle...and the leash you can get a choking collar so when she pulls it will kinda pinch her neck....they arent very nice things for the dog but it may hellp out in the long run.

Answer 10

distract her when she barks
as for pulling turn around the other way and tell her to come on