My dog goes CRAZY on the leash?

Question

I have two large dogs that love to "Protect" the house (so to speak). (Barking at every animal humaningly possible!!)

Well one of my dogs is no trouble when we walk it on the leash she is very well behaved, but my other dog (Golden Ret/German Shep mix) goes CRAZY! She is a large powerful dog and we don't know what to do.
If she sees a cat she chases it, another dog, she chases it. She isn't a bad or mean dog, I guess the hunting instinct in her takes over.
We had a normal collar and we had it as tight as we could, but when something goes by, she managed to squeeze out of that (and took us about an hour to get her back. She's 7 and still acts like a puppy no matter how much we repermand her or anything)
We recently got a choker and we are scared to walk her on it because she literally chokes herself to an extreme that we are scared. Like, literally choking that she gags, she gets so excited and just runs and it's crazy.
My question is how do we calm her down??

How do we calm her down on the leash? Is there something we could do? We've tried every kind of repremanding but nothing seems to stop her.

We want to keep walking her but it's really hard too because she can't calm down, even 30 minutes into the walk.

Is there something we could buy, or an idea on how to get her to just... behave????

Answer 1

you just hve to keep walking them and they will get used to the leash thats what i did with my dog

Answer 2

My Greyhound does exactly the same.... The best thing to do is get out the collar and leash, if she goes nuts put them down, say "calm" and walk off for a while. When she calms down and come looking for you repeat this until you can put on her leash without much trouble. Give her a bit of leeway the first time or two - reward calmer behaviour, but as she improves "move the goal posts" and expect higher standards! By the way a Greyhound should be getting a walk EVERY day at least. If she is only going out 2 or 3 times a week she will have way too much energy, and no wonder she gets so excited about going out. Surely when you adopted her you were told that although they don't need tons of exercise the minimum for a Greyhound should be a 20 minute brisk walk every day! Mine goes twice a day most days for about 20-30 minutes each walk.

Answer 3

Your dog is no different from any other dog on a leash - put the choker chain around her neck - she won't choke. If she was seriously choking she would not be straining against the leash.
Get a very short leather leash and you hold it tight against you so that the dog is unable to move from your side. Every time she tries to strain away you stop walking and make her sit down next to you. use the same sharp command - like HEEL !
Your intention is to make this dog walk by your heels, not next to you or in front of you.
Anytime that the dog tries to pull in front or away, you sharply bring the leash up even if it makes the dog fall over. This is a very powerful dog and can definitely take rough treatment.
Hitting the dog will have absolutely NO EFFECT whatsoever except to make her pee on the carpet.
At aged 7 it is astonishing that nobody has trained her - sounds like you should take her to training school.
I will give a warning here - the dog needs a lot of training before she gets away from you and chases a cat or a child down the street and you get sued something rotten.

Answer 4

try using a choke chain on your walks. the collar should be placed at the most sensitive part of the neck, which is right where the head and neck meet.also at the beginning of your walks try running them a bit to get them tired. also walk them more because the more submissive they are the better they will walk. also when walking them practise being the pack leader. by looking straight ahead and slightly boasting out your chest. also have them walk at your left side. no not in front of you or behind, right at your side. teach them the "leave it" command. you can practise this by taking a fav toy and putting it in the middle of an area. then walk around it and when you feel them start to go for it say the "leave it". and pull up on the leash. never pull back or to the side of the leash. this will only intensify their want for the object. but most importantly be calm and assertive. what also may help is to 1st give them exercise, 2nd discipline and then affection. this may balance them out more.
if you need any more help send me an email or try this site
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com

hope this helps!:)

Answer 5

It shouldn't choke her. You may be putting it on the wrong way. When her head is facing you make sure the collar looks like a P her head goes in that way. If it looks like a 9 it will not release. So make sure you put it on like a P just remember P for perfect. When she starts to go after something turn and go the other way with the correction. This way you're getting her mind off off whatever it was. You may want to treat once she is back on tract, but with or without a treat give her lots of verbal praise. All the best;~)

Answer 6

You need a Gentle Leader for her. This is like a halter on a horse. It controls the head. Dogs lean or pull in to pressure, which is why they pull on leashes. The Gentle Leader applies gentle pressure to the muzzle which makes the dog back up if she pulls. Many trainers are now using them routinely. You might want to find one to help you. The halters come with DVD's that explain their use.
Here's more info:

http://www.premier.com/

Answer 7

You could start training your dogs on a leash in the backyard. get them used to having a leash let them know that nothing is going to happen. Also here are some websites that could help:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/walking.html
http://walking.about.com/od/dogwalking/a/dogwalking.htm

Answer 8

She has her own personality. My little dog chews her way out of collars. Just give up on the leash/collar thing. She's an older dog and is set in her ways.

Or, if someone else comes up with a better answer, listen to them...

Answer 9

This is very bad for your dog too. The only suggestion I have, purchase the Dog Whisperers Book or DVD. If you can get his show in your area, he deals with problems like this all the time and very successfully.

Answer 10

When it wants to pull hard,you need to jerk it back sharply & at same time yell no. try teaching her to HEEL at yor side,by holding her close to you as you walk,saying HEEL,as you walk give her more room on the leash. If she starts to go ahead jerk her back top you & start over. As she learns to stay by you praise her& give a treat.

Answer 11

I had a German Shepard lab mix and had the same problem. Obedience class and a correction collar is the only way to go... they are stubborn and will not be good walking dogs unless they see you as Alfa of the pack...

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?cm_ven=nextag&cm_cat=mercent&cm_pla=datafeed&cm_ite=14910&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302032899&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441817387&bmUID=1185062489584