PatsyIppolito

Thank Adrienne for all of the information and Fredery for your encouragement. We are a work in progress for sure. We have been very diligent in doing 2 15 minute training walks per day for the past couple of weeks. For the most part I think we are making progress although some days are better than others. We have been managing to avoid the rabbits by going later in the morning and earlier in the evening. Our city and surrounding area are overrun with them so it is not easy to avoid them. Much of the time there is one who hangs out under our front step. We are working on relaxing more. We will continue to work on triggers. I have been using the smacking sound since I first found your site. It works well when she isn't too stimulated. I am thinking about consulting also with a trainer I can meet with with Maisie to get a better sense of what I may be doing right and wrong. I appreciate the information for sure, but I know it is also hard to get a sense sometimes just through trying to explain things in writing. I also find that I learn best by watching and doing. Anyway, I will check in again at some point. Thanks again!

With the rabbits, she definitely wants to chase them. With other dogs it's hard to tell what she wants. She doesn't bark like that and lunge toward every dog. Last night she was definitely over threshold. She is very social and especially loves people. Around other dogs she tends initially to walk tentatively and if they approach her will often lay on her back - paws up. She has been chased a few times by bigger dogs at some dog friendly trails so is quite tentative there. We haven't been there over the winter. She has a little dog next door that she plays with. She had a big buddy across the street that she played with too, but he unfortunately moved away. Recently I had a friend's little dog stay with me for 3 nights. She is a tiny dog and elderly so wasn't overly interested in playing. Maisie tried to play with her, but took the hint when the other dog indicated she didn't want to play. At the recommendation of our vet, I don't take her to off leash parks. The vet has seen too many dogs hurt or worse at off leash parks so discouraged us from going there. There was a small dog killed at one of our off leash parks just this past fall. We are trying to get at least one small dog off leash park in the city. Perhaps I should be finding other ways for her to spend time with other dogs? I think there is a bit of both at play - sometimes barrier frustration and sometimes fear/defensiveness. I think also that overall she revs pretty high - very high energy - wants to play all the time. I worry that I may have contributed to that. I am the only one here with her and worry about her being bored or unhappy. She gets lots of attention and stimulation - games, fetch, agility, etc.

Thanks again for your info. We have gone back to the very beginning as if starting all over again. I have a new harness for her and am using the front clip. We are going out at least twice a day for short stints. She is doing ok for the most part. Tonight we had a very short walk. Unfortunately we have many rabbits in our city and they tend to jump out and she completely freaks out. We turned and went the other way, but then two dogs came down the street on the other side of the street. She was already over threshold at that point and completely freaked out so we called it a night and came home after 5 minutes. I could also use some guidance regarding other dogs. If she meets other dogs in a store or when she is off leash in our house or yard when other dogs come over or when we go to houses with other dogs or even when we have gone to small dog play group or agility, she seems to be quite fine and is actually quite submissive. Out on walks however, if she sees another dog, she tends to bark and lunge towards them. Sometimes I can get her to sit and look at me and we do ok, but other times like tonight she is completely out of control. It is so embarrassing! I know she was over threshold tonight, but still. Again, any suggestions would be welcome. I feel like she should be better at that by now too. Maybe my expectations are too high?? Thanks.

Hi Again, Thanks for the information. What you describe in the paragraph which starts "Are you rewarding her consistently...." is exactly what we have been doing. She knows to sit and wait before the gate is opened and also at the door. Also when I stop she stops and sits beside me. All of those things she can do very consistently in the house and in the yard and has been able to do consistently in those settings for at least 6 months. Perhaps that is why I am so frustrated. Outside the yard I am still treating her every few feet, but she continues to run ahead. I don't allow pulling in any setting. When I take her places and she tries to pull, we turn around and go the other way or I call her to a heel position. I feel like she is losing out by not getting to go for longer walks and can't help but wonder what I am doing wrong that we struggle so much out of the yard. I do recognize that the breaks in the winter probably didn't help. We practiced inside, but it was simply too cold for a lot of the winter for her to be walking - even with coat and boots. -30 is cold for little dogs! Do you have a preference over stop vs uturn vs turn in circles when they pull? Also, the harness we have is the PoyPet No Pull Dog Harness, No Choke Front Lead Dog Reflective Harness, Adjustable Soft Padded Pet Vest - we need a new one so just wondering if there is something different that you would recommend. Thanks again, Patsy

I was using a harness that I could clip on the front or back - Poypet is the brand. I switched because everyone else at agility was only using a collar and I read somewhere that sometimes they respond better with just a collar. I don't allow her to pull - as I said we stop or lately I have been doing uturns instead of stopping as it didn't seem to be changing the behavior. She would come back and heel, but then we would take a few steps and do it all over again. Yes, this is my little Yorkie, Maltese, Shitzu mix. We took a bit of a break during the winter when it was so cold and practiced inside - like I said - inside things are fine - mostly in the backyard too. We have been working on this since I got her as a young puppy. She does get really excited when she sees other dogs, although we have been using sit and look at me and that has helped. Rabbits are another story..... I feel like a bad dog mom - she is almost 2 years old and we can't even go for a nice walk. Friends around me have dogs similar in age and are all out going for long walks. Some of their dogs are 15 feet in front of them, and if I was ok with that we could be too. Maybe I'm being to anal about the whole thing??? Seems like others just slap a leash on and let them lead, pull, whatever....

Also, I forgot to mention, that I have switched from using a harness to just using a collar and a non-retractable leash. We have always only used a 6 foot leash - nothing retractable.

Hi there. I am feeling very frustrated (which I'm sure isn't helping). I have a 21 month old terrier mix who is very smart. She can learn a trick in less than 10 minutes and is able to sit, stay, roll over, play dead, be a sad puppy, play fetch, put a ball in a small cup, find hidden treats, does agility classes, just to name a few... What we can't seem to figure out is loose leash walking. We started in the house and she consistently is able to do it there as well as most of the time in the back yard. However, despite much practice, and working in only very short sessions outside the yard, as soon as we leave the gate, she is pulling and running forward. Originally I would stop and stand still and wait for her to turn back so there was slack in the leash and then treat at my side. After a lot of this and still not gaining much success outside the yard, I switched to making gentle u-turns every time she moved ahead so the leash was tight and then treating her at my side. We have been trying to work on this a couple of times a day for months. She is high energy so usually we do something to tire her out before ie. play date, brain training, fetch etc. What am I doing wrong? It is making walks very unenjoyable for both of us and I so want us to be able to walk for more than 100 meters in an enjoyable way. Any suggestions are welcome.

This is Maisie!

She is a mix - supposedly Yorkie, Maltese, Shitzu, but she also has very long legs??

The behavior continues, but is not a problem - more a curiosity. This is not a toy she actually every plays with, but every day, at least once a day, she finds this little soft ball and walks around with it whining and sometimes almost howling while she finds somewhere new to hide it and then all is well. I've chalked it up to some kind of mothering instinct.

She is spayed and has never had a heat cycle. Was spayed at 6 mos.

My 1 year old puppy engages in a strange behavior with one specific toy. It is a small (slightly bigger than a golf ball) soft ball, it is actually a kids toy - a squishy little ball that you can get wet and throw at others for water fights. Anyway, every day, at least once a day, she will find it and pick it up in her mouth and then walk around the house whining, whimpering and crying until she finds somewhere to hide it. Sometimes the whining escalates into a noise that I don't even know how to describe - almost a howling?? Anyone have any insight into what this is about??

Thank you for your response - lots to think about, work on and figure out! Your suggestions are great! We will continue to work on it.

Thanks to both of you. She is not left in the yard alone since my yard would be one big hole if I did - lol! I am out there with her. Most of the time she is playing fetch with me, playing hide and seek with treats, or playing with the dog from next door. She also has a digging box, several toys, and things to chew on. No matter what we are doing or she is doing, if a person or dog appears in the alley or one from down the alley starts barking, she runs to the fence and starts barking. We have practiced the smacking sound and me whistling, both which she responds to if we are out for a walk or are in the house. We have a great place we go to with trails and trees where we meet other dogs, but she doesn't bark at them except for the very rare occasion. She also has quite a good recall most of the time and we do "look at that" as well. If there is a dog in the alley, she won't respond to any of these. We have also done 2 levels of obedience training which she did very well at. We go for walks daily to practice, loose leash walking, leave it, etc. She loves to learn things and knows several tricks. We have also started agility training which she loves. I took a peek at the "hear that" method and am going to give it a try. Thanks again!

Hi there, I have a one year old puppy who barks at any dog going past our yard in the alley whenever she is outside or if she even hears another dog barking. How do I get her to stop? Any ideas would be welcome as it is very annoying for me, my neighbours and anyone walking their dog in the alley. Thanks!