# Puppy is chewing and leash-pulling



## Eyssa (Jul 28, 2008)

I'm having two rather basic puppy training problems. Our Lab/GSD mix, Bambi, who's a 10-month-old puppy is absolutely horrible at chewing. She picks up everything in sight and chews it apart. Just today she somehow got her leash out and chewed the handle off... and she's already destroyed two harnesses as well. She tends to do these things when we're not watching, too. What can we do to stop it? I've tried the sharp "No-no" and "ah-ah"... I've tried squirting her with a water gun... removing things that she may have a tendency to chew... nothing seems to work.

The second problem is hard leash-pulling. She's awful to walk because she just about pulls your arm out of socket. I've tried multiple ways to stop it, but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I've been walking her down the road and stopping, turning around, making her sit, etc... as well as tugging back on the leash when she pulls. What would you recommend? She also goes crazy when our other dog, Tori, gets ahead of her... she starts crying and pulling, even when Tori is stopped beside her.


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## Ardy (Aug 28, 2008)

I have the leash pulling problem too, with my 4 mo. old puppy. I have been giving the leash a quick jerk when she pulls hard, but she's really not responding to that much. I was wondering if she's just a little young to have much success with this. She is so excited to be out for a walk, she just can't calm down.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

Ardy said:


> I have the leash pulling problem too, with my 4 mo. old puppy. I have been giving the leash a quick jerk when she pulls hard, but she's really not responding to that much.


you can really do some damage to her neck by jerking the leash like that.

Eyssa- you mentioned she chewed up harnesses, what kind? were they the typical back hooking harnesses? if so, those do nothing to help with pulling, they only promote it. if you are going to use a harness, there are two i reccomend. -the first is a front hooking harness. this works because dogs pull from their chest. when the begin to pull, the harness pulls back from the chest and causes them to turn which stops pulling. here is a link so you can see this harness. http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/easywalk/productdescription

-the second is a harness that is back hooking, but works like a pully system. i used to use one of these on my older dane when she was little. this one hooks in back, but the ring that its hooked to has two straps the run under the front legs and over the chest. like the other harness, when the dog pulls, it pulls back on the chest. here is a link for that one. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3046157

other options you have are a gentle leader or halti. but these all these options are not just quick fixes. they will help you to walk though while your dog is still learning how to heel. i highly suggest teaching how to heel, and work on commands like "look at me" and playing the "name game" to help your dog learn how to pay attention to you.

also when it comes to your dog getting upset when the other gets ahead, that will be stopped when both dogs walk at heel. when i walk my two, they both walk at heel on either side of me, or else they both walk at heel on the same side. (i can walk them both with one hand)


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## klip (Jul 22, 2008)

Hi Eyssa - your dog sounds very like my Pippin, who is a White Shepherd / Golden Retriever mix. He is now two years old and finally seems to be calming down on the chewing front - but still chews a lot. All you can do is:

Remove every loose chewable thing you possibly can from her reach. Its very difficult to teach a puppy the difference between "ok to chew" and "dont chew that'. To them, there is no difference between a chew toy, an expensive shoe, a stick, or a cell-phone.

Give her LOTS of things she is allowed to chew. Bones especially. Chewing is a great stress reliever, and she will probably be chewing things for the rest of her life, although not at the rate she is doing it at the moment!

About the walking thing - you will need to spend some time training her to walk on leash without the other dog around. The method I found works best is to constantly change direction, literatlly walk figures of eight, till the pup "clicks" that she does better when walking right next to you.


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## Ardy (Aug 28, 2008)

Annie has a harness that goes around her chest, so I didn't think the jerking would hurt her. someone told me thats the way they were taught to do it at a obedience class. If she doesn't settle down soon on the walks, I may think about getting a choke collar. I've heard thats pretty effective, but is it a good idea?


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

Ardy said:


> Annie has a harness that goes around her chest, so I didn't think the jerking would hurt her. someone told me thats the way they were taught to do it at a obedience class. *If she doesn't settle down soon on the walks, I may think about getting a choke collar*. I've heard thats pretty effective, but is it a good idea?


absolutely not. a choke chain would be my absolute last resort, and i wouldnt use one without seeing a professional trainer and being tought by them how to use one if they do suggest it.

PLUS you have a puppy. there is no no no no reason to use a choke chain or a prong on a puppy.there is no way you could have taken the appropriate time to train and have given your pup a great opprotunity to learn at only 4 months old


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## klip (Jul 22, 2008)

Also to underline what GreatDaneMom says - a choke chain wont solve your problem in any case. She will pull with that as well. You will still have to train her not to pull in any case - with a choke chain or without one.


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## Ardy (Aug 28, 2008)

OK. thats good to know. I've never trained a puppy before, so its good to be able to get answers from others.


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## tuffycuddles (Sep 25, 2008)

GreatDaneMom said:


> -the first is a front hooking harness. this works because dogs pull from their chest. when the begin to pull, the harness pulls back from the chest and causes them to turn which stops pulling. here is a link so you can see this harness. http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/easywalk/productdescriptionQUOTE]
> 
> ..i really like sound of this harness..i like the idea of using a harness better than a collar anyhow...i'll have to keep an eye open for one of these!!


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## DogsforMe (Mar 11, 2007)

Ardy said:


> OK. thats good to know. I've never trained a puppy before, so its good to be able to get answers from others.




http://www.dogstardaily.com/search/node/pulling+on+leash
There are lots of articles on pulling on leash on these 3 pages, worth a look.


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## Ardy (Aug 28, 2008)

I have started using the method from the websites you posted, and Annie has been responding already. I know it will take alot of time, but at least this gave me a "how to" idea.


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## TN_LAB (Jul 30, 2008)

I have no problem with prong collars, so long as you use them correctly. You might want to look into one. Just be sure to attach the leash to the "dead" link and cinch the collar high on the neck (just under the ears). 

I do a lot less tugging with the prong collar than with other collars. It has helped me a ton with my 10 month old labrador and makes life much more enjoyable.


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## TroynJen (Oct 2, 2008)

For the walking...we have a 1 year old Puggle. We tend to keep her leash short and tighter so she learns to stay next to us while we are walking. She still pulls at times (usually when she sees a squirrel or rabbit), but within the 2 weeks we have had her (she never walked on a leash prior), it has worked well.

The chewing....we have that same issue, but from what I know it is normal for younger dogs to want to chew a lot. Our Lucy is a very hard chewer as well. She has mistaken a few of our children's toys for her toys...grr...so now we are making sure that the kids toys are not left where she can get them. We get a lot of those Nylabones, which seem to be one of the only things she can't rip apart. She also has a Konga (sp?) and a few other toys for strong chewers. We keep them laying around the house at all times, and she has a toy basket where her things are kept as well to help her distinguish which toys are hers.


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