Where should I start training?Pulling on walks.

[StellaLee]

My girls are a year old. They are the first dogs I have ever owned and I tried to raise them just to be my babies. I got them potty trained, they know there names. They can do a couple simple tricks- sit, come, lay & shake. But walking them is horrible, they are getting so big they drag me down the street. I have had them on leaches there entire lives but they still wont listen. What do I do?

And before everyone says it - I know I should just take them to Obedience Training but right now I cant afford it, especially both of them. Hard times hit everyone ya know.

But if anyone has any little tricks I could try it would be grateful. And that includes tips on anything possible, I am new & fresh and right now I feel realy stupid when it comes to teaching my girls anything. I just need some help!

[Mochasmom]

Are you walking them together or seperate?

[Brooke&Ryan]

Here is something that Spidey posted in this thread:
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...ulling+walking

She can only pull if you let her. She is pulling because she wants to get somewhere faster, and you have trained her to do this, because when she pulls, you let her keep moving foward - this is rewarding her for behaviour you don't want, and because it is now an ingrained habit, it will take some time to retrain. The solution is simple: she only gets to move toward what she wants if she walks politely, if she pulls, you stop. As soon as she stops pulling, you say your loose lead walking cue (I use "let's go!") and walk on, every time she pulls, you stop. No need to say anything when you stop, just become a tree. It will take forever the first time you do this, but if you are consistent, it will work. If she sits, or turns and gives you eye contact when you stop, I would give her a LOT of praise ("checking in" like that is really important to me). If she does not stop pulling, she gets "penalty yards", where you back up a few steps (no dragging or jerking) - this should eventually teach her that pulling doesn't get her what she wants, and continuing to pull gets her even further away from what she wants. You can practice this easily in the house - have a small pile of treats on the floor at the end of a hallway, make sure she sees it, give your loose-lead command, walk her toward it on her lead, if she pulls, stop until she stops pulling, and institute penalty yards if she doesn't stop, when she walks nicely to the pile of treats, she gets to eat them. You have to be as close to 100% consistent as you can, and you have to have patience - all you need to say is your loose-lead command once, when you start off (including after a stop, penalty yards and after any change of direction), otherwise you let actions do the talking. She gets what she wants (forward movement, pile of treats, sniffing that tree) when she does what you want (no pulling).

We've used this with Julius on occasion & it really does work. You might want to check with your local SPCA. They typically have a program with cheap OB classes or know of someone who does. OB classes are just so important for various reasons.

[Patty1231]

Brooke posted good advice. Another thing to consider is that these are not a "baby" breed. Yes, we all love our dogs and many of us think of them as our 'children' but you have to realize that they are a dominant breed and as they grow and mature they will challenge you for leadership if you allow them to. The older and stronger they get, the more difficult they can be to control physically, that's why you need to manage them with your authority. Do a search here on NILIF - it's supposed to be a regimen for the dog but it is actually a good program for the owner. I'm going through another phase with my male right now who will be 3 in July. Were it not for the advice and guidance I receive here I'm sure I would have had some major problems.

PS - having two same-age females are a whole other issue - do a search on that as well.

[StellaLee]

I have a single leash with two ends. So I am walking them together.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by StellaLee

I have a single leash with two ends. So I am walking them together.

IMO, I would walk one & then the other. I don't have two dogs, but I wouldn't feel comfortable walking two dogs at the same time. Especially if they are both pulling. It's something that I would be working on independently. I would start walking them one at a time & working on it....

Also, when you start OB classes, they need to have the training time independent of each other.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Also, if you try what I posted above while using a leash like that & one dog is walking properly & the other dog is pulling, it is difficult to correct one dog without the other dog being corrected. That's why I think it's important for each dog to be walked individually. JMHO.

[Judi W]

Take one dog at a time. You cannot concentrate on teaching if you are wrestling with both. Contact your local shelter or humane society. They often have or can refer you to low cost training classes.

[StellaLee]

They have walked together since they were 10 wks old- do you think that would cause more of a problem if I just split them up now? The girls are so close they have NEVER been apart- I dont know how they will act- especially if I take them to classes by themselves.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by StellaLee

They have walked together since they were 10 wks old- do you think that would cause more of a problem if I just split them up now? The girls are so close they have NEVER been apart- I dont know how they will act- especially if I take them to classes by themselves.

If you do a search on raising pups of the same age together, one of the things that is always stressed is not having them be together all of the time. That's why raising siblings correctly is suThen ch a daunting task for many people. You want them to bond to you & not to each other....

I would do a search on siblings.

Here are some of the things people have said in the past re: keeping two or more littermates & having two or more puppies at the same time.....


Quote:
Just to caution you, raising littermates is a daunting task for even the most experienced owner. You will have to train and walk them separately, or else they will bond to each other, not you. Also, it is quite common for them to have serious fights once they reach adulthood, especially same sex littermates.

Quote:
My advice is opposite sexes but 2 YEARS apart in age. This way each one will get your full efort at training and socializing and the first will be very mannerly and educated when the second one comes along and will set a good example. Also when you have a pair near the same age you often get 1 that bonds with the humans and 1 that bonds more to the other puppy.

Quote:
I think most importantly, it's not the work, but that possibly the pups will bond more closely with each other than with you. Dogs don't really care so much that they have other dogs as companions, it's our time that they need. If you do choose to get 2 pups at the same time, you'll need to spend alot of time with each one separately.

Quote:
Take all the work you're prepared to put into two puppies and put it into one puppy. If you're doing things right, you'll raise a superb role model for the puppy you'll get in a couple of years' time. Don't worry about a singleton rottie needing company: that's what you're there for. They're not known as velcro dogs for nothing! Get one puppy - bring her/him up right and when s/he's about two years old, then start thinking about an opposite gender puppy. If nothing else, the amount of poo and pee you'll be dealing with will make you glad you're doing it one at a time! Another advantage of spacing the dogs out is that the puppy will learn from the older dog: instead of trying desperately to reinforce your rules onto two puppies who'd rather listen to each other than you, you've got an adult dog who knows the score and who will keep the little brat in line Cute as two puppies together may be, they can't hold a candle to the puppy madly chasing after keeping up with the big dog and copying everything s/he does...

Quote:
IF one of you is home all day long so that you can rotate the pups individual time with you; work on training them both together and apart; work on housebreaking them together and apart; teach them manners and discipline both together and apart; take them places together and apart and do all you can to ensure that they grow up as two well trained and well socialized individuals instead of one melded entity then you can try it

Quote:
Beyond the reasons given by everyone else (which is very sound advice the the way), there's something else to consider. Money!

Quote:
Another thing is when they get older. Having two senior citizens can be very expensive and heartwrenching. In the home of a friend of mine, the majority of her pets were within a 4 year age difference. Suddenly, everyone got old. They all needed special care ($$$) and they all began passing away. Losing a pet is never easy - but when they're close together, it's devestating. Not that I think she would have done it any differently, but she had some very large emotional losses over a relatively short amount of time.

Don't worry about what it's going to do to them. They'll cope....

[Patty1231]

Originally Posted by StellaLee

They have walked together since they were 10 wks old- do you think that would cause more of a problem if I just split them up now? The girls are so close they have NEVER been apart- I dont know how they will act- especially if I take them to classes by themselves.

Okay, picture this scenario. An off lead dog aggressively charges at your two dogs, or a squirrel scoots past where they are walking and they decide to chase. One rottie is a lot to handle. Two? Oh my! I do on rare occasions walk my two together but they walk well together. I also take them out only at about 5:00 am when there is little chance of running into anything. And, like I said, this is the rare occasion - and I don't feel entirely comfortable doing it.

[Judi W]

Just do it. You have a dog pack instead of companions. They need to learn to be your companion, not each others. You took in two puppies when you have never owned any dog before that means you have a lot to learn, so just buckle down and start learning. Put in the time and effort to teach them and you can get it done.

[tvanderwall]

I was told by someone else that a Haltie leash works wonders as well, I don't know myself because I've never used one but it works for her dog who was a puller, she swears by it. Might help until you can get into classes.

[StellaLee]

I have been thinking alot about the halter collars. I walked them yesturday for the first time by themselves, and it actually was not bad at all. It took alot longer but for the girls I can give them extra time. At first you could tell they were a little confused but after long it didnt even bother them. And yes they are each others companions but they are mine equally. I got the second one so the first one wasn't so bored. This way she had her sister to play with. I probally wasnt looking at it the right way, but it seems to work. Now they are both my companions- next to me from the minute I walk in the door till I leave again. I just want to say thank you to everyone for your helping. I am going to try that walking thing but yesturday I concentrated mostly on one on one contact. That is important too right?