My puppy pulls on walks and jumps. How do I train him properly?

I highly recommend you buy a Gentle Leader or Halti Collar to walk him. These are both head collars and when your dog pulls, lunges or jumps it will move his head back towards you which prevents him from pulling you. It will take a little bit of time for him to adjust to walking with this type of collar but it will give you a lot more control. I use one with my own dog and walking is so much nicer!

Have you tried a gentle leader or Halti? These go around there nose and mouth and clip behind the ears then connect to the leash below the chin. Whenevere the dog pulls, it puts the pressure on their nose and forces their nose between their front legs so they loos there strength and cannot pull. If that does not help then you need to consult a trainer for one on one sessions and then add group sessions with other people and dogs to hel keep him focused.

It is best to enroll him in a good obedience class, where you will learn how to train him. I do not advise books or videos, as there is no instructor present who can guide you and help you to use the right training techniques. It is possible that there are triggers in your behavior, or that of someone else in the house, that is setting him off to bite and jump. if you would like to discuss this further, I can offer suggestions to stop this--just click on the prompt to initiate a consult. This would offer you a multi-tiered approach to the problem.

Training a disobedient large breed dog with bad habits can certainly be happy. However, in the end, the use of positive reinforcement will always reign supreme. Depending on what motivates Roscoe most will need to be what you choose to make Roscoe want to listen. I think this is a perfect case for clicker training. A clicker is a device that makes a clicking noise when you press down on it. Basically you want to first teach Roscoe that the click is associated with something good happening, which is called "charging" or "priming" the clicker. Once Roscoe understands that the clicking noise is associated with food or treats, you will be able to use this tool to your advantage. You should carry the clicker with you at all times and make sure to use it any time you are rewarding Roscoe. In terms of the jumping and mouthiness, you need to be very careful not to inadvertently reward inappropriate behavior. I realize that that gut reaction to something jumping or biting at you is to yell or push away. Unfortunately, this is not going to get the picture across to Roscoe. Instead, what you want to do is simply turn away or move your hand away. Continue to do this until Roscoe stops this behavior on his own and sits calmly. It is at this point that you want to click and reward. Dogs that are extremely disobedient sometimes need to have more strict boundaries than other dogs so that they be good pets. It is possible that you may eventually have to train Roscoe so that he knows not to enter your personal space until you have given him permission. With respect to biting, obviously this is an extremely bad behavior for a large breed dog. Rather than saying no, you will want to deflect his attention to something else. I would teach him the "touch" command. Since he tends to bite, you will want to train him to touch something like a stick or a rod of sorts. As soon as he starts to do the biting thing, you will want to get him to touch the object. If he does this, click and reward. With repetition and consistency, this should resolve the issue. In regards to walking, pulling can sometimes be resolved with a change in the type of collar. Some dogs do better with different types of harnesses or gentle leaders, while others do fine with conventional collars. Some even require choke collars, though I usually reserve these as a last resort. You should be teaching your dog the heel command, and be using the clicker in this case as well to reward the appropriate behavior. However, until you figure out what type of collar / harness works best for Roscoe it will be difficult to train him appropriately. Behavior issues are often complex and somewhat difficult. Don't be afraid to go out and get a trainer or go to some obedience classes. You can even speak to a vet that has some interest in behavior that is willing to work with you. If there is anything else that I can do, don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to work with you.

Punishment is not recommended as a training method for dogs - because as you've seen, it's not very effective at changing behavior and only confuses and frightens your dog. There is never any reason to physically strike a dog during training, so please don't do this anymore. Instead, effective training is based on teaching your dog what you want him to do, then rewarding him when he gets it right. If you have no previous experience with dog training and are becoming frustrated with your dog, believe me when I say that it would be well worth the money to work with a good trainer in person for a few lessons to get you on the right track. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org In the meantime, I would highly recommend the book "How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves" by Dr. Sophia Yin. It's great for beginners, and explains a lot about how fog training works including practical suggestions for dealing with common issues like jumping up.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! German Shepherds are highly intelligent an highly trainable dogs. I recommend hiring a trainer and nipping this in the bud now. German Shepherds are also very large and can be aggressive to strangers as adults so being able to control Bentley is very important. I would start with sit, stay, and leave it. Purchase the gentle leader harness that goes on the muzzle. Use that for all walks. Bring treats on the walk and when he tries to jump have him sit. Once he sits he gets a treat. Jumping is unacceptable in a dog his size and is one of the hardest bad habits to break. He should not be allowed to jump on people. The gentle leader allows great control of the head. I hope this helps and I wish you the very best!

I would consider looking into a gentle leader head collar. It looks a little strange but many find it effective with their dogs who have issues pulling if you follow the instructions closely (you can get a dvd to explain the use of the product). You can find out more at https://www.petsafe.net/gentleleader If you prefer to not use a gentle leader collar then I would recommend following the advice of veterinary behaviorist Sophia Yin as she explains in detail in this article: https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/walk-on-loose-leash-part-1-choose-the-right-walking-pace-and-make-it-clear/