Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 7 month old yellow lab...she is such a wonderful puppy! She is crate trained, potty trained, she knows all of the basic commands and then some and she listens VERY well. The only thing is that when we got outside, it's almost as though she becomes a different dog! She walks in front of me...almost pulling me and worst of all, when she sees another person or dog, she goes absolutely crazy! She rears up and pulls and I just cannot control her! I know that she is not aggressive...she just wants to play but she is getting too big for me to hold! I'm afraid that she is going to hurt someone or another animal. What can I do? And what am I doing wrong?? Please help!!

I would get into a training class, or find a personal trainer that will teach you how to use a gental leader or some other type of walking tool, until you have taught her not to pull on the leash.

You aren't doing anything "wrong" you just have a typical 7 month old puppy.

Also, even though your puppy is trained in the house under situations with little distraction and excitement, that doesn't mean that training crosses over to everywhere you might take your puppy- especially outside where the smells, stimulation and eveything is so much more appealing than the familiar living room.

You need to take a step back and retrain all of your commands in the new atmospheres. As you have already found out, it's harder as the number of distractions increases. So, you have to find a way to be more interesting than all of the things around you. In many ways, it's easier if you can go to another place indoors where you have a little more control over the stimulation and see how much attention you can get. Slowly work up to adding more distractions and stimulus.

All of this is called "attention training" and it can be quite a challenge even to some of the best dog trainers at times. Have fun with your puppy! That's the best way to train in my opinion!
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

One way to help work on attention when you're walking is to keep plenty of treats with you. You can give your dog a tiny piece of hotdog or cheese every few steps at first, asking for a sit at the end of blocks or at stop signs or before making a turn.

Of course, your dog will also need space to run and play and just be silly, but there are ways to keep your dog more attentive to you on walks.