I really need some advice..not sure what to do here.. =/

[whiteleo]

For excessive pullers I always suggest using the "easy walk" harness...I swear by it...

[ciaBrysh]

What was the "come to jesus moment"?

Sorry I thought that I had mentioned it in my post. what happened was Raj, when he was just a year old got really zoomie and excited, He nipped me in the face I grabbed him hard and gave him a huge wack on his butt, screamed at him grabbed him by the collar and threw him in his kennel. That is the harshest treatment he has gotten from me ever and the last time he ever did.
I admit it was a "knee-jerk" reaction and the behavior itself was my fault I just wasn't thinking at the time and he totally caught me off guard. Never did it again, instead worked with him more calmly.
I don't think that is what caused the fear issue though because he acted normally afterwards, not fearful of me or anything like that.

[ciaBrysh]

For excessive pullers I always suggest using the "easy walk" harness...I swear by it...

Which one is the "easy walk"? When I hear it I think of the halti but I know its different. And actually...I think I have tried the easy walk but I'm not sure if thats the brand...
Raj never did really well with harnesses to be honest...he always managed to pull more than with his regular collar lol

[whiteleo]

Both of my dogs were excessive pullers and my trainer highly reccomended I get one of these for her while I did classes with her, now I can on club walks and the President of my club can't believe I have a Bull Terrier who doesn't pull when there are other dogs around..

Here's a link
Videos of easy walk harness

[ciaBrysh]

Nope I don't think thats the one I have I'll have to dig it out and see. If it's not that one I'll give it a shot =) Thanks!

[monkeys23]

I bet he is just stressed from all the big changes and well... yeah there are much better ways to train than using a prong collar. Honestly I've gone back to refreshing everything with my dogs with the clicker and haven't used the prong in .... oh boy like a year?

I would get an Easy Walk for him. Just be sure to also have his collar on so you can grab him if a loose dog runs up. I would also learn how to use a clicker and get some really high value treats so that you can work with him on paying attention to you and mark any desirable behaviors he offers.

I've always used positive reinforcement, but didn't learn to use a clicker until I took Scout on (it'll be two years ago in April). Oh man it is SO much easier to mark behaviors with the clicker! Its made it a lot easier for me to be consistent and uh we're still working on shaping Scout's "platz". She has her informal "lay down" during people mealtimes down, but oh boy actual OB downs just make her shut down. She's such a weirdo. She does great considering a good portion of this is genetic, though I'm sure the clueless pet homes that were her first two owners didn't help. She's so not a puller though and is really easy to live with. She will always probably skitter away from people that reach over her now and then, but its just the way she is and she is sweet as pie despite it.

Also the trainer we worked with when I first took Scout in helped us do some confidence building with Control Unleashed and BAT training excercises. You might look into getting those two books to help you work with Raj. I haven't bought the BAT book yet, but the CU book is frickin' magical. Let me just say that one simple exercise in there taught me something I never would have predicted about my individual relationships with each of my dogs. Kind of blew my mind.

I'd probably get him checked out at the vet just to be sure anyway. And make sure you are doing good NILIF and have a good routine for the dogs, that will help him cope with the big routine change that the baby caused. Its a big change even if he loves the baby! You could even put a few DAP diffusers around the house to help take the stress down a notch. Leave 'em up for a month and see if it helps. I know it helped Scout with my obnoxious neighbors fighting.