Help walking to dog park.

[mhenkes]

I have a 19 week Lab puppy. He is smart as a whip! He picked up stay, shake, high 5, drop it, ext. But he is having the hardest time with walking on a leash near or going to the dog park. At home and in the area he is just fine. But, he knows when we are at the dog park. He starts crying in the car and getting all rattled! Then from the moment his paws hit the parking lot to the gate for the dog area, he pulls so hard he is weezing and coughing the entire way. How can I start to calm him down. I am afraid that as he gets larger he will 1 hurt him self and/or 2 get away. The medium leather collar I have on him is already beginning to wear. Is a spike collar in my future?

[luvMyBRT]

These are the things that I would try:

1. I would go for a drive, drive by the dog park, but don't stop. Do this as many times as it takes for him to realize that not *every* time you drive to the dog park you are going to get out. Drive to the dog park....sometimes get out, sometimes just keep going. You want to desensitize the drive to the dog park....for all he knows you could be going to the store....

2. When you get to the dog park. I would teach him to "wait" before getting out of the car. My BRT pup has to sit and "wait" patiently before I allow him to jump out of the car. Open the car door and give him the command "wait" (and "sit" if you need him to sit). Don't let him get out of the car until he is calmed down, sitting patiently, and waiting for you to give the "okay" for him to jump out. Give him a treat and praise before letting him out of the car so that he learns that calm behavior in the car is what is wanted.

3. Once he gets out of the car and you are walking over to the dog park if he pulls you can try the tree method. All you do is just stop walking and act like a tree. When the dog comes back to you praise it and then start walking again. Any time the dog pulls, turn into a tree.

Another thing you can do other than the tree method is when the dog starts to pull you just turn around and walk the other direction. Once the dog is by your side again you can turn back around and head towards the dog park again. Whenever he pulls, go the other direction.

I would have a treat/bait bag with you at all times so you can reward him for good behavior.

[RawFedDogs]

Yes to what she said. She hit the nail on the head.

[stajbs]

Almost resorted to a prong collar one time, but then I learned the "tree method" or changing direction. Dogs will usually "get it" fairly quickly.

[MollyWoppy]

I did exactly what Sara did as well. Drove past the dog park and never stopped (would detour past that way when doing normal errands), the 'wait' in the car until given the ok to get out (not only at the dog park, thats a required behaviour every single time we are in the car).
Then putting the brakes on (tree method) every time she pulled on the way into the park. Now, that one was hard for us. Many times I could have read War and Peace by the time we got to the park gate.
What I found the hardest though was putting up with comments from people going past telling me how mean I was.
My dog still try's to pull at times, but I can't ever let her get away with it, or else we'd be back to square one. I do have a 'pushy' dog though, she's always testing me.

[doggiedad]

i taught my dog how to ride in the car. i wanted
my dog to lay down on the back seat or lay down
in the hatch area (the way back) as my kids say.
once you teach your dog how to ride in the car
it doesn't matter where you're going your dog
will ride nicely. the dog park is a great training
aid. once at the dog park my dog had to wait
in the car with the door open before enterring
the play area. i also did some training in the parking lot
before enterring the play area. for added distractions
sometimes i trained along the fence.

i started teaching my dog how to ride in the
car at home. i would put my dog in the car and make him
lay down. sometimes the car was running sometimes it wasn't.
then we would go for short rides. my down had to lay down
for the ride. then i taught him not to exit the car without a command.
again we would sit the car with the back door open. sometimes
i would exit the car. sometimes i would exit the car
and go into the house. i watched my dog from the window
of the house to make sure he didn't jump out of the car.

start slow and build up. train everyday, several times a day.
don't wait untill your going somewhere to train your
dog how to ride in the car.

[doggiedad]

don't depend on a collar or any devise. train your
dog to heel on either side with or without a leash.

Is a spike collar in my future?

[Serendipity]

I think prongs, when used properly, are great training tools, although the dog should eventually be weaned onto a normal flat collar. I second the "tree" method. When he starts pulling, you stop, or go the other way. When he stops pulling, you start walking again, repeat, etc. If that alone works for you, there isn't a need to try any training devices.

[pandaparade]

Me and the doggy go to the park every single day. I never wanted to be pulled by my ever so excited dog so I made sure to start standing still when he would go forward. The dog park is a big treat/ reward in itself so I didn't bother bringing treats but if he responds well to them and isn't fully distracted on the dog park, go for it. Now, it did take him about 3 weeks to fully understand the concept and there are still times where if he sees one of his best friends, he may pull a bit but it is way better than it was. Be patient and I know he will pick it up sooner or later.

[lauren43]

I would not suggest a prong collar ever. I know ppl on here use them (and probably properly) but many ppl do not use them properly. And if you are thinking about putting a prong collar on your dog before going to a dog park your dog is going to pull just the same as usual except now he will have prongs digging into his throat probably causing tracheal damage.

I use a sensation harness on every walk with Avery. It is by no means a quick fix but I can now walk my dog without worrying about the damage I am doing to his trachea.
SENSE-ation Dog Harness, Dog Training Equipment | Softouch Concepts, Inc.