leash aggressiveness when crossing the street! PLEASE HELP!

[luce]

I have a 10 month old Cane Corso/Bulldog cross. He is fabulous and is quite obedient. During walks he is very good on his leash but when it comes to crossing a busy street, he gets very aggressive, jumping up to bite his leash. He attempts to play tug-of-war, growls, is very determined and when I try to stop him he fights with me and can get very aggessive and angry about it.

I have had him since 7 weeks of age and nothing has happened to frighten him near a street, he has always been afraid of the cars passing by.

Any ideas on how to get him to relax while crossing, or how to get him to stop this terrible habit!?!?

Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Well first, welcome to Pet Talk!
I personally love Cane Corso's- such beautiful and magnificent dogs! And being mixed with a Bulldog? He must be adorable! How old is he now? What is his name? I would love to see pictures of your boy, too!:D

Your dog sounds like he might be fearful of the cars passing by, and the loud noises that come along with traffic. I would suggest a distraction while crossing streets. Something that he really likes/enjoys and distracts him is what he really needs- such as a loud squeeky toy to distract him, or a favorite treat to keep him focused. And when he does stay focused on your distraction, praise, praise, praise, and follow with a high value treat. Remember consistency is key- try to distract him and keep him focused on YOU and the toy/treat/squeaker.

I have a 3 year old Labrador with whom I use the distractions with, as she is very dog aggressive. She sometimes even does the whole jumping up/lunging forward behavior.

Good luck and keep us updated! And again welcome to PT!!

[luce]

thank you for your suggestion, I will definately try it out!

He is now 10 months and about 80lbs. He is quite short as his mom is 1/2 english/1/2 american bulldog. Perfect size for a bully!

(the picture of him standing on our back step is the most recent)

[*LabLoverKEB*]

AWWWW!!!
He is very cute!!!:love:

[StaffyDaddy]

It's a little late to suggest what I'm suggesting, but this is good for people with very young pups, for folks who know breeders, or for ones that rescue pups at tender ages where the dam may not want to nurse the pups any longer.

One thing you can do is expose a puppy to all sorts of noises. Find noises that resemble motors, claps, glass shattering, whistles, sirens, screams, foot steps, knocking on doors, gates closing, strong winds, cats, other dogs barking and growling, crying, air planes, thunderstorms... etc.

You might ask why? but a lot of neuroligical development is going on between the time a pup is born and when they are 8 weeks, coming home with their new parents. The more exposure the litters or pups get, the more sound they will be around strange noises, and new situations. If they have heard just about everything before, they will not be easily startled, or become anxious due to loud noises. This makes for a stable, sound, well adjusted dog in the long run, when combined with proper training, exercise and of course a lot of love. Dogs are social creatures, so they should be exposed to just about every situation, even if they are not ready to hear the real deal out in the world.

[StaffyDaddy]

Well first, welcome to Pet Talk!
I personally love Cane Corso's- such beautiful and magnificent dogs! And being mixed with a Bulldog? He must be adorable! How old is he now? What is his name? I would love to see pictures of your boy, too!:D

Your dog sounds like he might be fearful of the cars passing by, and the loud noises that come along with traffic. I would suggest a distraction while crossing streets. Something that he really likes/enjoys and distracts him is what he really needs- such as a loud squeeky toy to distract him, or a favorite treat to keep him focused. And when he does stay focused on your distraction, praise, praise, praise, and follow with a high value treat. Remember consistency is key- try to distract him and keep him focused on YOU and the toy/treat/squeaker.

I have a 3 year old Labrador with whom I use the distractions with, as she is very dog aggressive. She sometimes even does the whole jumping up/lunging forward behavior.

Good luck and keep us updated! And again welcome to PT!!

Good post! I do want to add something though. It is important that we don't coddle and inadvertantly reinforce fearful behavior. I think it's important to know your dog's warning signs, as well as body posture, including tail, ears, lips, and overall stance. This tells us a lot when we learn our dogs. I see a lot of people thinking that their dog just needs some reassurance and they praise the dog to "coax" it out of their fearful state, when in fact they are just reinforcing it.

I don't know how much obedience training your dog has, but a technique that works wonders with my pups is "watch me". Teaching the dog to focus on you and wait for the next command is very helpful in distracting them and redirecting their attention. I own two pitbulls, so when they have their minds set on something, not a lot will deter them. So they know the "watch me" command and I can quickly regain their full attention and praise when they look up at me. Then I give another heel command and praise them when they keep going, without slowing down or turning to look at the initial distraction. In situations where I am trying to curb a certain behavior, I only praise and reward when they do as they're told, and I can bet that the next time around it will take less effort on my part to keep them focused on our walk.

[luce]

thank you all very much! These are all helpful tips and I am looking forward to trying them!

[luce]

tried distracting him yesterday and he was pretty good crossing the street! YAY!!!

Any advice on how to calm him down IF he does go crazy though? He just gets so nuts!

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Wow, this is great news and quite an accomplishment!! Good job to the both of you!:)

[Karen]

tried distracting him yesterday and he was pretty good crossing the street! YAY!!!

Any advice on how to calm him down IF he does go crazy though? He just gets so nuts!


"Sit"

wait ... wait ...

"Down"

wait ... wait ...

Good boy! Okay, let's go!

[Indigo Bully Connection]

tried distracting him yesterday and he was pretty good crossing the street! YAY!!!

Any advice on how to calm him down IF he does go crazy though? He just gets so nuts!

This is just me... I don't train OB with compulsion, but an undesired action like this from a large dog requires a bigger correction than a smaller dog (I raised a Bullmastiff, unfortunately I had to leave her with my parents when I moved out on my own yeeeears ago). I pop the leash hard and give a stern NO! then ask nicely for a sit. If the dog doesn't immediately sit, I use the compulsion method to make the dog sit. With a dog your size, it is absolutely necessary to have control over situations such as these when it can cause harm to you or the dog if accidently bumped out into traffic.

Do you walk your dog on a slip chain, prong, or a flat collar? Also, what do you mean by agressive...does he bark/ go after cars or does he jump all over you?

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Yes, what kind of collar do you use on walks? Have you ever heard of or seen the gentle leader? I use it on Rita (my yellow Labrador, see below in my siggy), and it works great for her. But, your boy might be too strong for the gentle leader, but I would give it a shot, it might work for better control and corrections.
The gentle leader is like a horse halter, for dogs. When you lead the head, the body will follow, just like horses. A lot of people ask me if it is a muzzle (then they see the wagging tail and smile, lol), it is most definetley not a muzzle. The dog can open his/her mouth, pant, eat, and drink water with it on (but obviously not meant for all day wear, just during walks and training).;) My Labrador can play fetch while wearing her GL.;)

Because you own a large and strong dog (my girl is strong as well) I use a leash with two clips (I got the one I have from Guide Dogs for the Blind), so one clip is attached to her regular collar, and one clip is attached to the GL.

www.gentleleader.com

Good luck!!

[luce]

I use a prong collar for walks and it seems to work other than these random "attacks."

I considered a gentle leader months ago but we walks perfectly other than when he gets sitrred up while crossing busy streets. Also, sometimes he is easy to calm down when this starts but others he s crazy!

When I say aggressive I mean:
-jumping up biting his leash and wont let go
-growling
-will wrestle with me & fight to keep his leash in his mouth, sometimes nipping me by accident even if I can get ahold of his collar and "tighten it"

Its sort of like a very mean tug of war!

At its worst, I will have to fight with him to pin him on his back (which he does easily for me at home) hold him for a minute or two to calm down, and he usually just gets up and continues the walk calmly.

These random outbursts blow my mind!

Like I said above, in our walk the other day I was able to keep his attention though so I am hoping to avoid it from now on. Fingers crossed!

[Indigo Bully Connection]

I use a prong collar for walks and it seems to work other than these random "attacks."

I considered a gentle leader months ago but we walks perfectly other than when he gets sitrred up while crossing busy streets. Also, sometimes he is easy to calm down when this starts but others he s crazy!

When I say aggressive I mean:
-jumping up biting his leash and wont let go
-growling
-will wrestle with me & fight to keep his leash in his mouth, sometimes nipping me by accident even if I can get ahold of his collar and "tighten it"

Its sort of like a very mean tug of war!

At its worst, I will have to fight with him to pin him on his back (which he does easily for me at home) hold him for a minute or two to calm down, and he usually just gets up and continues the walk calmly.

These random outbursts blow my mind!

Like I said above, in our walk the other day I was able to keep his attention though so I am hoping to avoid it from now on. Fingers crossed!

IDK if you do or not, but the Prong is supposed to be a training tool. You are never supposed to rely on it. You may benefit from making a visit to a behavioralist if you can't get this under control by yourself. A distraction will only work for so long because it doesn't adress the real issue at hand. I know it has to be embarassing to be sprawled out on the side walk with your dog! lol I would try using some compulsion at this point IMO. If he has great OB other wise, start incorporating OB on your walks. Give the sit stay command at the intersection.

Your dog holding the leash is a sign of dominance, and Presas are notorious for having dominance issues and require a firm leader.

EDIT: I never used the prong for my bullmastiff, but since my mother and sister are not leaders by nature they use it.... Believe it or not, she has a little DA. They rely on it, and IMO you should be able to control the dog on any collar. I can walk Bella on a flat collar... she has a strong sit stay.

EDIT EDIT: I just saw that you have a Corso.. they are a different breed, but they are still part of the mollosser type. The same philosophy applies.

[Karen]

Hopefully you will be able to avoid them. In the future, the worst thing you can do is turn it into a tug of war. That's rewarding to him, playtime! Again,, stop, have him focus on you. Any commands he knows "sit" "down" Paw" - keep his focussed on you, and calm. The MINUTE he starts to act up, stop and repeat. I am glad things are working so far, just wanted to caution you!

I am sure passersby thought I was insane when walking my former bosses' Sheltie, but I'd have to say "Heel" every 30 seconds or so when we were on our way back to the office or back home, as otherwise he's pull and choke himself, he was soooooooooo focussed on the biscuit he knew he'd get once he got inside. As long as I kept breaking that concentration, we could walk.

[Karen]

Hopefully you will be able to avoid them. In the future, the worst thing you can do is turn it into a tug of war. That's rewarding to him, playtime! Again,, stop, have him focus on you. Any commands he knows "sit" "down" Paw" - keep his focussed on you, and calm. The MINUTE he starts to act up, stop and repeat. I am glad things are working so far, just wanted to caution you!

I am sure passersby thought I was insane when walking my former bosses' Sheltie, but I'd have to say "Heel" every 30 seconds or so when we were on our way back to the office or back home, as otherwise he's pull and choke himself, he was soooooooooo focussed on the biscuit he knew he'd get once he got inside. As long as I kept breaking that concentration, we could walk.

[Indigo Bully Connection]

Hopefully you will be able to avoid them. In the future, the worst thing you can do is turn it into a tug of war. That's rewarding to him, playtime! Again,, stop, have him focus on you. Any commands he knows "sit" "down" Paw" - keep his focussed on you, and calm. The MINUTE he starts to act up, stop and repeat. I am glad things are working so far, just wanted to caution you!

I am sure passersby thought I was insane when walking my former bosses' Sheltie, but I'd have to say "Heel" every 30 seconds or so when we were on our way back to the office or back home, as otherwise he's pull and choke himself, he was soooooooooo focussed on the biscuit he knew he'd get once he got inside. As long as I kept breaking that concentration, we could walk.

Great point Karen... I forgot... the first thing I teach... I have a focus command actually... I use "watch" and I teach the dog to look me in the face and ignore everything around me.

To do this it is a purely positive reinforcement training. I use about a half a hot dog... Find a quiet place to start this...

1) hold both arms out so you look like a T, a little peice of food in each hand. (obviously show your pup that you have treats in your hands)

2) I say "watch" and take one hand and point to my nose. as soon as the dog looks at my face i treat with the other hand

The trick of this is to switch up hands. If the dog starts to get shifty eyes and looks at your left hand while his face is looking at you don't treat, repeat the command.

Never give a correction...even a "no". Just give the command again and show him with your hand to your nose, what you want. This way when you want him to focus he always happily look at your face.

Check into incorporating NILF in your lifestyle with your dog. It isn't a cure all, but it sure does help in cunjunction with more OB.

[Indigo Bully Connection]

Luce how's your dog progressing?