# Stubborn and sometimes impulsive



## Roxfira (Oct 17, 2018)

Hi!

Lately, Ella (26 months old) can be very stubborn when it comes to things she wants and sometimes impulsive which creates dangerous situations. 
For example, when we go for a walk and it's windy outside, every time a leaf flies by she suddenly pulls to get it. When I say "No, leave it", she doesn't listen at all. At any commands actually, even with a high value treat. She's so fixated on the leaf that it takes some time before she listens and sit. She also does this when we pass some branches or even when there's nothing on the street but she smells something and then she pulls towards the smell. 

But she also tries to pull me without a warning across the road when she spots a cat, or a bird, or a leaf, and my reflex is to pull back hard out of panic that she might get run over by a car. At home we train a lot on the "Leave it", "Wait", "Foot" and "Look" command, but when she's fixated on something during our walks it's hard to get her out of her zone or to get her attention on me. It's not only on leash that she reacts this way, but in the garden it's manageable. 

I've also tried the gentle leader, but sometimes it doesn't work and with the gentle leader I have to be careful that I tug softly as not to hurt her. So it's mostly leash reactive. 

Do you have any advice how to handle this behavior or training tips? I walk with a regular collar (sometimes the gentle leader), not with a Julius or harness as she pulls even harder then. There are times when she walks perfectly next to me when I say "foot", but other times it can be so frustrating to walk with her. I do use a lot of training treats during our walks, with low and high value. 



Thanks!


----------



## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

Have you gone to any obedience classes? These helped us so much. Now at 9 years old my Honey seems to have forgotten her good manners and needs a few refresher courses. LOL


----------



## Roxfira (Oct 17, 2018)

Ivyacres said:


> Have you gone to any obedience classes? These helped us so much. Now at 9 years old my Honey seems to have forgotten her good manners and needs a few refresher courses. LOL


Yup, we did obedience classes until she was one year old. She did good there, but other times her focus was more onto the grass or other dogs. We stopped after one year because the classes became too big and we had to wait one year for the competition to see if Ella could pass onto advanced class or stay for another year in Beginners class. And she doesn't do this all the time during our walks, but still :/


----------



## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

We're very lucky here, lots of the classes here are small 6-10 dogs. It makes for a great experience.


----------



## Roxfira (Oct 17, 2018)

Ivyacres said:


> We're very lucky here, lots of the classes here are small 6-10 dogs. It makes for a great experience.


We started small, with only 5 dogs, but then it grew to 12-15 which was too much and way too long to wait for your turn. The dogs became a bit restless too


----------



## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Roxfira said:


> Hi!
> 
> Lately, Ella (26 months old) can be very stubborn when it comes to things she wants and sometimes impulsive which creates dangerous situations.
> For example, when we go for a walk and it's windy outside, every time a leaf flies by she suddenly pulls to get it. When I say "No, leave it", she doesn't listen at all. At any commands actually, even with a high value treat. She's so fixated on the leaf that it takes some time before she listens and sit. She also does this when we pass some branches or even when there's nothing on the street but she smells something and then she pulls towards the smell.
> ...


She is not being stubborn, you are allowing her to make a decision. This is a training issue and sounds like you could use another class on how to redirect her attention back to you. If the training facility is not what you were hoping for see if you can find another class. Google youtube Leerburg training on focus work and see if this helps. 
From the dogs perspective, walks are boring and sounds like the pup is finding ways to make it more interesting. It's up to you to make it more fun so nothing is more important than you. A good training group will help you with impulse control and focus and really recommend getting back into a class, this is more about you ... it's never the dog


----------



## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

I agree with Puddles everywhere, this is not stubbornness, it's a training issue. If she's not obeying your commands, it's because she hasn't been trained to obey. Obedience classes give direction, but it's the training time you put in at home afterwards that makes the difference. Dogs don't generalize well: they may obey a command in the classroom, but you have to practise in lots of different environments so that she understands she has to obey regardless of where she is. Also, it sounds like you're using treats as bribes, not rewards. You may need a class on how to use treats for training: if you use them as bribes, they lose their value. I'd suggest finding a good class that teaches humans how to train dogs using mostly positive methods. Once you have a good system in place, I think you'll see a big difference, but only if you put in the practice time at home.

Best of luck, hope you find a solution!


----------



## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

Jonah was an out of control, stubborn puppy. It wasn't until I took private obedience lessons that I got some control over him. Yes, we started out as you did with class lessons but that was not too good because he got bored and started chewing on anything in his reach or he wanted to play with the dog sitting next to him Private lessons from a qualified trainer could help.


----------



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Agree - it's training, not stubbornness. And so it can be fixed! You need to go back to basics - as though she is a new puppy. Forget that she is 2 years old.

You need to teach her that you are in charge on walks, not her. She needs to be focused on YOU when walking, not other shiny objects. Get a 4-foot leash on a flat collar (no need for a gentle leader or harness). Fill your left pocket with a small soft treat (I liked Zuke's Minis). Eventually, you will switch to 50-50 treats and kibble, then to kibble, then to nothing.

Put Ella on your left, and hold the leash in your right hand. Say whaever you say to start your walk (let's go, heal, whatever). She must walk beside you - and to do this, you are going to start by treating quite regularly as you walk. Like, almost continuously in the beginning (so make her meals smaller because she'll be getting lots of calories during walks). Walk, treat, praise. You are teaching her, this is the right way to walk. When you are approaching something exciting (for us, it was a baby stroller or another dog), stop and put your body between Ella and the shiny thing and have her sit, and treat her as the shiny thing goes by. You are keeping her focused on you. Then continue the walk. Do this every single walk, every single day. If something gets her attention, get it back. Don't punish (she is following her instinct) but teach her she must focus on you and praise when she does (this is why treats are important). As you progress, you can treat less continuously, take several steps in between each treat, but you really do want her walking along watching your hand and that left pocket. You can eventually swap out the high value treats for kibble, and you stretch out the treating over longer distances. But this won't happen quickly - I basically treated on walks for the first year of teaching nice walking. It has to be consistent, she has to know it is the way to behave ALL the time.

It is a lot of work, but it is worth it to get a dog who is a pleasure to walk. I really love walking my dog and I live in a busy city, so we walk on sidewalks and there are lots of distractions. Shala no longer pays any attention to baby strollers or other dogs, unless I stop and let them say hi, or to really anything. A lot of people like to stop and pat her and I totally allow that, and I let her sniff a lot because I know I can get her back on track and I feel like that is part of what walks are for dogs. But if we don't have time to dawdle, I can also just get her to walk quickly and nicely and not stop all the time to sniff.

Good luck - hope this helps!


----------



## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Your dog needs obedience training and you can do it yourself if you choose to. Get rid of the treats. At 26 months praise and just being good is all the reward a dog needs. A dog that obeys only for treats is not obedient at all. 
She probably needs more exercise as well. Going for walks is not exercise for a 2 year old dog. She needs to run and get all that energy out. Play fetch with her, she is a retriever.


----------



## Roxfira (Oct 17, 2018)

SRW said:


> Your dog needs obedience training and you can do it yourself if you choose to. Get rid of the treats. At 26 months praise and just being good is all the reward a dog needs. A dog that obeys only for treats is not obedient at all.
> She probably needs more exercise as well. Going for walks is not exercise for a 2 year old dog. She needs to run and get all that energy out. Play fetch with her, she is a retriever.


We do exercise a lot, aside from our walks we play fetch, she goes 1x a week to the doggy day care where she can play with other dogs, we go swimming 1x/week and do a lot of puzzle games and do train often daily. But I do understand that we might need to go back to obedience classes. We're going this Sunday to go see


----------



## Roxfira (Oct 17, 2018)

ceegee said:


> I agree with Puddles everywhere, this is not stubbornness, it's a training issue. If she's not obeying your commands, it's because she hasn't been trained to obey. Obedience classes give direction, but it's the training time you put in at home afterwards that makes the difference. Dogs don't generalize well: they may obey a command in the classroom, but you have to practise in lots of different environments so that she understands she has to obey regardless of where she is. Also, it sounds like you're using treats as bribes, not rewards. You may need a class on how to use treats for training: if you use them as bribes, they lose their value. I'd suggest finding a good class that teaches humans how to train dogs using mostly positive methods. Once you have a good system in place, I think you'll see a big difference, but only if you put in the practice time at home.
> 
> Best of luck, hope you find a solution!


It's only during our walks that she doesn't obey 100%. But I do understand that Ella isn't at fault here, and that I should've put more training into our walks when she was still a pup, especially on the focus thing. And we do train at home, everyday we train 3 times, inside and in the garden. We don't use treats as bribe, as I only reward her when she does walk neatly next to me. I don't show her the treat such as she would heel, I only give it to her when she obeys to the command. We only reward after she's done the exercise. BUT I do agree with retaking obedience classes, and I appreciate all your comments and advice. I've been searching for a dog school that handles positive training. We're going Sunday to inform us  Thank you all for your advice!


----------

