My 6 mo old puppy is constantly pulling when walking. I'm afraid that she is going to choke herself..she also gets very excited when she sees another person or dog and jumps on them. What can I do to make her calm down when she is outside?

innocent_101

What you could do is get some bitter apple that can be bought at any local pet store, frist spray some in her mouth and if she acts like she hates it, then spray some on her leash where she chews before you go for a walk, if she likes it then get something with a very bad taste but won't hurt the dog ask the vet they will know what else you can use. If not you can always give her a tap on her nose or rump when she starts to naw at her leash and give her a frim NO!! and when she doesn't praise her. Now about the jumping. I have a 1 year old bull terrier puppy who is almost 80 pounds. When some one comes up to you and your dog tell her to sit and make her sit while the person is there until they leave. I would frist start at getting down to her level make her sit down and stay down to her level until the person or dog goes by, if she tries to jump pull down and say no with a a tap on the rump or nose. Why does she jump ? Cause that's their way of greeting people and letting them know that there here with you If your puppy is going to be big or medeuim size I suggest getting a harness they work alot better then a coller and you don't have to worry about them coking themselves. Good luck

labman

Start with a good 6' leather leash and a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain ones with the rings on each
end. You want the shortest one that will go on and off easily. If you walk
with the dog on the left, pull the chain through one loop forming a "P".
Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack when there is no pull on the leash.

Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash
combined with a stern "Bad dog!". You can work up to forceful corrections
with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it. But
you don't want to use any more force than you need. One gentle technique I
like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when
the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the
only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to
pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half
hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a
lesson. Another good technique is to pull the dog backwards maybe 5-10 feet.

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a
dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one
without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.

You must give the dog good leadership to do much at all with it. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

Once the dog understands you are top dog, a simple off and snap of the leash should correct the jumping. Never use the snap of the leash with a head collar. Use a steady pull instead.

RubyPitbull

If you have a large breed puppy, I would strongly advise you to use the head collar, that labman suggested in his response. It is not a muzzle although many people mistake it for one. It is a very humane and effective way of keeping her from pulling you and give you the control over your dog that you are looking for. Another tool that you can use is the Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness. That won't keep your puppy from jumping on others but will keep her from choking herself. Please do not use the Green Apple spray and do not hit your dog as innocent advises. Both suggestions are absolutely not the way to correct your dog's behavior. Your dog is exhibiting dominant/aggressive behavior. It may seem happy and fun, but it is a clear sign that your dog is the one in the Alpha position in your relationship with her. In the doggy world, what she is doing is considered very poor manners. If you don't get this behavior under control eventually you will find that another dog you meet on your walks, that is also a dominant dog, will react very negatively to your dog jumping on him/her. The negative reaction I am referring to is attacking your dog. Dogs proper meet and greet is to sidle up to each other and sniff the other's hind quarters. I am sure you have seen dogs do this. That is the proper way of introducing themselves in the doggy world. These two tools that I am suggesting will aid you in a correcting her without hurting her. She needs to be walking at your side and slightly behind you. I would strongly urge you to look into training classes for your puppy if you haven't already done so. Aside from teaching you how to handle your dog properly, they are a perfect way to properly socialize your dog and for her to learn how to more appropriately meet and greet others. You would also do well to take labman's suggestion regarding the Monks of New Skeet's books and video. The Monks do an excellent job of teaching you how to position yourself as the leader. Read and learn as much as you can about proper training techniques. Find books on your dog's breed, and about the general tendencies that are attributable to that breed. These are important tools in learning how to handle your dog.