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Leash biting

5K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Galathiel 
#1 · (Edited)
German shepherd dog Dog Canidae Dog breed Carnivore


Hi, we have an 8 month male GSD, who consistently bites and tries to play tug of war with the leash when my husband takes him on walks. He does it with me but not as much. We thought a chain leash would make him stop a bit, but it hasn't. Any advice? He tries some of the things I have learned in training but they don't seem to work well with him.
I tried to upload pic, but it is sideways, sorry!
 
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#2 ·
He thinks he's playing a game with you. If I have a leash biter, I drop the leash immediately (step on the end if I am out somewhere) and let him get bored. He learns if he bites the leash, all the fun dies. When he calms down, continue with the walk. As you are walking him, you can also anticipate his biting at the leash. If I have taught a leave it, I can look for the energy ramping up, snapping with the mouth, focus on the leash. I can deliver a sharp leave it and reward if he chose to refocus on me instead of grabbing the leash.
 
#5 ·
My dog is the same way. My trainer suggested spraying the leash with bitter apple,which I am planning to buy soon. A friend also suggested hot sauce. Take away their water bowl first so that they don't figure out that they can easily get rid of the awful taste. If they work, you have to do it daily because it dries out.
 
#8 ·
My golden did this, not only to his leash but to my other dogs leashes. I did nothing and he grew out of it.
 
#9 ·
Something prevents him from pulling the leash ( do you use a prong or a halter? Or that is you just stop when he pulls?) and he does what he can in order to walk faster. Your puppy doesn't play tug of war, he thinks that it is him who walks you. Biting the leash means "holding and dragging you forward", shaking head doesn't mean much in this case, that is his wish to make it more entertaining. The leash has two ends, and he wants to be your leader. To stop him doing this you need to produce a sound signal indicating change of direction. Only the leader changes direction on rambling walks, and others follow him. So, you have to tell your puppy that you are the leader during your walks. You can click your tongue, you can softly whistle some melody ( I myself train producing a short hissing sound like " Sass-ss-s!") to imply a turn you intend to make to the left, to the right, or even backwards. It is better to train sound cue with your dog first off leash, in the park or in the woods. Let him run forward some distance, whistle and make 90 degree turn somewhere in different direction, don't look back, let him follow you. One day session is enough for him to understand the meaning of this particular whistling, do the same on leash the next day - i.e. every time he starts plaing with the leash whistle and make a turn, luring him after you. It is important not to stop.
This exercise would help with better walking mannrers, your dog would learn to watch your own movements.
 
#10 ·
When Lakota was a puppy she used to do that all the time. I taught her "out" to drop what ever she had I also would not walk forward until she did, sometimes our walks took a long time.
She's 4-1/2 and will bite/tug the leash when she's really excited.
Most of the time it's at the beach. When I take her to the ocean she doesn't like the waves so she'll tug the leash. If I take her to the sound where the waves are not big she goes right in for a swim but she'll once in a while do it there too.
 
#12 ·
My pup occasionally will grab the leash if I've been doing a lot of direction changes etc. When he grabs it, I immediately stop and verbally correct it. The quick movements I'd been making had excited him a bit, but stopping interrupts/stops it.
 
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