Dominance while walking

[Casslund]

So I have a husky cross a rescue from the organization I was working with. Got him at 8 weeks and he was born in care so no bad history or anything. He is 13 weeks old now and has learned very well, he is house trained sits and stays patiently waiting for his food (I make it so it can take a little while). Doesn't jump on anyone but our roomie who refuses to assert himself with the dog. He has learned not to jump on my son but I do find and I think it's because of the lack of respect for the roommate he will test other people who come into the house. Jump on them try pulling at their clothing etc.

We have done walks/runs twice a day for some time and he has picked up the following commands, heal, sit, stay, whoa, easy (walk in front), hike (run in front) I am hoping to do some canicross and skiijoring with him next year. Here's the bad part 2 days ago while we were running so in "Hike mode" he turned and started biting at the leash I tried to correct him on the move but he turned and started jumping and nipping at me almost knocking us both over. I disciplined corrected and continued on and he tried it again a little while later again I corrected disciplined and moved on. But yesterday the same thing he started jumping and nipping when I was making him heal. It seems to be when I'm not letting him run when he wants to or as fast as he wants to. Yesterday I was making him sit while he was doing this and he nipped. I'm not pulling away when he's nipping but I ended up putting him into submissive position yesterday and he actually drew blood on my hand not badly and I didn't pull away I held out and in the end he laid down what I thought was calm for several minutes before I gave him the command to come up and almost instantly he started jumping and nipping. Still no change in the house. He listens to me completely but I seem to loose control outside the door. Any ideas?

[Syn]

Sounds like he's really testing you.

Bill will be around soon, I'm betting he can help. He's great with advice.

[Bill]

Doesn't jump on anyone but our roomie who refuses to assert himself with the dog. He has learned not to jump on my son but I do find and I think it's because of the lack of respect for the roommate he will test other people who come into the house. Jump on them try pulling at their clothing etc.

Ok, there are several things you need to understand. The biggest thing is that he is still a small child. Stop expecting him to behave like an adult. He is not mentally mature enough to do that yet and won't be for at least a year or more. Stop expecting him to be perfect. No one in the world is and neither are you. Don't expect him to be. He is going to screw up in life just as you do. He will make mistakes all his life. Get used to it. Learn to accept it.

The next very important thing you need to do is to get over this domonance/submission theory. That has been disproven for years now. There is no such thing in the nature. Learn how to be your dogs leader, teacher, mentor and instead of "training" him, learn to "teach" him. There is a big difference in attitude between a trainer and a teacher. Learn tho show him what you expect from him without using harsh negative methods to teach him. Stop giving "commands". Instead, give cues as to what behavior you want from him. Show him what you want, don't force him to act a certain way. Instead of being a leader by forcing your willl on him, be a leader like a dancer who leads his partner around the dance floor, smoothly and gracefully, not using force.

Here's the bad part 2 days ago while we were running so in "Hike mode" he turned and started biting at the leash I tried to correct him on the move but he turned and started jumping and nipping at me almost knocking us both over.

Typical puppy play. Again, you are asking him to behave in such a way that he is not yet mature enough to handle. That doesn't mean you let him do it. When he acts like that, stop your running and take the leash out of his mouth. Don't resume running until he has calmed down and is ready to behave again. You will have to stop and start many times in the beginning. As he matures and learns, you will start running more and waiting less. In the beginning you may be waiting more than you are running.

One critical thing to remember. Because he is a puppy, his bones are still developing. Don't walk or run him for long distances. You can damage his legs in such a way that they will never recover. Don't run him on hard surfaces. Run only on grass and not for long distances.

I disciplined corrected and continued on and he tried it again a little while later again I corrected disciplined and moved on. But yesterday the same thing he started jumping and nipping when I was making him heal. It seems to be when I'm not letting him run when he wants to or as fast as he wants to. Yesterday I was making him sit while he was doing this and he nipped. I'm not pulling away when he's nipping but I ended up putting him into submissive position yesterday and he actually drew blood on my hand not badly and I didn't pull away I held out and in the end he laid down what I thought was calm for several minutes before I gave him the command to come up and almost instantly he started jumping and nipping. Still no change in the house. He listens to me completely but I seem to loose control outside the door. Any ideas?

So, you see? Your harsh controlling forceful methods just aren't working. Try only positive reinforcement. Don't try to mix both positive and negative methods. This doesn't work either. Reward the dog when he is doing good. Show him what he's doing wrong when he is wrong and at the same time show him the correct way to do it. Show him what you expect of him without getting upset yourself. When you get upset, its time for that session to end. Use short teaching sessions. He is a puppy. His concentration is limited. Train for no more than 10 minutes at a time.

There is a lot more that I want to say about your situation but I will wait and continue later. I suggest you get the book, The Power of Positive Dog Training, by Pat Miller. You should be able to get the book at amazon.com. You have a lot of re-learning to do.