# puppy walkies



## nutmeg07 (Sep 14, 2013)

I'm having trouble with my 14 week old puppy while we go on little walks. She already had her shots at 10 weeks and I haven't been super careful with her, meaning that she has been going on little walks for a while now, so its not a brand new thing, although of course she is still very young. 
She pulls on the leash quite bad when there is something exciting she wants to get to, and no food reward will distract her, she won't even look at me, no matter what I've got to offer, or how exciting I'm trying to make myself look 
Other dogs are a problem, as I don't really like her meeting other dogs on leash, as she just jumps all over them causing them to growl at her (fair enough), which in turn makes the other owners embarrassed and shocked, and they leave straight away. I don't know what to do about this, she has no problem with other dogs while off leash (well, she is still a pest and jumps all over them, but they can then sort it out..). So I prefer to just walk past dogs on leash, but I have to drag her and its embarrassing. 
However, its not as embarrassing as her doing it to just people who walk past, as she just wants to love everyone. 
I, however want her to just walk past people and not reward this kind of behaviour by letting her get to the people. Easier said than done, as people just can't resist her and come pet her even if tell them not to! Well, vizslas are irresistible...  
I don't know how to get contact to her when this happens, she is fine in an environment without distractions. When focused on something exciting, she will not take treats or see anything else. I'm worried that this behaviour will turn into barking/lunging/growling out of sheer frustration, as I used to have a leash reactive dog like that years ago and I really don't want to go through that again. 
And also, I've been reading this forum about walking on the leash and lots of people say their adult or almost adult vizslas still pull on the leash and that its 'a vizsla thing'. I understand that vizslas are probably more likely to pull due to their high energy/bounciness/excitability, but surely you can train a vizsla to behave on a leash (please tell me you can, as otherwise I'm starting to feel desperate knowing that she'll never learn anyway!?)
Thank you very much everyone


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

She is still a puppy, and its going to take lots of time to get her to walk without pulling when distracted.
Mine do short leash walks and lots of off lead on check cords playing at that age.
This is what I do.
I don't care if the puppy stays at heal. I'm only trying to get them to give, when they feel pressure from the leash.
Each time they pull, I give a sideways tug on the leash and change directions simultaneously. If your tugging back, it causes them to pull harder forward.
We only work on this for maybe 10 minutes at a time, then I release them to play. After the play time we do it again. I do this in my back yard. Once they get it down, I move to the front yard. Each new place you will be retraining it. Don't ever think that just because the pup learned it in one area, it will carry over to a new one.
That only happens over time, after the pup has been to as many places as you can take her.
Stay calm and consistent , and she will get there.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Good info from TexasRed! Take a deep breath and leash your patience. She will get there, but only with lots of consistency, time, and patience from you.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Sounds pretty normal. We are lucky enough to have an adult Vizsla so Chase learned pretty quickly that jumping in other dog's faces is not ok. 

Keep up the hard work! Sit and wait while people walk by is still the hardest thing for Chase and he's 7 months now. He just wants to play


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

I'm ashamed to say our Penny has horrible leash manners. HOWEVER, Dozer is many times better. And that came by leash training around the house where he always is anyway, then in the basement, then the backyard, then the driveway, then the front yard, then the sidewalk, then the short block...you get the point. Once they are doing the right thing in one area, move onto the next. And try not to stop the session on a bad note. Try to have them doing the right thing when you end it. But I agree she is still very young and not much can be expected. I would just keep walking and ignore all the passersby for now.


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