Loose Leash Issues Questions

Discussion in 'French Bulldog' started by PJ3, May 30, 2018.

  1. PJ3

    PJ3 New Member

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    Loose Leash Issues

    Hi,
    New(ish) to the Frenchie world. Loving it for the most part with some frustrations...

    My partner and I got our Frenchie when he was 8 weeks old. His name is Fritz and he is a joyful little guy.
    He’s currently 10 months old.

    I know that frenchies are known to be stubborn but, particularly relating to walking on a leash, he’s a terror.
    It’s simply not fun to take him out for a walk.

    We have routinely walked him 4 times per day since we received him (actually more when he wasn’t potty trained at all). Walks range from 20 min to 45 min usually.
    We had formal puppy kindergarten weekly for 6 weeks and then he did puppy “boot camp” for 10 days at 6 months old. For that, he stayed in a doggie hotel and had formal loose leash walking training daily (this was mostly because we had to go away and wanted him to have as much hands-on training as possible while we were unavailable.

    The main issue is that he is constantly trying to pick up twigs and little things on the ground. He used to pick up rocks a lot but has moved on to twigs. He will consume them at times if we aren’t quick enough.
    We have trained extensively with “leave it” and “drop it” but he still is very stubborn and isn’t great at following directions while walking. He’s easily distracted. Our trainer suggested that maybe some of this was a bit of anxiety.

    Do we just need to be more patient with this breed (since he is still only 10 months) or increase the amount of time we spend walking him and doing formal training?

    Is anyone else experiencing these issues with their Frenchie puppies?

    Thanks!
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  3. Chris B

    Chris B Member

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    CaroleC likes this.
    Training is ongoing for life :). The problem with sending dogs away to be trained is that the training rarely holds when the dog is handed back.

    He's young. Keep him moving past the twigs you see - ie you have the lead so make sure you keep going and don't stop to allow him to pick them up.

    With my girl, it was goose muck :). Perseverance paid off and now she never even looks at it, let alone pick it up.

    Consistency is the key to good training
  4. BronsonTheBulldog

    BronsonTheBulldog Member

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    My little man is 10 months old next week and he still is stubborn and I'm constantly stopping one second and telling him to slow down the next. He's into sniffing everything he comes close to, so I keep him on a short lead. But once he's off it, up the forest or the field, he only goes a few yards up the path and keeps checking back with me. I think with dogs it's the feeling of being restricted and not being in control while on the lead? But these are only my experiences as It takes a lot of patience and hard work. I hope they help in some small way. And any questions I can answer, I'd be happy to.
    And I can't believe how much he looks like my little man?
  5. PJ3

    PJ3 New Member

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    Hi! Thanks for the reply. I definitely agree that the training away may not transfer to the primary surroundings.
    Our trainer actually came out to do some training at home as well and she commented that Fritz was more difficult than other dogs she had worked with previously.
    We will keep working with him and being in control of the leash. I think a lot of it is puppy curiosity but I don’t want him to grow up thinking the behavior is okay.
  6. PJ3

    PJ3 New Member

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    Bronson is adorable! I’m sure he and Fritz would be fast friends.
    Fritz is a big puller too, particularly when he wants to go towards the playground!
    I agree that having some control seems to be important to Fritz. We will definitely keep working with him. I think he’s improving (compared to early puppyhood)—it’s just a slow process!
  7. BronsonTheBulldog

    BronsonTheBulldog Member

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    Chris B likes this.
    I find that if he pulls, I stop, turn around and walk the other way for a few steps. And keep doing that until he eventually stops. Short, repetitive training I find works best!
  8. PJ3

    PJ3 New Member

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    Yes! Little Fritz has a very short attention span haha
    We have to keep the lessons short and sweet!
  9. Felice

    Felice New Member

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    With my puppy it was other dogs' poos. Luckily he seems to have passed that stage now!
  10. BronsonTheBulldog

    BronsonTheBulldog Member

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    I can't believe how similar your little man is to mine!
  11. PJ3

    PJ3 New Member

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    They’re just too cute for words!
  12. PJ3

    PJ3 New Member

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    oh goodness! Luckily, Fritz was never into eating poop or cigarette butts.
  13. BronsonTheBulldog

    BronsonTheBulldog Member

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    Same here!

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