Trouble with training - pls help!

I'd suggest an EZ Walk harness.  Because of the placement of the lead loop being on the chest it is far more difficult for them to pull.

I would also suggest a good positive reinforcement trainer and perhaps a behavioralist to help you get back in control.

Hopefully some of our trainers will be along to offer a bit more (and better) ideas!

This is what I use and what I recommend: Use NILIF (nothing in life is free).  Your dog has to earn everything.  Down, stay, release for dinner.  All toys confiscated with dog earning a toy with sit, down, stay, come, down, here's the toy "take".  No free treats.  Keep dog off of furniture and beds.

Add to that long line work, which it sounds like you have been trying to do.  Start the dog on a harness, the kind with a D-ring on the front, and a 20 foot leash.  Go to the park or other area when there are not other dogs or people there and start walking or jogging.  Figure out how you want to walk, in a square, triangle, etc.  Get walking while not paying attention to the dog.  Before she has a chance to dash away from you, abruptly change directions.  You will end up pulling on the dog, but with a D-ring at her chest, you should be able to pull her off balance.  If she is too much for you, arc her, moving her in a circle around you, her own strength will propel her. Don't give up, use a tree or post to wrap the leash around if you have to.  Continue to walk and make direction changes.  After a while you will notice that you are not dragging the dog behind you.  This is because she is learning to pay attention to you.  When she feels the pull of the harness, she looks at you and follows you, then she starts to get the picture and pre-empts the pull, keeping the leash loose.

 She should be pretty reliable at respecting the 20 foot lead before you add commands.  So, after a few days of  good behavior, you ask for a sit.  She should sit right down, but won't.  Dogs don't generalize, so if you haven't trained her to sit while in the park, you'll have to train her to sit just like you did at home.  Once she is sitting, have her sit farther and farther from you.  Ditto  for down and the recall.  Call her to you, release her.  Call her to you, release her.

 Once you get her respecting you on the twenty foot, switch to 30 feet.  Add distractions.

 On another note, if you can get your dog into a sit, place your foot over the base of her tail.  If you put the collar (or create a collar with the leash) high on the neck she will not be able to pop up from the sit.  When I weighed 82 pounds (a very long time ago) I could control my 85 pound dog this way.

blujeans

My 11 month-old Great Dane has always had what I think is called "leash aggression" (she just wants to meet another dog -- with a compulsion! absolutely no aggression, however -- just desperately wants to meet and greet). 

To me this sounds like a dog who reactive to other dogs on leash. It sounds like she gives a big "display" or "reaction" when she sees another dog when she is on leash. This sound correct?

blujeans

 Anyway, I know the first problem is that I can not get her attention during any outdoor activity. I did as all the trainers recommended and ensured that the 'look' command was fully understood and consistent in the house.  I tried the recommendations from similar postings by walking a few steps and stopping -- calling her name/look -- and not going forward until she looks at me.  Even that is an utter failure.  Literally we could stand there for 5 minutes and she will not look at me when I call her/look.  I don't say the command often, so as not to be repetitious, as was suggested by a trainer -- maybe once every minute or so to remind her why we are just standing there -- after being bored to death myself, I will put the treat in front of her nose to get her attention -- of which many times it is ignored.  I realize this is the root of the problem because if she understood that looking at me (getting a treat; given an "atta girl, let's go"; and moving forward) was her reward, as it is when we do the 'look' command in the house, perhaps it would make a difference, but she clearly does not care if we move forward or not -- she is quite content to just stand there and gaze around hoping to see something of interest.

Sounds like a combination of issues at work here. First, I think you need to use better rewards. A simple atta girl and continuing to walk forward is obviously not enough for this dog. Get out some juicy treats like hot dogs, cheese, or liver treats, and use that as a reward. Try to focus on catching her doing something right, such as walking on leash politely, instead of focusing on fixing the behavior once she has started to do things incorreclty. Second, I think you need to up your rate of reinforcement. Make sure that every time she is behaving "better than average" you are rewarding her for it. Keep stuffing food down her face continuously. Once she is frequently offering you appropriate behaviors, THEN you can lower your rate of reinforcement. Third, it sounds like she is in a situation that is "too much" for her at this moment. She is too over-stimulated to offer you what you want. So maybe try starting training somewhere a little less distracting.

And I would recommend reading the book Control Unleashed. It offers a ton of suggestions on working with dogs that reactive, particularly ones taht are reactive to other dogs. It utilizes clicker training and working at a distance, and letting the dog know it's OK to look at another dog.

 While reading your post, I was thinking could it be possible for a dog AHDH? he sounds like my son, although his isn't AHDH but just hyper than normal boys. In time my son became better. Like right now at age 6 he is a whole lot better than when he was four.

 So maybe that was what your trainer was also thinking at that time, that he is still a puppy and does act like he does. But then again, maybe he just wants to have doggy friends.

Found the following tips in this article - you can read them further too.

Hyperactive Dogs - How to Calm a Hyper Dog or Hyper Puppy

Hyperactive Dog Tip 1

The best medicine for a hyper dog is calm energy.

Hyperactive Dog Tip 2

Make your dog work for his food.

Hyperactive Dog Tip 3

Play fun games with your dog.

Hyperactive Dog Tip 4

Do obedience training with your dog every day.

Hyperactive Dog Tip 5

Walk with your dog around the neighborhood or go on a fun hiking trip.

In addition to neighborhood walks, it can also be lots of fun to go hiking with your dog.

Hyperactive Dog Tip 6

Organize play sessions with another dog.

 I think this is a very common problem. Even my super mellow Lapphund had a touch of it. He wouldn't lose it so completely, though, and waiting him out wasn't a big deal. He is for the most part over it, now. The only time he reacts is when the dog is within reach or almost within reach, then he tries to close the gap. A couple of things really helped us, including the "Look At That" game from Control Unleashed and working on his heel command so that it was very solid.

I think you would have trouble with either at this level of arousal. Your dog can't even hear you she is so excited. I think the key here is a combination of conditioning and desensitisation. It takes a while, but it will fix the problem at it's root, I think. If it were me, I would be finding how far she needs to be from a dog before you lose her and working on just one behaviour at that distance. I'd choose "Look At That" and reward her every time she looks at the dog in the distance. This would only work if she responds to a marker by looking back at you. You could try something else she is already very solid on as well or as an alternative.

In the meantime, you will run into dogs well within her critical distance and there's nothing much you can do about it. Try to put distance between her and the other dog without walking in the opposite direction and just wait it out. That's what I'd do.
 

justdogs

 While reading your post, I was thinking could it be possible for a dog AHDH? he sounds like my son, although his isn't AHDH but just hyper than normal boys. In time my son became better. Like right now at age 6 he is a whole lot better than when he was four.

 So maybe that was what your trainer was also thinking at that time, that he is still a puppy and does act like he does. But then again, maybe he just wants to have doggy friends.

Found the following tips in this article - you can read them further too.

Hyperactive Dogs - How to Calm a Hyper Dog or Hyper Puppy

The thing is, leash reactivity and being hyperactive are completely different things. A dog can be leash reactive and be the laziest dog ever, and or the most well exercised dog ever. Exercising may slightly improve leash reactivity, but they are not the same thing. The dog needs to learn to behave itself on leash.

 Thanks all for your many very good suggestions.  After reading through some of the comments I think I am part of the problem.  :-)  In the house she is required to 'earn' many things (sit in her cage before she gets her meal; sit while I put on her leash for a walk; wait on the porch while I open the gate, etc.), but her daily walks I always considered as "her doggie time" -- time to sniff every tree and catch the sites and sounds -- no healing or any formal training.  It was her time to just be a dog and spend some quality time with 'mom' (as I did with all of my other dogs).   Well, after reading some of the comments here I took her outside to see how far she has to go off her property before she tunes me out -- guess what!  One foot! :-)  So I am bringing her back to the basics -- this won't be much fun for me but based on all that I read here, sometimes it has to be that way.  But it's winter and not much fun walking anyway.  She will now have to 'earn her walk' -- and when she has tuned me out, we return back to the house.  I then try a few minutes later, but return as soon as she tunes me out.  Over the past couple of days we have gone for 50' walks. :-)  The funny thing is, however, when I tell her -- "ok, you're not listening -- we are going back home" -- she walks back so politely -- no pulling, no distractions!  (by the way, several suggested that I see how far away a dog has to be to 'lock her up' -- if she can see it, that is all it takes; probably the further away it is, the crazier she gets because there is "so much time" to think about it!).  I recall watching one of those 'dog training' tv shows and the guy said it can take up to 200 attempts to get a dog to the point of totally 'getting it'.  Looks like we won't be going anywhere anytime soon.  Thanks again!

Since you will be staying home for a while you might like to check out this site.  Anne posted this it in another thread and it's really neat.  Look at loose leash walking video. You've got nothing to lose by giving it a try.

http://www.dogmantics.com/Dogmantics/Home.html

 wow -- that is good.  I am so jealous -- that little Chihuahua just follows her perfectly.   Some day!!  lol  :-)  Looks like there are a lot of other great tips on this site -- I'll save it to my Favorites.   Thank you!