"Hank" wrote in message
...
1st dog

Nearly two years ago I bought my mom a puppy after a 2 year morning of
our previous dog who passed away. I got him from the pound and gave
her the new addition to the family, she loves him very so and would
always praise him etc..etc, but she never walked him nor played with
him or trained him, so when I would go vist her I would walk him but
he would always pull on the leash to a point that it sounded like he
was being choked. He also never paid attention to me or to my
girlfriend once he left the front lawn. Now fast forward to today, she
told me she couldn't take care of him anymore (shes old) so asked me
to take him so we did. But same old thing, he pulls on the leash and
he is a very high energetic dog and he doesnt pay attention to no one
even when we have treats or call his name, I feel bad for him because
he was couped up in a backyard for a long period of time, but when we
take him outside in the front for a walk he always jumps up like he
wants to runaway. I would love to train him so he could just run on
the front lawn and not fear is going to run away.

My dog Muttley has had similar issues. See my other post about the Easy
Walk harness that helped tremendously with the pulling problem. He is also
very energetic and focused on what he sees and smells when he is outside,
but he is not trying to run away. I would not trust him off-leash, but he
has gotten loose a few times, and he has just run around the neighborhood
exploring. But he has always come back, or allowed me to reattach his leash
when I have found him. He was rescued from the streets where he ran wild as
the alpha male of a pack of three other dogs, and I wish I could allow him
that freedom again.

2nd dog.

My girlfriend has a dog who is a puppy still, and she is very stubborn
and dominate dog, they baby her like there is no tommorrow, well
everytime I try to take her for a walk she lays down and won't move
period, we tried to leaving the leash on her in the backyard and she
will run with it but once you pick up the leash she freezes up and
remains paralized.

Can someone point me in the right direction with books or websites to
help with my two dogs? They're good dogs just need some obedience. I
wish I could take them both to training school, but nowadays with all
the shots and meds we are almost bone dry.

Thank you.

Almost everyone here will say "get thee and thy dog to Obedience Training
or a Behaviorist at once", and that is generally good advice. These can be
expensive, but usually there are classes at local schools that are quite
reasonable, and probably cost less than the price of gas to get there and
back. Also check with local shelters and boarding or grooming places. If
you find a boarder who is also a decent trainer, you might be able to
barter some training time in return for doing chores such as cleaning
kennels.

There are many good websites that offer free training advice, but sometimes
in-person help is needed.

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/behavior.html

http://www.doglinks.co.nz/training/training.htm

http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html (this is on dog aggression, but
check other links on site)

http://www.iheartpaws.com/

http://www.unleashedinevanston.com/ (Dog personality survey and a fun movie
of dogs playing)

Also, if they are any particular breed, there may be a local breed-specific
rescue that might help.

Paul and Muttley