Rowdy Rottweiler: Stopping Lunging at Cars

What you're seeing

Myles is a young Rottweiler who was becoming pushy and aggressive at home and had developed a dangerous habit on walks: lunging at passing cars and buses. The video shows the work and progress Shawn made with him at Best Buddy Dog Training, from a dog dragging his handler toward traffic to a dog walking calmly beside a road with vehicles passing. It is a little over two minutes, and it covers 3 weeks of work.

The problem this solves

A hundred-pound dog lunging at a bus is a problem for the person on the leash first and for the dog second. It usually starts as excitement, becomes a habit, and ends in aggression, and it gets worse every time a car passes because, in the dog's mind, the lunge made the car go away. Rottweilers in particular need a clear leader early. A pushy adolescent who is allowed to make his own decisions becomes a dangerous adult, and by then the owner is often physically unable to hold him.

How it was trained

Myles's pushiness at home and his lunging outside were treated as one problem, because they are. Shawn established leadership through the P.R.I.M.E. framework, controlling space, movement, and interactions, until Myles was following rather than deciding, first in the house and the yard, then on quiet roads, then on busier ones. Cars became something that passed, not something to attack. No e-collar and no prong collar were used at any point. A dog this strong has to choose to follow, because no piece of equipment will hold him back if he chooses not to.

Get this with your dog

Myles's program is our board and train for behavior cases. If your dog lunges at cars, bikes, joggers, or other dogs, you may find insight in How to Stop Dog Lunging. Contact us or get a free phone consultation before it becomes a habit you cannot physically manage.