u/Ashamed_Vent4228

Hi, I recently adopted a 1 year old rescue dog (Speculated to be a Staffy-jack mutt), and I’ve been researching ways to train him. He’s not a bad dog, but he has some problems we have been working on.

As I’ve been researching, I’ve come across a lot of different opinions about different ways to train, and sometimes it confuses the heck out off me. So far, I’ve been sticking to positive reinforcements, but pretty much all of my other family members believe in a more traditional approach to training, however that’s not the point of this post.

One thing that I’ve seen a lot of conflicting opinions on is how to walk a dog. I’ve seen some people say to keep a very structured walk, only let the dog sniff and go to the bathroom on your accord, and they must stay in a heel position the rest of the time. However, I’ve also seen the opposite too, where you should let your dog sniff wherever and go potty wherever because it’s good enrichment for the dog and they can just be dogs.

As of right now, I let my dog sniff where he wants to sniff and go potty where he wants. I’d say he’s quite well mannered on the leash, since he doesn’t pull majority of the time, and when he does feel any leash pressure, he will come back to me or wait a little (if he’s ahead) and continue walking. I still set the pace and direction, stop when I want to, and practice some training while we’re outside.

As I keep going on my journey to training my dog, I really appreciate any advice that can help me either improve or understand my dog better.

(Sorry if this post is confusing at all or if I made any mistakes in writing, Im currently writing this past midnight)

TLDR: Should I keep my dog on a tighter leash when walking or let him continue to walk unstructured?

Hi! I adopted a 1-year old chihuahua-jack Russell terrier-Staffy mutt named Daisy about 3-4 weeks ago. He barks at people on the street if they get too close, he barks at guests who come over, and he barks at my older brother who lives with us.

When we first adopted Daisy, he was quiet as a mouse, we didn’t even know he could make a sound. Overtime, as he got more comfortable and settled, he started to be more vocal. About two weeks after we got Daisy, my mom and brother came home from their month long vacation. While Daisy came to be comfortable with my mom, he hated my brother. I believe because my brother didn’t sit down with Daisy and build a positive association with him, their relationship has only gone downhill.

A little bit about my brother is that he’s a big guy and he (and my father) believe in the Alpha kind of mentality when it comes to dogs. He has done the Alpha roll on one of the dogs we’ve had in the past, and follows Cesar Millan training. Both my father and my brother keep telling me to watch Cesar Millan, but I’ve heard he’s quite controversial, and I’m not sure if I should start training Daisy that way. My brother has started to take part in training Daisy, via taking him on a walk and making him stay by his side the entire time, not letting him into the house without my brother going in first, and wanting me to push Daisy onto his side when Daisy is barking at him. The thing is, after a walk with my brother, Daisy stops barking at him for a while. Only after a couple hours, after Daisy has stayed with me, will Daisy start barking at my brother once my brother comes out of his room. (Sometimes)

I’ve done some research about what training I should do and important information in general, to which I’ve only come up with all kinds of sources telling me different things. I’ve been training Daisy with a lot of positive reinforcement, which has been working great for some things, but he still barks his head off when my brother comes out of his room, and whenever a person comes into the house. I try to redirect him to focus on me, to do a command, but he’s always too stressed to listen.

I’m not sure what to do right now. I want to be able to train Daisy to stop barking at my brother (at the very least), and I don’t really want to do the whole Alpha training, but I can’t keep letting Daisy bark at my brother. I’m willing to accept that I need to change, and that there is some merit in being a “pack leader, but I just really need some advice.

TDLR: Half of my family want to train my territorial dog through Pack leader training, and I’m apprehensive about it

(I would add a better picture but I don’t want anyone from my family finding this post)