Hello everyone,
Myrsky developed to a really nice dog (until now), he is now 5 month and 1 week old.I don't know exactly but he must be around 20 kilos now.Ive got one "little problem" with him, maybe you have the solution.
When we go to the dog Park (every day), the time we want to leave he doesn't move. He wants to stay. I call him, when he comes he gets a treat.After the treat he will stop again.Every 5-10 m. Actually sometimes he won't even come for a treat.A friend said (our dogs are friends) that he is playing with me, because he knows, that I want him to move and in my direction ! If I change a bit the direction, he comes easier.
Sometimes when Im really frustrated I start to drag him (with the Harness it doesn't harm him) but this isn't the solution, isn't it!?!? He is strong already, what if he continues....

http://s6.postimg.org/4u4tl9kw1/DSCN3212.jpg

Thats how he looks now,..changed a lot.

He is absolutely magnificent! I think he is going through his teenage years, through puberty! He doesn't want to leave the park, he wants to stay. Malamutes are known for their stubborness ... rather than pull him, with a Malamute you are always going to end up on the losing side as they are of course brilliant pullers ... try to encourage him to come with your voice and body language. Jump up and down clapping your hands and call out "Come Myrsky, come boy, come" in a very excited and high-pitched voice, maybe turning your back on him and running away. I can whistle through my front teeth very piercingly and this virtually always succeeds in getting Ben to come upstairs to bed after we have gone up, for instance. With dogs like Malamutes, they don't appreciate being pulled ... or indeed held back on a tight rein; always try to have the lead slack, controlling them with your voice rather than sheer brute force. It is a question of making him WANT to follow you, to come with you rather than stay in the park. Just as with horses, if you turn your back they will often respond out of curiosity and follow. It is all about rolling with the punches with Malamutes ... they are supremely intelligent but stubborn!

You're quite right-- dragging isn't the solution, and this is a trial you will always lose when Myrsky eventually outweighs you and is three times stronger than you are! I suspect your friend is right: he is playing with you, pushing his and your limits. I agree with Gnasher-- you have it in your power to make going home a very good and rewarding game, so be playful about it-- but within limits. You are still the boss here.

Laszlo always wanted a certain game on going home (which he Did Not Like, not because it meant leaving the park, but because it meant walking along the pavement, which terrified him)-- I would have to chase him over the bridge to the path that went up the gardens. But this was a ceremonial game. He would always slow down for me so that I could catch him. It's not a game I taught him: he made it up. Could Myrsky be inviting you into ceremonies like Laszlo's? Dogs find behavioural rituals important, just as humans do. Try taking it quietly a few times and see what happens.

Taji is a very different beast. He doesn't care for ceremony, and he does care very much for a game of crazy chase when it is really time to come in, right now. He will respond to being gently herded inside, and he will respond, when it's necessary, to being told in no uncertain terms to get in the house immediately. What he will never, ever respond to is being grabbed or shoved. We do keep in reserve a favourite treat-- a carrot, which he is offered in return for coming in, and which he has come to associate with all comings of in, so that, for example, he will demand one if I have just nipped out to the shop and come back, even if he has not come with me (I do not take Taji to the shop: I would have to leave him outside, and dogs get nicked around here, and he's an Akita, and someone could take him for fighting, and I will not risk it). It's a balance: if a particularly amazing treat can be expected but ONLY when everyone is home, there's an incentive. And Myrsky will learn the word. We have to call them Long Orange Veggie Tables if we don't want anyone to know what we're talking about. It's fine if the treats are small-- just so long as they are particularly wonderful and only offered when you're all at home.

Thank you for your reply
Thats a good advice Gnasher to Whistle (I bought a little one as a keyring) because when I encourage him with my voice moving forward, he is just looking like "I know what you want but.. I don't care"
And Strangechilde, I will also think about a good ritual thing. We try already a different way back home from the Park to make it more interesting. Its only the first 200 meters, then he will accept,otherwise he is walking quiet nicely with us.
This is really a situation where I feel his stubborness

Hello again from Finland
Myrsky is now 7 month old, didn't raise his leg yet.
But I can feel he is in his teenager years, he has one issue with leash biting (only with my boyfriend, still) Sometimes he does with me too now.
My Partner bought a chain to attache to the lead.It worked (although I don't think its a good solution)
I don't know why, but myrsky starts to jump at my boyfriend when he can't take the leash and takes instead his jacket and yesterday even his arm and also hurt him a bit.We try to make him sit and say "leave it". This doesn't work.He pulls on the leash, shakes it, growls...
We don't know how to correct it, we say "no" before he takes the leash, and sometimes he does (we reward).
Its really annoying, people look at us and may think we don't train our dog. But this is an issue for soo long. Every day, my partner walks him once. (me twice) We practice a lot but we don't know what his intention is,.. we thought he wants to play, but Im afraid its not only playing, could it be kind of a frustration?! What can we do?? We really try to stay calm and firm...sometimes we just ignore this behaviour, but this isn't fun

Can you take a tuggy toy with you that he can hold on to while you walk. Better than the lead or your clothes. Also if he is still stopping and not wanting to come it could be that he has had too much exercise and his joints hurt. Try the tuggy toy and that may work. Sometimes dogs do the behaviour because they know they will get a treat. So maybe no more treats unless you ask him to do something. That way he gets a treat for when you say do something not the other way round. Hope that makes sense.

Great post Brenda! That's just what I would have recommended, too.

If you have used clicker or marker-word training, you can also click/mark the moment he let's go of the lead, even if it's only to grab at a tug-toy or take a treat.

Another idea is to use two leads; one longer one, and one shorter 'quick grab' one that is just a handle, very short. Leave this short one hanging off the harness or collar. When Myrsky grabs at the long lead, drop it instantly and instead, grab the short one. No tug-game 'reward' because you drop the lead he has hold of! If you're using a harness and it has a back-ring to connect the lead to, he'll find it hard to grab the short grab-lead, too. If he does, again, drop it and pick up the other lead.

Finally, make the lead taste horrible! My go-to anti-chew spray is Gannick's Bitter Apple, which you can buy online. You'll need to spritz the lead lightly just before you put it on Myrsky - one or two sprays is enough, be careful not to spray onto Myrsky or anything he IS allowed to chew! Repeat each time you go out, so the taste is always fresh.

If you do this, AND take something he is allowed to tug/chew on as well, he will soon stop choosing the yucky-tasting lead!

It's very easy to forget that at 7months, he is still a puppy, and will act like one for a while yet! Don't feel too despondent, think how far you have come with him, since he first arrived. He IS learning, and you have done a great job with him so far - it's just that the job is only half-done!

Hope that helps! I have a 11-week old 'teeth-monster' of my own, now - a Tibetan Terrier, named Bonnie, cute as a button but with a mouth full of needles, LOL! I am at the stage you were when you first began this thread - hands full of nip-scars, clothes all pulled and torn, and my husband gets the worst of it when he comes in from works! I know this stage will pass but it's good to hear from someone who so recently 'survived' it

The clue is definitely in your words "only with your boyfriend". I suspect that just ike with some horses, Myrsky has sex preference ... this is common in wolves, frequently with captive wolves they have a very definite preference for exclusively male, or exclusively female humans. An alternative explanation would be that he is going through his teenage "Kevin" years ("Kevin" being a character in a comedy programme a few years back in the UK who was a boy going through male puberty with the subsequent hormonal behaviours!). And thirdly, bearing in mind his breed type, he just simply respects you more than your BF - you are presenting to him as a leader, an alpha female if you like. As a mere male, your BF - if he is not presenting to Myrsky as an alpha male, and I suspect from what you say that he is not - does not rate in Myrsky's eyes as a suitable human for him to respect, and so effectively he is bullying him, as he would one of his own siblings who was of a lower rank to him in the pecking order of the litter.

It is as you say unacceptable and embarrassing behaviour, but the "fault" lies with your BF, not Myrsky. Somehow, if my supposition is correct, your BF has to try and be more assertive - not aggressive, being a good pack leader has nothing to do with aggression - to ignore this unwanted behaviour is an option, but personally if I was your BF I would confront Myrsky in a firm but non-aggressive way. If he is jumping up and biting at your BF's arm let's say, then your BF must stand tall adopting a dominant stance with his hands on his hips and every time Myrsky jumps up, claim the space by nudging Myrsky with his body, especially his knee, gently but firmly pushing him away and blocking him. This has nothing to do with kicking or aggression, this is all about using the erectly held body as a block, coupled with using the knee as a device to claim personal body space and also to use as a lever to push him away. Myrsky will soon get the message.

Basically, he is what we would call in the UK "being a git!!"

Thank you all Guys !!
That helps a lot, really good idea with a second lead PONlady we do have a harness with a backring. And also thought about a "badtaste" spray.
or brenda1 too with a toy (we tried with a ball, it worked until he wants to start chewing/destroying it) And we also figured out, that he is smart enough to take the lead just to get a treat we let him give paw or sth. like that.
Oh Gnasher, that could be an explanation,all of it is possible. I was wondering the same, that he only accepts one leader, and of course I spend much more time with him, than my BF.
I will let you know, how it works.
And PONlady, I wish you a patient time, with 4 and half month Myrsky got really better ...