The path of "leashed" resistance
- Thread starter Lunatic59
- Start date
Calliesmom
Moderator
Cran and Jocu both had puppy harnesses and we've had no trouble with leash walking....
they can also walk with leash on the collar but they initially learned with the harness.
and don't worry about spending money on something that will soon be outgrown.
pick a closet and put all the puppy stuff in there so in another couple years when the next puppy comes home, you already have everything
PS don't tell Jocu that all his stuff is/was all hand-me-downs
they can also walk with leash on the collar but they initially learned with the harness.
and don't worry about spending money on something that will soon be outgrown.
pick a closet and put all the puppy stuff in there so in another couple years when the next puppy comes home, you already have everything
PS don't tell Jocu that all his stuff is/was all hand-me-downs
Calliesmom
Moderator
get an adjustable step-in harness.
clipping above the back is so much better than trying to buckle under the belly and catching all the belly fur......................
clipping above the back is so much better than trying to buckle under the belly and catching all the belly fur......................
Calliesmom
Moderator
Haha as Calliesmom says you can keep a harness for the next oneI think my harness was $15-20AU and she fitted it from 5 months or so and it has adjusted out as she grew. Hmm now I have that spare puppy sized one...better not go there yet!
just put it somewhere that you can find it in a year or three.
I did not centralize where I put everything so while I knew that I had- puppy collar, puppy harness, puppy carrier, puppy-sized chews, etc- I could not immediately find everything when little puppy Jocu came home
Calliesmom
Moderator
Caro
Moderator
How old is he and how long has it been going on for? I'm wondering if he's hit a fear phase - it is amazing what strange things they suddenly develop a fear of.
This isn't something I would recommend in ordinary circumstances, but if he is that fearful of the leash then I would turn the leash into a toy. Although probably best use a leash that isn't a good one, I've actually made tug rope leashes to use for this purpose. Put the leash on him, pretend it's a snake, get him to chase it, tug it, play with it. Just let him see the leash is not to be feared.
A harness may be the way to go to get him to walk now. You'll still need to work on the lead aversion though because you'll want to be able to use it without the harness at times.
This isn't something I would recommend in ordinary circumstances, but if he is that fearful of the leash then I would turn the leash into a toy. Although probably best use a leash that isn't a good one, I've actually made tug rope leashes to use for this purpose. Put the leash on him, pretend it's a snake, get him to chase it, tug it, play with it. Just let him see the leash is not to be feared.
A harness may be the way to go to get him to walk now. You'll still need to work on the lead aversion though because you'll want to be able to use it without the harness at times.
Justicemom
Forums Celebrity
If it were my dog, I would snap the leash on his collar, drop the leash and wait and I mean wait until he moved and then praise and treat. Might be just a foot but really he can't stand there forever eventually he has to move. 
Sit down ,get comfy and wait. Let it be a boat anchor, let him stand there and figure it out. It will likely take a long time the first time, but the second movement will come faster and the third faster yet.
I have very vivid memories of waiting for Diva and Ember to make a move during training. I waited for 45 mins with Ember waiting while training her to retrieve and 40 minutes with Diva while training her to lay on a mat with a clicker(stood there frozen in time until she finally looked at the mat instead of the ceiling, it took about 15 mins to move the first foot and 1 min to move the second, and 30 seconds to move to the mat and the behavior was almost learned in 5 reps after that.). Both learned that freezing and not trying gets you nothing. Do something anything gets you praise and treats.
I really don't play those games of trying different collars or harnesses when the real problem is the dog does know how to offer behaviors or try different behavior to figure out the problem. He needs to learn how to learn. Nothing is bad is going to happen if you just let him stand there and next time he has an issue he will less likely to be afraid to try a behavior. JMHO
Sit down ,get comfy and wait. Let it be a boat anchor, let him stand there and figure it out. It will likely take a long time the first time, but the second movement will come faster and the third faster yet. I have very vivid memories of waiting for Diva and Ember to make a move during training. I waited for 45 mins with Ember waiting while training her to retrieve and 40 minutes with Diva while training her to lay on a mat with a clicker(stood there frozen in time until she finally looked at the mat instead of the ceiling, it took about 15 mins to move the first foot and 1 min to move the second, and 30 seconds to move to the mat and the behavior was almost learned in 5 reps after that.). Both learned that freezing and not trying gets you nothing. Do something anything gets you praise and treats.
I really don't play those games of trying different collars or harnesses when the real problem is the dog does know how to offer behaviors or try different behavior to figure out the problem. He needs to learn how to learn. Nothing is bad is going to happen if you just let him stand there and next time he has an issue he will less likely to be afraid to try a behavior. JMHO