Leash Training

[anna_66]

Well yesterday for the first time we tried to put Bon on a leash. Needless to say he *HATED* it! I had a treat and he walked a little then just sat there like a bump on a log and wouldn't budge.
We tried it again today and the same thing. Then if you even tried to tug a little he would flip, flop and roll and then try to eat the leash. I just used a slip leash we got from the vet. I left it on him for a little while and he didn't care, just don't try to pull on it at all!

So, now what I want from you all are some pointers! I can't get out with him and have to lug a 40lb dog home:eek:

[lizbud]

Anna,

How old is Bon?

[sammy101]

Leash training...hmmm.well all he dogs that i got i never leash trained,and Kodie was already leash trained.have you tried a training collar??that might help a little bit??
I dont know any pointers,other than Keep workng with him! he has to learn sometime:)
sorry if that didnt help very much


EDIT: There are some puppies around the same age as Bon in my obediance class,so may i recommend Obediance class or Puppy class?? Like they have at Petsmart:)

[Logan]

I'm not Anna, but I think she said he is 13 weeks, Liz, in her original post.

Good luck, Anna! Some puppy kindergarten might be in order, right away! :)

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Tango was the same way when we got her, I wouldn't reccomend a choke chain for a pup though. What I did with Tango was get really excited and then get a toy that she REALLY loved and kept the leash nice and loose, I also first started leash training her in the back yard. Is there anything that Bon is really interested in? I hope I helped a little, sometimes I can't type out exactly what I'm trying to say:D
I think you said he was only 13 weeks so maybe he just needs a bit more time to get used to things.

[puppyluvs]

One thing I did with Harley & the crew and this might not help but it will get him used to the leash anyway is to keep it lying beside his feeding dish when not in use and this is suppose to get them used to it and not be afraid of it, It worked for my crew :) Good Luck !

[DogLover9501]

Anna,

All of my pups were like that when we first got them!

Jasper was really hard to teach how to walk on a leash, the only good part is he still doesn't pull--but he does walk ;)

Im not sure exactly what you should do, maybe go outside with it on him and throw toys or anything at all and everytime he walks with the leash on(and you holding it), give him praise/treats?

Ours just learned on their own as they got a bit older :)

Good luck!!! :D

[dukedogsmom]

I think Duke was already trained when I got him but I honestly can't remember :) I don't like choke collars. I am so found of harnesses. I'm wondering if he would work better with one? It also helps when they pull a lot. They don't get choked and they're easier to control. I really have no idea what to tell you.

[lizbud]

Originally posted by Logan
I'm not Anna, but I think she said he is 13 weeks, Liz, in her original post.

Good luck, Anna! Some puppy kindergarten might be in order, right away! :)

Thanks Logan.:o I'm not the greatest on leash training.
Smokey still walks in a zig-zag pattern.:D Maggie was already
leash trained when I got her. (Didn't know it at the time).

Buddy walked great on a leash at 14-16 weeks. Not much effort
on my part in training.

[molucass]

What I did when I was leash training Felony, was I would get a retractable leash and pull it out a ways, and let him drag it around the house with him.. I'd also use just a regular leash sometimes...
That way he got used to having a collar and a leash on, and having something tugging on it behind him.

Also, a while back when I was reading up on mastiffs, I remember reading that they shouldn't be walked on just a collar for some reason.. and that you should use a harness instead.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by anna_66

... I can't get out with him and
have to lug a 40lb dog home :eek:

40# THIS week...
50# NEXT week...
:p

Suggestions:

Dump the "slip leash / collar" and get him a regular, leather,
adjustable but "fixed length" collar -
one that WON'T tighten up if pulled on.

After he'll walk with just the collar on...
ADD a short leash (or even a short piece of Rope).

RESIST the temptation of trying to "lead" or pull on it -
just let HIM drag it around for a few days.
He MAY not want to walk with the leash/rope attached - if
that happens - just tell him to "Have a nice day" and walk away or
leave him alone in the back yard.
Keep an *eye* on him to be sure he doesn't start "removing the leash"
with his TEETH - but otherwise just *ignore* him...

Sooner or later he'll figure out he CAN *move* with the
leash / rope attached - THEN you can start "guiding" him with
the :eek: leash / rope.

Seem to remember First Shepherd Casey thought the leash was attached
to a 100# anchor at first. :rolleyes:
Fun while it lasted - we could "tie her up" by just clipping
the leash onto her collar! I think she held out for several days -
till she got left a few times and figured out
she could "move" with it on.

/s/ Phred
.

[micki76]

Good advice from Phred! :)

I too, recommend a good sturdy collar. One with a buckle, don't rely on a clip collar for this big fella! I don't recommend a harness for training, it usually only teaches them to pull. (think about what dogs in pulling competitions wear-harnesses!) Once he can walk on a leash properly, you can try the harness and see how he reacts to it. You can even have him wear one in the mean time so that he will be used to the feel of it when you're ready to try it, if you want to go that route.

You may even want to get a lightweight chain leash (no chance of chewing through that!) and just leave it on him when you can supervise him. It takes a while, but they do get used to it. Once he gets used to it hold it loosely and tempt him to walk with treats, but only treat him when he actually walks. :)

Hope that helps!

*cough*morepicsplease*cough* :D

[Miss Meow]

Does he like food? I know, silly question :eek:

We taught the sausage twins by rewarding them with food when they stopping pulling backwards, eating the leash, rolling over etc ;). They eventually got the hint that a loose leash equals food treats. Then we started taking a few steps and rewarding when they walked next to us. If they stopped in their tracks, we would stop until they started walking again - that can be embarrassing, particularly if you have a long stand-off in a public street, but it works! Same if they pulled ahead, we'd stop until they settled and started walking again.

Buffy is a great walker and Schnaggles can pull sometimes, but at 20 pounds, it's not like he's tearing arms out of sockets ;). However ... with Big Bon I highly recommend classes or something so he gets the walking thing right.

HTH :) Give him a big scritchy for me!

[captain]

One word - CHEESE!!!!

We were lucky Anna, when we got Captain and Ruby they were already leash trained.
I asked the breeder how he did it, because at about 6 months Captain decided he was going to "SIT and not move" when I put the leash one him.
The Breeder said - CHEESE!
And it worked :D

Seriously tho, Phred's idea works well, and we did that with my Pitty years ago.

Just another note - Captain LOVES his choke chain, and looks at me like I am possessed when I try and walk him with any other collar or harness
Ruby however, is a harness girl ................. :D

Love always
Michelle

P.S. Imagine how big and strong you will become by lugging Bon around ............:p

[Pam]

Originally posted by Cinder & Smoke
40# THIS week...
50# NEXT week...
:p

/s/ Phred
.

I don't really have any suggestions but just had to :) at this comment by Phred.

Also MissMeow I love the term "sausage twins." :)

Anna I can say if he starts to tug the Halti worked VERY well for Bella.

[Christiansmommy]

Dale refused to walk on a leash when we first got him. He would just sit there, and we would drag him, lol :) Eventually, he got the hang of it. We just took him out a lot to get him used to it. Dale grew about 4 lbs a week, and Bon will probably grow more than that...so we didnt take him for LONG walks, b/c we figured his joints got sore quicker, b/c he was growing so rapidly...our breeder agreed with that. Also, after long walks, we noticed that he wouldnt want to sit right away, from sore joints...if i was growing 4 lbs a week, i think i would feel growing pains too :)

We did take him to puppy kindergarten and he was the most gentle dog there, the largest, and the most quiet. They only let him play with the toy poodle, all the others were too jumpy for the poodle :) Anyway, i would surely recommend puppy kindergarten, especailly for a pup of his size...he needs to know who is boss from the get go :)

~Robyn

[anna_66]

He definately is going to be going to obedience training, that's a given!
I will definately be trying the cheese and any other good stuff that will help us along:)

The only problem I have with a buckle collar is will he slip out of it?

Yes, Mark was reading up on them last night and it says no long periods of play, no long walks and no jumping. It could really damage their fragile bones and joints.


Thanks everyone for the good advice.

And here's a cute picture of him for you Micki!!!

[EssTer]

I feel really stupid because I havent been here for a while and I think I have missed something - Anna - you got new dog? That´s really awesome and I´m really happy :) Thought I cant help you with that leash problem...

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by anna_66

The only problem I have with a buckle collar is
will he slip out of it?


Isn't his Head at least a lil bit Larger than his Neck?

You need to adjust the collar so that he can't pull it off by
"backing up" or "pawing" it off over his head...
but you should be able to find a happy medium that isn't too harsh
on his neck, yet won't come off over his head/ears too easily.

Cinder & Smokey both wear their leather collars *just* tight enough
that it's a real struggle to ease them off over their ears;
but they can't really manage to "slip" them off -
it takes two hands to evenly pull them off.

As long as the collar is "tight enough" that BON can't take it
off by himself; it will be plenty tight enough
to get him used to dragging his LEASH around.

You want to avoid letting him discover that IF he
"back up" or "pulls back" quickly - the collar will slip off!!
When he does start to walk again WITH the collar/leash on -
always try to carry a lil bit of "extra" leash in your hand -
so that IF he pulls back suddenly - you can drop the "extra" length
of leash and and move yourself towards him - this prevents him
from being able to put any strain on the collar.
HE can't "pop the collar off" IF you don't let him put any pressure
on the leash that works towards pulling the collar off.

Remember your *goal* right NOW is to get him to just *move* with
the leash on - don't be to *phussie* about WHERE he moves to! :p

"Directional Control" can come later!

[sammy101]

it should fit nice and snug,so it cant pull over his head when he pulls on it backwards.But not too tight;) Mabye try a no-slip collar??

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I too recommend a halti. I don't have a large dog, so I've never used one, but I know people who have used them and have had great success with them.

As far as the little slip collar from the vet goes, it's too thin. It would work fine for a 10 lb. dog but probably not too well for a 40 lb. and growing dog. He needs something thicker that he can feel and respond to. I don't see the problem with choke chains for training as long as you use them properly.

Be careful getting him a regular collar, get him one with room to expand as he grows. He shouldn't be able to pull out of it if it is tight enough. Defiantly get one with a buckle, not a plastic snap.

I'm not a fan of harnesses at all, they are too easy to pull out of even if they are tight. I do use one on Nacey because she's a pug and she really shouldn't have anything around her neck, but I hate the thing.

[Tonya]

Everyone gave great advice. Both Sarah and Dusty originally hated their leashes. What I did is attach the leash to them, and I just let them run around the house dragging the leash. Once they got used to it being attached to them, I gradually started leading them.

[RobiLee]

Hey Anna,

Just checking in to see if you and Bon got to do any training with the leash today. Hang in there and be patient. He will catch on soon.

Give the kids a hug from me.......Robin :)

[anna_66]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I didn't get a chance yesterday since it was rainy and yucky but it looks like today is going to be a great day. I have left the leash on him and he doesn't mind that at all, in fact he never did.
I called this morning and obedience school just happens to start next Tuesday! I hope he doesn't embarress me too much:o
So we will try some today and see how it goes!

[Albea]

Anna, have you ever seen "The Dog Whisperer"? It's on The National Geographic Channel every day at 6:30 PM, Eastern Time. It's a great program because it trains people on how to handle their dogs with consistent , gentle discipline. One of the things he insist on is that the collar should be placed right behind the ears, like in dog shows, not in the middle of the neck. This will keep the head up and stop the dog from doing goofy things like trying to get at the leash. Also, he'll tell you to make very sure you establish your "Alfa" position as soon as possible. His mantra is "discipline first."
This man has a dog psychology clinic in CA with a pack of 30 dogs he has adopted and rehabilitated from all kinds of problems.
Watch it if you can and good luck with baby Bon. :)