Deathy Afraid of leashes and water- why?

**MiMi_Kat** · 06-19-2003, 10:06 AM

I have 5 dogs. One of them is a black and white Australian border collie and the rest are mutts pretty much, they look like a mix between rottwieler and golden retriver..something like that. All the dogs are scared of water, I guess thats somewhat normal..when we turn on the water they run and hide in the garage. Does anyone elses dogs do that?

But this one dog Rosie, shes about 150 lbs. shes black with brown around her eyes, and whenever we put a leash on her, she drops down on all fours and WILL NOT!! get up and walk. Weve had her a little over a year, we found her as a stray when she was a puppy, shes so afraid of leashes, when she sees them she wont even come near us. The other dogs love going for walks..
I wanna take rosie for a walk. anyone know how to get her to like the leash or what could be wrong?

**Uabassoon** · 06-19-2003, 10:08 AM

Have you tried clipping the leash to her collar and just leaving it on her for a short time. Don't hold on to the leash, just let her walk around and drag it to let her get used to the idea of having it.

**MiMi_Kat** · 06-19-2003, 10:11 AM

we've done that before, we've left her on the leash outside and went back inside, she'll just sit in the same exact spot for however long, until we take the leash off. so we never put a leash on her, we try taking her out for walks, we have to put her in the wagon and drive her around.

**Uabassoon** · 06-19-2003, 10:16 AM

we have to put her in the wagon and drive her around.

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. However that does sound really cute

**MiMi_Kat** · 06-19-2003, 10:17 AM

lol
its pretty cute to see a big old girl like her riding around in luxury.

**Uabassoon** · 06-19-2003, 10:22 AM

Do you have any pictures of her in her wagon?

**MiMi_Kat** · 06-19-2003, 10:23 AM

nope I sure dont..but now I want some. hah

if I get any Ill post em up.

**Cinder & Smoke** · 06-19-2003, 10:38 AM

Originally posted by MiMi_Kat
... we've left her on the leash outside and went back inside,
she'll just sit in the same exact spot for however long,
until we take the leash off...

Hee-Hee ~
The lil Red Waggin does sound cute - but that's not much exercise!

Try a take-off on the Leash on the Collar - maybe she won't see this as a 100 pound anchor...

Get a regular snap-clip - but tie a SHORT piece of STRING onto it, then snap on her collar. Maybe only 4-5 inches to start - short enough that she does NOT object to it. Let her wear it constantly - but resist the temptation to pull on it!

Do nothing differently -
other than * g r a d u a l l y * increasing the length of the string.
When she accepts (or at least Moves Around with a couple of feet of string dangling); then gently start playing with her AND the string.

A very slow introduction may slip by her - un-noticed...

**wolfsoul** · 06-19-2003, 11:31 AM

Welcome to pet talk

It's possible someone could have beaten her with a leash before you got her

She obviously doesn't associate it with good things.

I agree with just leaving it on her. If she sits in the same spot, just leave it, she can't stay in the same spot for days. We did this with one of my dogs, she wore the leash all day and we took it off at night time.

PS What do you mean by an australian border collie?

There is no such breed, do you mean australian shepherd?

**MiMi_Kat** · 06-19-2003, 11:45 AM

We live in a rough neighberhood..animals probably arent top priority to everyone around here so its possible she could of been beaten before we got her, but she was very young still.

we were told when Pappy was young he was an Australian Border Collie, but I see they were wrong, boy do I look STUPID. anyways he's definently a border collie with the black and white markings. Two faced colors. and that tail. the way he runs.

About Rosie..those are some really great ideas, thanks. and yeah..she does get exercise running around all the time, but it would be nice to take her for an actual walk at a park and not have to pull her around, shes a heavy dog.

thank you guys.

**binka_nugget** · 06-21-2003, 03:52 PM

We'd love to see pics of your beautiful BC.

Kai is somewhat scared of water now. I'm pretty sure I know why though. Before, I could turn on the hose and he'd be fine. But then, I started hosing him down because it got extremely hot here and now that the temp has cooled off..I only water the grass...whenever I even reach for the darn thing, he runs away.

**Gabrielle** · 06-29-2003, 09:48 AM

hey my name is gabby, and what I think is that the dog had some bad times with a leash are maybe she knows she is going for a walk but dont want to. I think that you can put her on a leash and then give her a treat. and make her get use to being on a leash, good luck.

**Tonya** · 06-29-2003, 11:08 AM

Teddy was real bad on a leash too. He's just a 3 lb pomeranian. When I'd put a leash on him, he'd flop around like a fish out of water. I was so afraid he was going to hang himself and/or die of fear that I didn't leash him for a few months. Just recently, I did what everyone is suggesting. I put a leash on him and just let it hang. I stayed near by so he didn't panick to much. He flopped around hysterically for about 1 minute. Then he stood still for probably an hour. By the end of the day, he was running all over the house dragging the leash. I had him leash trained within two days.

Your dog probably was beaten by a leash.