My Dog Hates His Leash

[lisahumphreys882]

My Dog really hates his leash/muzzle thing. When I try to put it on him to go for a walk he runs away. There's some pictures of his leash thing at the bottom. He can open his mouth to pant and such and he can bark with it on. I was just wondering if anybody knows how to make him like his leash or not be afraid of it. And also when I put it on him he won't even eat his treats or respond to his name or anything. He's a totally different dog with it on. So if anybody knows how to solve this that would be great. And the reason I have this muzzle thing on him is because he chases cars.

[carrie]

Hello there,
I would start with losing the head collar.
Get a large link check collar to give you some control when you need it, large links so as not to interfere with that beautiful coat. Get out in the garden or stay in the house and concentrate on making putting the lead on fun. Loads of easy training excersises that the dog knows well like sit, down etc and praise like mad. Make these excersises short to begin with, one sit, mad praising, take the lead off. Do it again half an hour later.
I suggest you work up slowly so you are concentrating on walking with a loose leash and the sit command before you even go out on the street if possible. Work in a long "ssssss" at the begining of some of the sit commands and when the dog is listening to that and slows down when it hears the "sssss" change it to a "ssssssteady" in a low, calm voice and slow your pace at the same time.
When you are rock solid on this and the dog is looking forward to having the lead on, go to the front of your house/apartment and get the dog to sit on the pavement for 5 seconds, go straight back to the area you have been training in and reward. Next time stay in the training area, next time go out front and get the dog to sit for 7 seconds, next two times stay in the training area. Next time go out front and get the dog to stay for 9 seconds. Next three times in the training area having fun....you get the idea.
Two things are vital to this working...don't rush it. The dog does not need as much physical excersise as you think as long as it's head is working. If the dog does not get the usual walk for a month, it is worth it.
Second is the reward you are using. If the dog refuses food when it has it's halter on then the food is not the ultimate reward for the dog. If the dog has a favourite toy (ball, rope, frisbee) that it likes to chase, make this the reward the dog only gets when it behaves well on the lead, i.e. if you don't chase cars, you get to chase this and get my attention at the same time. Your dog needs time to learn this so deny access to this toy at all other times.
Give it a try, stay as calm as you can, and take everything very slowly....as soon as we anticipate a problem situation we tend to try and rush the dog through it to get it over with. Getting the dog's attention onto you and slowing everything down with sits and steadys should help a lot.

[VTJess03]

We also tried the head collar (Halti brand), and it took a really long time for the dogs to get used to it; well, really they never got totally used to it. They would be so distracted by the feel of it that they would also ignore everything else in order to paw at it and try to get it off. It worked wonderfully to get their attention away from cars, but didn't put the attention on us, and so we just gave up on the Halti. I have been working with a trainer on obedience, etc. for Belle and we've just been using her normal leather collar and treats, etc. She responds well to that; it was more a matter of me learning how to properly communicate with her and telling her exactly what I expected from her in a way she could understand and was consistent every time. If you have time/money for it, I would definitely recommend working with someone that can help you train, since a lot of the time, it's hard to see our own mistakes and we confuse our dogs way too easily.

Good luck with that beautiful pooch!

[lisahumphreys882]

Thanks for the excellent suggestions I will be sure to try them out It does work to get his attention off the cars...he still chases them a bit but has improved greatly. And he paws at his leash too like every minute. I will try rewarding him with a toy maybe he'll respond to that, I doubt it but it's worth a try. I have a toy in mind (his frisbee) but I don't think he'd like it if he could only use it then...but then again if I practise often enough he'll get to play with it a lot. Another thing is if I was to change the lead he'd chase the cars more again because I've tried a halter and just a regular leash and he chases them and jumps at them more than he does with the new lead. Oh well I'll just have to try my best.

[Love That Collie]

Hi Lisa;
I too have a Collie.....soon to add another Collie when she is
ready to go, she is only 4 weeks old tomorrow.

Bailey is my current Collie, (I've had 4) and Bailey was a leash puller and
a jumper and still is a jumper sometimes when he gets excited. He is only
15 months old at this time. I don't like the head collars for Collie's,
especially the "Halti", I used the "Gentle Leader" by Premier but the head
collars just don't seem to adjust in just the right way for that long Collie
muzzle enough to have them on the dog for much time at all.

Bailey didn't like the head collar either but he was such a leash puller that
for a small amount of time I made him wear it and he did adjust, but hated
the thing all the same and so did I to tell you the truth. What DID work, like
a dream was also by the Premier Co. and it's called the "Easy Walk" harness
and it does fit correctly and worked like a CHARM for the leash pulling and only after a couple of weeks using that harness he no longer pulls the leash.
Instead of the ring where you attach the leash to the harness being on his
back it is on his chest and when he pulled it tightens just with enough pressure that he stopped pulling and there is so much control I could hardly
believe it. Really, I don't recommend any type of choke chain or prong collar
whatsoever, they can be dangerous to the dog. The harness goes around
their body and not the neck it really was a dream to walk with him after we
purchased this harness I was so amazed. We no longer have to use it now.

Bailey has a pretty high herding instinct but doesn't attempt to chase cars
when they go by but when there is a car coming down our street when we
are on walks I make him stop at the same time I say, "Car......wait" and when
the car passes I say OK and then we continue on our walks. Google "Easy Walk"+Premier and take a look at the product information. My next door
neighbor used it on her Lab and it also worked like a dream on him too and he
is a very very hyper dog. Good Luck

[Love That Collie]

Oops sorry Lisa, I see your dog is a Sheltie, I only glanced at the photo's
sorry about that but Sheltie's are also herding dogs...LOL......

[lisahumphreys882]

Oops sorry Lisa, I see your dog is a Sheltie, I only glanced at the photo's
sorry about that but Sheltie's are also herding dogs...LOL......

LoL...That's alright I was going to tell you that. I have tried a halter but he still chases cars when he has it on...and, actually, I think that's when he started being afraid of his lead (I figured out after a couple days, though, that he had scars where the halti goes under his front legs on his chest so we think that might have been why he was afraid) but I think it developed more with the new one. The halti did, however, help incredibly compared to just a regular leash. We tried a choke chain...but only for a little while because it didn't help much, he just pulled and pulled until he was panting like mad. That must be exciting to be getting a puppy. I've only seen a full grown collie once, well actually I see another one, a smooth one, that lives near me sometimes but that's about it. It was neat when I saw the other one, the rough coated one, because I had my dog, Benji, with me so he was like a miniature version of the collie.

[Love That Collie]

Well, I'm sorry that the halter didn't work for Benji.
Hmmm, lets see....have you tried (to prevent him from pulling), when
you 2 are walking, if he begins to pull on the leash, turning and doing
an about face and walking the other way each and every time he pulls the
leash? This exercise will take a while to work usually but try to keep his
attention on you instead of his surroundings. Take treats, his favorite
anything he likes a LOT or each time he pulls on the leash just stand still
until there is slack then proceed and do this each time he pulls.

I don't like th HALTI the one that Premier makes is better and I know what
you mean about the harness rubbing under the front legs which is the reason
I don't tighten it as tight as they say to. Every now and then I use the
halter on Bailey just to keep him humble......LOLOLOL...and to let him know
it's still in my bag of "tricks"....LOL. Bailey, as a small pup was on the
alpha side and Collies CAN have a small but mild streak of stubborness at time
so as with any dog let them know who is their pack leader! You! I had to train
Bailey NOT to go out of the door ahead of me and he had and has to work
for his treats like sit; down; shake etc....Now he doesn't even go out of the
doors on the inside of the house before I do, like bedroom doors and going
down the hallway, he always waits till I go first....LOL....is Benji stubborn or
alpha type?
Jana

[MajesticCollies]

Yup Jana pretty much said it. Just a few things to add. Get rid of that muzzle leash for starters. When you walk with your sheltie have that treat in your hands and keep it by your leg. Your sheltie is going to want to stay by you this way in order to recieve the treat. Make him learn the word heel. If you must use small corrections with the slip collar do so. Another thing to try is the watch me command where he must be close to look at you in your eyes as he walks. The treat in your hand for the watch me as you walk is an added bonus. Start retraining in walking areas where there are less distractions like a park or large parking lots that the store is closed for the night. Ball fields that aren't being used are excellent training areas.