He's driving me nuts!

[primabella]

Mickey's collar broke the other day so my mom bought him a new one. Well, today my sister said she was going to take him for a walk because it was so nice outside. When he hears the word "walk" he knows where he's going and starts to whine and cry because he can't wait to get out. Now my sister is upstairs getting ready (changed and whatever) and I'm downstairs trying to adjust his new collar. I'm already stressed as it is with my studying and my father always reminding me to study so here I am trying to work with an impatient dog who won't sit still and am already going crazy. Each time I would try to put the collar around his neck, he would jerk his head around so I ended up pulling on his fur or getting it caught in the buckle. Then he would run away and go and hide behind my sister. He was afraid of me. Then he wouldn't let me near him and I started to yell at him, telling him to "Come here!" and he would keep running away or whine. I tried speaking in a calm voice but he kept running to the door or going behind my sister. I got so fed up I just through the collar across the room and went back to study. Since he's so afraid of me now... He got me so angry! Sorry I just had to vent! Hopefully I'll get over it soon...

[Aspen and Misty]

O man I miss I having a bad lil puppy

Mickey, I think we need to have a lil talk. You should be good for your mother, she was only thinking of your safty. When she says sit she means sit still. It wouldn't have hurt if you wouldn't have moved around and got all that fur stuck in it.

Prima- I know what you mean. Next time trying shoving his lil butt between your knees and then sitting on it and putting the coller on, thats what I did.

Ash

[ramanth]

Is there a reason you take the collar off when your not walking him?

Just curious. I always keep Kia's collar on.

Don't worry, Mickey will soon forget the whole incident.

[primabella]

Originally posted by ramanth
Is there a reason you take the collar off when your not walking him?

Just curious. I always keep Kia's collar on.

Don't worry, Mickey will soon forget the whole incident.

There is a reason but I'm ashamed of it. He doesn't have any ID tages yet so there really is no point in wearing it. Plus he hates it. The breeder also mentionned how wearing a collar will break the fur of the mane. I know looks won't matter at all compared to his safety but he has no tags anyway so I don't see a point in wearing it. I keep remindimg my mom to get him registered with the city but she never has the time. I bring it up every chance I can but ...

Thanks. He came back from his walk and ignored me for awhile (lol like a person) but he soon got over it.

[lovemyshiba]

Kito holds a grudge with me too-once I pulled on the leash while he was in the middle of pottying--I couldn't tell because it was dark out--and he wouldn't come to me for 2 days!!!
We leave all of their collars on all the time--it's just easier that way!!!!

[primabella]

lol It's bad when your dog holds a grudge against you. You can't give him the puppy dog eyes and make him forget all about it

[binka_nugget]

ack I know what you mean with puppy stubborness. I don't keep a collar on Kai too cuz he's always supervised outside in our fenced yard and like you mentioned, I don't want to ruin the mane. About the collar though...do you just use a regular collar? You should consider changing to another type. Kai had always gotten out of a regular collar (no matter how tight) when he wanted to. I read up on this and apparently, it's because shelties have a larger neck than their head. So now, Kai usually wears the halti (he walks ALOT better with this) and a regular collar for tags. That way, if he slips out of the halti (though he shouldn't), he has his tags still on rather than me holding the leash and collar in my hands (it happened before! ). Anyways, hope mickster remembers how much his mommy loves him so he wouldn't be so afraid to come to you.

[ChloeLove]

Sorry bout your naughty pup

[primabella]

T%hanks.

Ashley, when the collar broke, I told my mom to get a halti and she was all for it until my dad said he didn't like it for some reason. I wasn't there when he explained why. I was under the impression she was going to by him a halti. Anyways, she also said she was going to check at the stores for a material collar but with it attached like a belt. They only had it in leather though and I didn't like that.

I'm gonna try and get my dad to say yes to the halti. Otherwise, I'll just try to convince my mom to go for it.

[Cisco's Mom]

Aww sorry Mickey was given ya such a rough time. I'm sure he was just excited to go and just couldn't sit still. Can you put just a name tag on him? One that has your name, address and phone number on it? Just in case. It is very imp. in case something were to happen.

[binka_nugget]

aw..too bad you didn't get the halti. I recommend it 110%! Maybe you could try to convince your dad with this? Kai was an extreme puller from day one. He's a small boy, but very strong non the less. I tried training heel, but didn't work. I brought him to obedience only for socialization and walking nicely. He got the socialization thing, but the walking was still horrible. I decided to get the halti after hearing about it on a tv dog show. From the very first moment, Kai was an angel on it. He now walks by my side and no more sore arms from him pulling. It's also very useful because when we get to a corner, I pull the halti slightly up so he sits. I'm trying to make it a habbit just in case he dashes for the street one day. Also, it'll help with dominancy. Everytime the dog pulls, it ever so slightly puts a small bit of pressure on the muzzle. Just enough to close it. The only negative thing about it is that people stare at you from time to time thinking it's a muzzle to keep him from biting. Of course, they change their mind when he just sits at the corner nicely. I even tried using a collar with two straps (I call it bra straps lol) on saturday. Because I've used the halti for a few months now, he automatically walks nicer on the collar. So, if you really don't like it after a while, you can always switch back and have the same effects. I hope you can convince your dad! It's a wonderful product.

[primabella]

Thanks. I'll let him know your story. Mickey is a puller too! He'll be good only sometimes...

Cisco's Mom - I didn't even think of that How stupid can you get? Geez lol Thanks. I'll let my mom know!

[ParNone]

hey prima!

Oz doesn't much care for his collar either, cuz it makes his
neck itchy, so he only wears it when we're walking or training.
Instead of hassling with him over it, I found it worked much
better to make putting the collar on an enjoyable thing.

So I get a treat, call him to me, have him sit for the treat,
put the collar on, then he gets a treat. You can phase out
the treat, so that he doesn't get it everytime. It made a
world of difference with Oz and did wonders for my blood
pressure.

Par...

[cali]

awww sorry micky is being dificult. i dont like the halti thoough expessally for herding breeds, because herding dogs only have control of there head, as soon as you take that away imagin how the dog feels? they have nothing. also the halti is a managment tool NOT a training tool, i bet you that as soon as you go back to a regular collar they will be pulling again. and i dont register all my dogs with the city for one reason, if there was ever a restriction imposed on how many odgs you could have, and i would probibly have more then the limit, not if they were all registered the city would know that we had too many dogs and would take them away so we have an ID for all our dogs but only a few are licenced

[wolf_Q]

Try checking in dogs at a grooming salon all day.

It may be different where you are at....but you don't need to be registered just to get a tag. Nebo has several tags...I had a tag on him from the day I brought him home, and he only had that one for several months. You can go to most pet supplies stores as well as Wal-mart type stores and make tags with your name, phone number, address, etc. on it. That is probably the most important tag to have, because it would be the easiest for someone to contact you with if he became lost. I also have a microchip tag, rabies tag, and a city license. The city license just has my city and some numbers on it, no real contact info for the owner.

Nebo does have a distinct line around his neck from his collar, but I keep it on him at all times.....we have a fenced yard also, but there's always a chance of a dog escaping.

I have noticed that collars do slip of shelties easily. Also, collars on dogs with thick fur cause the fur around the neck to mat...of course, if people would actually BRUSH their dogs, including taking the collar off to brush around the neck... That's not directed to anyone here, I've brushed out 3 shelties the past two weeks as well as several other dogs that were horribly matted, especially around the neck, and that is not easy to do.

Anyway, since I'm blabbering on here...I think the halti may be a good idea. Nebo HATES it, but I think most dogs do well on it. I'm curious to know what this is supposed to mean.

i dont like the halti thoough expessally for herding breeds, because herding dogs only have control of there head, as soon as you take that away imagin how the dog feels? they have nothing.