Dog trainer/leash issues

[SpotTheCat]

Those are very good suggestions. At this point I don't know if he is afraid of the leash itself or of just being leashed. I will have to ask the foster for more details.

It still would be good to start the same way. a fear of being leashed will turn into a fear of the leash because they will pick up on the pattern of the leash being picked up= leash being put on. And the better a reward history he has with the leash the easier it will be to put it on him

Definitely get more details I wouldn't be surprised if he is scared of more then just the leash!

 

[cassie]

It still would be good to start the same way. a fear of being leashed will turn into a fear of the leash because they will pick up on the pattern of the leash being picked up= leash being put on. And the better a reward history he has with the leash the easier it will be to put it on him

Definitely get more details I wouldn't be surprised if he is scared of more then just the leash!

I am told he is affectionate and a bit clingy. He is afraid of dogs that are bigger than he is. He has issues with grooming as well as the leash. The good news is he is susceptible to bribes. I plan to exploit that.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Thanks for the tag @fluffycrow ; sorry I'm a bit late to respond. @cassie , as I read through your first post, I had many of the same thoughts and ideas you have already been given. Have you seen the dog in person yet? My first question to the foster organization would have been, "Exactly what do you mean by saying he has a leash phobia?" Exactly how does he react, for instance does he growl, try to bite, run away in terror, other? And at what point during the leash introduction does the behavior(s) ocur? For example, when he sees a person approaching with leash in hand? When a person attempts to attach the leash to his collar? After the leash is attached and a person begins to try and lead the dog? You mentioned initially placing a harness on him if you get him. I am curious to know if/how he reacted to the harness. Since he is 8 years old with no known history, there is no telling what he experienced that caused the phobia.

One thing I know for sure is that it is much more difficult to retrain a problematic behavior than to train it correctly in the first place. I.e. it is much easier to train a puppy to walk on a leash than to train a middle-aged dog that may have been severely abused with a leash. Among all the excellent suggestions you received, I highly agree with @SpotTheCat that whatever route you choose, take the process Very slowly. The only suggestion you received from other members that I would not recommend is using a prong or chain collar, since the dog will likely react in absolute terror (or aggression) the moment he feels the pressure. The dog's leash phobia is 100% a reaction to the dog's distrust of a person(s) who possibly abused him using a leash for control. So if I was working with someone who adopted the dog you describe, even before addressing the leash issue, I would advise the new owner to spend however much time it takes earning the dog's trust. If his temperament is affectionate and somewhat clingy, that tells me he Wants to trust; he simply needs time and positive experiences to learn he can trust You. When a newly adopted dog reaches the point where he trusts that his new human is his best friend and will not mistreat nor abuse him, only then would I advise an owner to begin conquering the leash phobia issue, as well as any other phobias or difficult behaviors that may arise. Of all the various unwanted behaviors a dog can possess, my experience is that a fear of the leash is one of the easiest to correct/retrain. Let us know if you adopted the dog, and if so, how it's going.

 

[cassie]

Thanks for the tag @fluffycrow ; sorry I'm a bit late to respond. @cassie , as I read through your first post, I had many of the same thoughts and ideas you have already been given. Have you seen the dog in person yet? My first question to the foster organization would have been, "Exactly what do you mean by saying he has a leash phobia?" Exactly how does he react, for instance does he growl, try to bite, run away in terror, other? And at what point during the leash introduction does the behavior(s) ocur? For example, when he sees a person approaching with leash in hand? When a person attempts to attach the leash to his collar? After the leash is attached and a person begins to try and lead the dog? You mentioned initially placing a harness on him if you get him. I am curious to know if/how he reacted to the harness. Since he is 8 years old with no known history, there is no telling what he experienced that caused the phobia.

One thing I know for sure is that it is much more difficult to retrain a problematic behavior than to train it correctly in the first place. I.e. it is much easier to train a puppy to walk on a leash than to train a middle-aged dog that may have been severely abused with a leash. Among all the excellent suggestions you received, I highly agree with @SpotTheCat that whatever route you choose, take the process Very slowly. The only suggestion you received from other members that I would not recommend is using a prong or chain collar, since the dog will likely react in absolute terror (or aggression) the moment he feels the pressure. The dog's leash phobia is 100% a reaction to the dog's distrust of a person(s) who possibly abused him using a leash for control. So if I was working with someone who adopted the dog you describe, even before addressing the leash issue, I would advise the new owner to spend however much time it takes earning the dog's trust. If his temperament is affectionate and somewhat clingy, that tells me he Wants to trust; he simply needs time and positive experiences to learn he can trust You. When a newly adopted dog reaches the point where he trusts that his new human is his best friend and will not mistreat nor abuse him, only then would I advise an owner to begin conquering the leash phobia issue, as well as any other phobias or difficult behaviors that may arise. Of all the various unwanted behaviors a dog can possess, my experience is that a fear of the leash is one of the easiest to correct/retrain. Let us know if you adopted the dog, and if so, how it's going.

I decided I am not going to adopt that dog or any dog for a while. I had just lost my beloved Sammy to liver cancer. He showed no symptoms until the end, and then he was gone in two weeks. It was rash and impulsive of me to even attempt to get another dog so soon after his passing. Chiklet, the dog I was considering, is needy and needs a lot of affection and someone who can spend a lot of time with him. That I can provide. He is also trained to use a piddle pad and that is a plus to me. However, he is insecure and in addition to the leash issues he bites when you attempt to groom him. I could deal with these things, but at this point in my life I am not sure I want to tackle them. I am going to wait a few weeks or months before I try to find another dog, hopefully not one with major issues.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I am sorry you lost your beloved Sammy. I think you are wise to delay adopting another dog until your grief subsides at least a little. Otherwise, you would compare any new dog to Sammy, and of course a new dog will never compare, though he/she will do their best to make you smile again.

Have you ever seen the following essay? It was written by the renowned playwright and poet Eugene O'Neil in 1940, to honor his own beloved dog. The grief and loss we feel when our beloved animal companions pass away is timeless and eternal; that's for sure.

• poem written by Eugene O'Neill​ The Last Will and Testament of An Extremely Distinguished Dog Last Will and Testament I, Silverdene Emblem O'Neill (familiarly known to my family, friends and acquaintances as Blemie), because the burden of my years is heavy upon me, and I realize the end of my life is near, do hereby bury my last will and testament in the mind of my Master. He will not know it is there until I am dead. Then, remembering me in his loneliness, he will suddenly know of this testament, and I ask him then to inscribe it as a memorial to me. I have little in the way of material things to leave. Dogs are wiser than men. They do not set great store upon things. They do not waste their time hoarding property. They do not ruin their sleep worrying about objects they have, and to obtain the objects they have not. There is nothing of value I have to bequeath except my love and my faith. These I leave to those who have loved me, to my Master and Mistress, who I know will mourn me most, to Freeman who has been so good to me, to Cyn and Roy and Willie and Naomi and - but if I should list all those who have loved me it would force my Master to write a book. Perhaps it is in vain of me to boast when I am so near death, which returns all beasts and vanities to dust, but I have always been an extremely lovable dog. I ask my Master and Mistress to remember me always, but not to grieve for me too long. In my life I have tried to be a comfort to them in time of sorrow, and a reason for added joy in their happiness. It is painful for me to think that even in death I should cause them pain. Let them remember that while no dog has ever had a happier life (and this I owe to their love and care for me), now that I have grown blind and deaf and lame, and even my sense of smell fails me so that a rabbit could be right under my nose and I might not know, my pride has sunk to a sick, bewildered humiliation. I feel life is taunting me with having over lingered my welcome. It is time I said good-by, before I become too sick a burden on myself and on those who love me. It will be sorrow to leave them, but not a sorrow to die. Dogs do not fear death as men do. We accept it as part of life, not as something alien and terrible which destroys life. What may come after death, who knows? I would like to believe with those of my fellow Dalmatians who are devout Mohammedans, that there is a Paradise where one is always young and full-bladdered; here all the day one dillies and dallies with an amorous multitude of houris, beautifully spotted; where jack-rabbits that run fast but not too fast (like the houris) are as the sands of the desert; where each blissful hour is mealtime; where in long evenings there are a million fireplaces with logs forever burning and one curls oneself up and blinks into the flames and nods and dreams, remembering the old brave days on earth, and the love of one's Master and Mistress. I am afraid this is too much for even such a dog as I am to expect. But peace, at least, is certain. Peace and long rest for weary old heart and head and limbs, and eternal sleeps in the earth I have loved so well. Perhaps, after all, this is best. One last request I earnestly make. I have heard my Mistress say, 'When Blemie dies we must never have another dog. I love him so much I could never love another one.' Now I would ask her, for love of me, to have another. It would be a poor tribute to my memory never to have a dog again. What I would like to feel is that, having once had me in the family, now she cannot live without a dog! I have never had a narrow jealous spirit. I have always held that most dogs are good (and one cat, the black one I have permitted to share the living-room rug during the evenings, whose affection I have tolerated in a kindly spirit, and in rare sentimental moods, even reciprocated a trifle). Some dogs, of course, are better than others. Dalmatians, naturally, as everyone knows, are best. So I suggest a Dalmatian as my successor. He can hardly be as well bred, or as well mannered or as distinguished and handsome as I was in my prime. My Master and Mistress must not ask the impossible. But he will do his best, I am sure, and even his inevitable defects will help by comparison to keep my memory green. To him I bequeath my collar and leash and my overcoat and raincoat, made to order in 1929 at Hermes in Paris. He can never wear them with the distinction I did, walking around the Place Vendome, or later along Park Avenue, all eyes fixed on me in admiration; but again I am sure he will do his utmost not to appear a mere gauche provincial dog. Here on the ranch, he may prove himself quite worthy of comparison, in some respects. He will, I presume, come closer to jackrabbits than I have been able to in recent years. And, for all his faults, I hereby wish him the happiness I know will be his in my old home. One last word of farewell, Dear Master and Mistress. Whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: 'here lies one who loved us and whom we loved.' No matter how deep my sleep I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail. ​ LIKE 1 REPLY 8121 VIEWS LAST POST TACRAN Like Share

  
  
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