Puppy hates leash!

Cantido

My mom has this dog she would like me to train to use a leash. She is a hairy chihuahua whose dad was a papillon, so she's very hairy. She is 1.5 years old and has not been using a leash. Her outside exersize was just limited to running around the backyard. Well the vet gave her an earful so she tasked me with training her.

This dog hates leashes. For the first experience, she got a collar, and acted pissed because of it. By the time she got used to it, I took her outside and attach a cheap leash. As soon as the leash was attached she "shut down," refusing to move. She rolled around until the leash came off. So I put a not-cheap leash the next day, and instead she got the entire collar off.

My mom left me a note overnight that she put the harness I purchased on her, so that she can't take it off. No leash or anything, just the harness. The dog shut down again over the harness by itself, and refused to move around outside. She says she yelled at the dog because of it.

So this morning I see she still has the harness on, refuses to budge from her bed, was unwilling to go outside to piss (had to be carried outside) and now she wont eat. She's got this dog pretty damn spoiled and I don't know what to do. I've been unemployed since March, but I'm getting my first post-graduation job after the holiday weekend. I'd figure I've save up some money to find a trainer for this dog. But what can I do until then? This will be her first full day on the harness, so maybe she just needs to adjust to it like she did the collar.

BioPort

Leave the harness on. The dog will adjust. It is a fairly common tactic to leave a leash attached to a dog's collar 24/7 till they adjust to its weight.

Also, is the dog crate trained? If not, I would get a crate and start on that post-haste.

davidsdurions

Definitely start using positive reinforcement as soon as possible. Yelling at a dog never helps unless you've never yelled at it before and you are trying to stop it from running in the street and you scare it by screaming. Otherwise, the dog doesn't know what you are yelling for. Positive reinforcement can be little bits of cheese that you hold out in front of the dog's nose with leash and harness on. As it starts moving forward you let it eat the cheese. Then slowly have the cheese further and further from the dog. Shouldn't take long for it to start walking, looking for cheese bits everywhere.

Stop yelling at the dog.

MushroomStick

First of all, everyone that's going to be spending time with this dog regularly is going to have to be involved in the training, whether the like it or not. The best thing is going to be consistency - as in everyone is going to have to reward good behavior the same if you want to develop good habits. You're going to have to be stubborn about the collars and harnesses and then eventually the dog will hopefully start to associate them with walks/treats/etc. When I had my dog in his puppy class, we were told that to train a dog to walk well on a leash that you should drag him and walk through him until the dog figures out that its more enjoyable to just keep pace with you. Reward good behavior with treats and also, don't yell at the dog, it wont help.

Penguin_Otaku

My corgi thought I was trying to murder her when I put her collar on (no leash.) It was pretty adorable... I put the leash on her and she was just as unfond of that, but after (as mentioned before) a lot of positive reinforcement she got the hang of it. How I don't know how smart this is, but she doesn't need a leash anymore and doesn't ever leave my side.

EggyToast

Is the harness particularly tight? The kind of harnesses that loop around their legs are very hard for them to remove, so they can be on the loose side. There's a couple products designed for dogs that are intentionally tight around their ribs that cause them to calm down and act more sedate, which is why I bring it up.

But yes, the dog is going to hate being on a collar or harness for a while, and since the dog is small it's probably better to go the harness route. The dog is going to freak out for a while until it gets used to the harness, and you should actively participate in this element of the training. Teach the dog that putting the harness on gets the dog additional benefits (going outside, going on walks, treats) is a good first step.

Cantido

She's a shivering wreck, but the harness is on her. It looks nice and loose. I'll take her outside and let her just be outside if that's all she wants to do for now.

Beef Avenger

I'd warn your mom that yelling at a dog that's "a shivering wreck" is a recipe for a whole lot of behavioral and emotional issues

and she really can't dump training a pet totally on someone else. It won't really work unless everyone is involved

Cantido

Beef Avenger wrote: »

I'd warn your mom that yelling at a dog that's "a shivering wreck" is a recipe for a whole lot of behavioral and emotional issues

and she really can't dump training a pet totally on someone else. It won't really work unless everyone is involved

Oh, I told her both of those things. And I'm gonna tell her some more before the day is done.

I took her out to the backyard to let her lounge around, and I invited her to see the lake and forest in the back and she was up and running again, and so I gave her positive reinforcement and a treat. I'll keep this trend going.

Gilbert0

When we first got our rescue, the woman who was fostering it said that she was completly lathargic, had to be carried in and out of the crate, wouldn't walk on leash, etc.

Day 1 we had her, we treated her exactly like any other dog and had no problems with the crate, walked on leash like a champ. It's about your mentality. If you make a big deal about the change, then it's a big deal. If it's not, then she'll not notice.

Consistency is key as well. Make sure you and your mom are doing the same training to get it used to the leash.