How do I put a leash on my dog and take him outside?

Question

I have a 3-year old adopted dog who refuses to have a leash attached to him, even almost biting me in the process. Also, he refuses to walk off of the property. What do do?

Answer 1

Try getting a new leash so he doesn't associated the with prior attempts. Lay the leash around and let him investigate it. Leaving it on the floor pet him or give him a treat. Sitting on the floor with the leash and petting the dog try easing it on. If you still have a problem, should consult a dog trainer. Good luck with it.

Answer 2

It sounds like the dog may have been abused with a leash at some point or associates bad things with the leash. He is trying to bite you because he is scared, he is protecting himself. You will need to use treats as a reward and work slowly with him. Put the leash on the ground and have him come to you for the treat without holding the leash. Do this a couple of times and then begin to pick up the leash very slowly and give him treats. Eventually he will get to the point where he is not afraid of it, he will associate the leash with treats. Make him sit and stay. Only give him treats for good behavior and make sure you praise him in a nice voice for everything he does right. Once he is able to have the leash on without having problems then slowly start the walking process. This will be much harder. Sometimes it is necessary to buy a pinch collar but keep the rubber nubs on the ends so it doesn't hurt him. I would try just the regular collar first and everyt ime he pulls, you have to give the leash a quick jerk and say "don't pull" or come up with your own phrase. Make him stop and sit and once he does then try and start to walk again. Like I said before this will take lots of time.

Answer 3

It seems that your dog has been traumatised from the leash.. why don't you try to put the leash for example when you are playing with him and leave it during this time just in the home. Then after ten minutes take it away and give him a small dog biscuit as rewards.. (the same when you put the leash on him give the dog a biscuit and play with him)... be careful in the place you play with the dog that he doesn't stay stuck somewhere and get afraid of it... this should be the first step for a week... you should give him trust of the place where he is living... and if he can do his toilet on your property to start, this is fine... then the week after go out with him and put the leash... and play outside in the garden with him... after that... you might be able to try slowly with patience to go for a walk outside the property.. ask as well from a profesionnal some help (dog school for example).

Answer 4

Try using a harness - dogs instinctively protect their necks from attack and this is especially true in abused dogs. If you got him from a shelter they probably don't know much about his history but if he came from a rescue they might could give you some advice. Be sure to use treats freely and keep sessions short in the beginning. Work on the walk first and then try expanding his boundaries later. Maybe even try putting it on in the house while you're sitting around with him and let it stay a few minutes at a time (never leave a leashed dog unsupervised - they can hurt themselves quickly if they panic or get tangled). If you want to graduate to a collar later you could try using a slip collar (not a choke collar) that just slides on and then you take up the slack - this might be more acceptable until he adjusts since you don't have to actually grab hold of the collar on his neck. Lots of patience, love, persistence and treats will eventually get him thru this - he is obviously reacting to some type of hurt in his past but you have to stay in charge and carry through. Thank you for adopting this boy, I can tell you love him and he will eventually learn to trust and return your love a hundred times over! BOL!

Answer 5

You have to work slowly with him. Most likely he had a bad experience with a leash in the past. (And "bad experience" may be mildly saying abused).

Here's what I would do, and you might need to change some things depending on his behavior. Take slower steps, etc. It all depends on him.
You can also combine clicker training with this if you know how to do it and/or give him treats for good steps toward having the leash on.

While in the house, show him the leash when he is calm. Let him sniff it, bite it if he wants to, but don't let him destroy it. Then put it away.
Do that a few times a day for very short sessions, about 5-10 minutes at a time.
Work up to touching his body with the leash, touching his legs, back neck, head. Same thing, few times a day, short sessions. If you need to go back to the first step that's fine.
Eventually you will be able to put it on him without a fuss. Leave it on for 30 seconds, then take it off. ("See that wasn't so bad"). Hold it gently, but don't restrain him with it. Gradually increase the time.
The next step is to walk him around the house with it. Don't even take him outside until he can do this properly.

It takes time and patience, but you can do it.

One quick fix for biting the leash is to use bitter apple. Spray it on the leash and he shouldn't want to bite it anymore.

Answer 6

He's probably had some type of abuse happen to him while on the leash (like tied up and left on a pole) did the shelter give you any type of information and this dogs previous history? Give it time I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have adopted him out if he was to leash aggressive, they had to walk him didn't they? Go back to the puppy training method. Give him lots of treats while your putting him on the leash then don't try taking him outside just yet let him drag the leash around with him where ever he goes.
Next after he's gotton used to having the leash on him try taking him out a little maybe he'll just go to the front step the first time, then to the front of the yard, as time goes by he'll wanna go farther and farther. You just have to give it time it will work.

Answer 7

I'd get a trainer on board and I'd try this also. Go slow. Bring the leash in the room with him - give him a treat. Let him sniff it, give him a treat. Put it on him, give him a treat. Walk him around a bit and giving him a treat for complying. If he gets too stressed, end the session and try the next day. Use the same method for going for walks. A trainer may be able to help you with even more suggestions and as soon as you can get a leash on him, get him in a regular obedience class that focuses on positive reinforcement.

I suspect he has had a leash used in a bad way in the past or has never been exposed to one at all.

Answer 8

You can try to reward your dog for letting you touch his collar to attach a leash. It sounds like your dog was abused by dragging him by the collar.
After attaching the leash, try luring your dog with treat to encourage him to walk on the leash. (Luring means holding a treat in front of your dog to encourage him to go forward, or do some other action.) Never just pull your dog, but gently encourage your dog to go forward. Praise and rewards will help, but ignore the refusal to go forward. You may not realize it, but allowing your dog to remain scared and comforting him for it only rewards the fear! It may take some time-and patience. When a dog has been abused or you do not know why the dog is behaving a certain way and it is an older dog, it takes times and baby steps to help the dog move through the fear.

Answer 9

Is the difficulty when you go to grab his collar?
If so in the meantime you could get a slip lead that has a noose type leash you slip over his head and it tightens when it pulls. It is more humane than it sounds. I use them in dog trials. http://www.dogstuff.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=0bccccd5cac71ee8995f61fcc5576227&keyword=slip+lead

Otherwise you just gradually sensitize the dog to taking his collar. Touch as close to the collar as he will let you without reacting and give him a treat and gently pet him and gradually move toward the collar giving him treats etc. This may take a week, a month or more depending on your dogs reactivity so don't expect it to happen overnight.

In order to boost his overall confidence and ability to walk off the property start training your dog teaching him tricks etc. www.clickandtreat.com. A dog who feels like he is doing a job and being successful will have more confidence and be more willing to try new things. Again it could take a while.

Answer 10

It sounds like the poor babe has never been walked before!! What a shame!!! Well he is about to get a treat, from someone who truly cares about him!!!! You will have to just start slow, let him check the leash out!!! Show him that it is o.k. and it is NOT going to hurt him!! Talk to him very softly and gently as you are showing him the leash!!!!!! Go very very slow as you talk and show it!! When he gets comfortable with looking at it, talk to him about putting it on!! Try to snap it on to his collar!! It may take several trys, but don't give up, if you do, he will feel dominate over the situation, and you don't want that!! When you get the leash snapped on, let him walk around or just keep it on for a while, like 30 minutes, try walking him in the house some, before you go out!! When he is more comfortable, take him out, try to distract him some at first, so all of his focus is not on the leash and walking on it!! Go very slow, and talk to him about it the entire time, he will eventually get it!!!!!!!! He will be the walking KING before long!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck to you, I hope this helps!!!!