May 23, 2012
My 5-month-old dog won’t allow us to put his collar on without running away or trying to snap at us. What can we do?
Full Question:
I got a 6-month-old male German Rottweiler I got from a good breeder when he was 10 weeks old. We set up a crate that with a doggie door that goes outside. So basically, he is in and out all the time. I try to put a collar on him (since we got him) but he fussed too much. He runs away, uses his mouth to warn us... does a hand bite but doesn't bite down (I yell loud no). Since he goes in his crate, it is not a good idea to have his collar on him all the time (strangulation) so we take it off at night and also when we leave for work.
I use treats to lure him and make it a postive experience. He takes the treats and still fusses when we strap collar on him. It's a leather buckle collar, good fit. I make him sit before meals and he gets his walks and everything in and also fetch ball. We (try) make wearing collar fun... treats, parks, walks, socializing etc. He is fine after we put the collar on him, at the most he tries to scratch it once awhile. How do I make him sit or at least stand still for his collar to be put on without the chasing and snapping? Thanks.
Cindy's Answer:
I’d use marker training to teach this dog that the collar going on and coming off is valuable. Make the appearance of the collar valuable, then the collar coming close to him, then touching his neck with it, etc… sometimes breaking things down into smaller pieces and showing the dog the value in cooperating is all it takes.
I would read our article on training dogs with markers and check out The Power of Training Dogs with Markers.
I’d probably shut the dog door and make a dog like this interact with me to go outside or get any of the other things he wants. He sounds like a bossy young dog that needs some strict rules. If you don’t get a handle on him now, you are going to have some big issues when he matures.
It sounds like you need to just modify a few things to make your ideas, his ideas.
If you check our streaming video section, there are a lot of examples of marker training being used for different things (dogs getting used to muzzles, having ears touched, collars grabbed, etc.). There is a search box on the page, type in your key words there.
Cindy Rhodes
I would read our article on training dogs with markers and check out The Power of Training Dogs with Markers.
I’d probably shut the dog door and make a dog like this interact with me to go outside or get any of the other things he wants. He sounds like a bossy young dog that needs some strict rules. If you don’t get a handle on him now, you are going to have some big issues when he matures.
It sounds like you need to just modify a few things to make your ideas, his ideas.
If you check our streaming video section, there are a lot of examples of marker training being used for different things (dogs getting used to muzzles, having ears touched, collars grabbed, etc.). There is a search box on the page, type in your key words there.
Cindy Rhodes
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