Hey there,

I have a 17 month old Parson Russell terrier. He is very submissive but not timid or fearful with it, until he is on the lead! When I want to put his collar on, I pretty much have to corner him to do it, when he stands hunched and trembling and waiting for me to put it on. As soon as I put the lead on him, he starts pulling and shying away from it. If the lead touches him, he tries to get away from it. This behaviour settles down about ten minutes into the walk, but he constantly pulls.

I have never had this problem with any of my other dogs through the years. I have tried leaving the lead on him through the day to desensitize him, positive association through food, correction (albeit with a flat collar) and nothing is working. I was considering buying a prong collar (as I have one on my Rhodesian Ridgeback which is fantastic), as it is specifically for pulling, but I am concerned it could make matters worse. I have tried the gentle leader and all those other similar collars that I normally wouldn't even look at. I get the same reaction. As soon as the collars and harnesses come off, he's back to his cheeky, chipper self.

I need to stop the pulling, but I also need to build his confidence with the collar and lead - a difficult thing! What collar would you advise I use and how would you advise me to proceed with his training? Thanks so much.

Cheers,
Michaela.

Maybe it's not the collar or lead he's afraid of, maybe it's something about the walks.

I think you could desensitize him to collar and lead by breaking down the process into very tiny steps, as in start with collar and lead in the other room and gradually work toward it. Then gradually work the C & L closer to his neck, or his neck closer to the C & L. If he reacts negatively to it you have asked for too much too quickly.

Marker training is an excellent low stress way to get the dog engaged and thinking about what you want. Teach the dog to touch the C & L then to put his head into it. Ed has an excellent free ebook that explains marker training very well.

Does he normally not have a collar on inside the house?

 Quote: Debbie Bruce

Marker training is an excellent low stress way to get the dog engaged and thinking about what you want. Teach the dog to touch the C & L then to put his head into it. Ed has an excellent free ebook that explains marker training very well.

Ditto the marker training. That's how we got our dog to accept both her prong collar as well as her backpack. Now, every time we bring out either one to put on her, she races over and practically begs to have us put them on.

Hi guys. It's definitely the c & l, and not the walk, that he is anxious about.

I have done clicker training with him using small incremental steps, and that has worked well. It gets his head into a much better space over the whole c & l, but only temporarily. As soon as we actually begin our walk and he feels pressure from the lead, he shuts down again and starts leaning into the pressure. His anxiety over the leash pressure does lessen as the walk progresses, but he does continue to lean on the lead.

My question really is about the prong collar. I know that it is designed
specifically to curb pulling. I am wanting to know if you think the prong collar would be detrimental to his training against pulling, because of where his head is at mentally, or if it could be beneficial.

No, none of my dogs wear collars at home.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Me

If you leave the c & l on him while he's in the house and just let him drag it around he will step on it some and drag the leash around corners and such and create a little pressure on his own without any pressure from your presence. When he is comfortable with the flat c & l then you could try the prong. I would be sure to put it on and take it off of him several times a day at random times and then let him drag the leash again before you take him out for walks with it on him.

I don't think he will totally spaz out the first time you put it on him. Watch him (but don't hover/obsess over him) and see how he does, then act accordingly.

If I have a dog that pulls on leash I have found that tying them pretty short (12" for a small dog) to the "wall of patience" and ignoring them for a short time each day does wonders for their mindset. They can pull all they want and they never get anywhere, and it doesn't bother me because they aren't pulling on me. I only walk over and let them loose when they are not pulling.

If you leave the c & l on him while he's in the house and just let him drag it around he will step on it some and drag the leash around corners and such and create a little pressure on his own without any pressure from your presence. When he is comfortable with the flat c & l then you could try the prong. I would be sure to put it on and take it off of him several times a day at random times and then let him drag the leash again before you take him out for walks with it on him.

I don't think he will totally spaz out the first time you put it on him. Watch him (but don't hover/obsess over him) and see how he does, then act accordingly.

If I have a dog that pulls on leash I have found that tying them pretty short (12" for a small dog) to the "wall of patience" and ignoring them for a short time each day does wonders for their mindset. They can pull all they want and they never get anywhere, and it doesn't bother me because they aren't pulling on me. I only walk over and let them loose when they are not pulling.

Hey'a Debs.

Yep, I've done all that sort of thing, which is why I'm now enquiring about the prong. I do believe that the prong COULD be a good answer for the actual pulling. I just don't want to make the pulling worse or for him to freak out. I went ahead and ordered one anyway, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I plan on introducing it quietly and just letting him wear it for a few days (not on all the time, but when I'm around) without any lead attached or undue pressure.

Lol, I like your 'wall of patience'!

Have you tried acclimating him to a soft, nylon slip collar that you could just slide over his head, for inside the house?

The process of buckling a collar or harness onto him may be partly what he's fearful about.

If you left him in a soft nylon slip you could work on desnesitizing him to the lead as a separate issue...

PS, I am a big fan of prong collars, and that should work for the pulling, but it won't do anything for the fear reaction he's having.

Are you familiar with marker training?

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

Have you tried acclimating him to a soft, nylon slip collar that you could just slide over his head, for inside the house?

The process of buckling a collar or harness onto him may be partly what he's fearful about.

If you left him in a soft nylon slip you could work on desnesitizing him to the lead as a separate issue...

PS, I am a big fan of prong collars, and that should work for the pulling, but it won't do anything for the fear reaction he's having.

Are you familiar with marker training?

Hey'a,

If you read my previous posts, you'll see that I have used clicker training (same thing as marker training) in attempting to help him with his anxiety. As I also said, it does work up to a point. It does get him into a better head space, temporarily. Then, as soon as he feels the pressure of the lead, he's back into pulling and leaning on the lead. I do feel the prong collar could benefit him for THAT PART of his issue.

With the fear of the collar, I will just continue to make positive associations with my training.

All I really am wanting to know is does anyone see the prong collar as a detriment for a dog like this, and how should I proceed with the PRONG COLLAR training. Should I just use it as I normally would on any other dog and ignore his specific issue, or are there certain preparations I should make before I use it? That's really my question here.

I appreciate everyone's advice about clicker training and positive association etc, and I have done and continue to do that. But it would be especially helpful to me if you all could address the prong collar question and the training as far as the PRONG COLLAR is concerned.

Thanks so much.

Cheers,

Michaela