Leash Walking

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Join Date:Jul 2014Posts:1




Leash Walking



Hi All, I'm new to the forum and would like to ask some advice. About a week ago we rescued a 3 year old, purebred Bloodhound, fawn colored and about 90 pounds. She has just the sweetest disposition and is very friendly with everyone she meets. The family that had her before us also had an 11 year old German Shepherd that our dog grew up with, but now she's a single dog in our household. She also never leash walked as she had a fenced in backyard to play in. We have a nice, large fenced in backyard for her to play in, and I would like to teach her to leash walk. I've tried short walks with her, but never having left her backyard previously, she doesn't want to leave our yard. I've tried a regular collar, and this morning tried a prong collar, very gently for a few minutes. My question is this. I do not want to ruin her great disposition, should I try to get her leash walk to get the exercise a Bloodhound needs, or should I let her just have the run of the backyard and be content with that? Also, over time will she eventually get used to being an only dog? She seems pretty content now. Also having some problems getting her into the car to go to the vets. We've had several dogs over the years, but this is the first time we've had a purebred and I want to do right by her and make her happy. I love her very much and want her to continue to be the friendly, warm dog she is. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Quote "this morning tried a prong collar." unquote

That horrifies me, how would you like a pronged collar around your neck and made to do something you didn't like???

What kind of animal lover does that or even think about it???

If you don't know how to treat a dog then you should not have one until you have had some training in animal care and attended classes on how to teach a dog through time- patience and kindness.

Sorry but what you said makes me sick

Hi and welcome to Dogsey,

Well done for taking in your rescue

Leash training can be done with your new friend but you will need to go back a few steps first.

If your dog has never been outside never mind on a leash then trying to do all at once will be terrifying for them. Using a normal flat buckle collar take your time getting the dog used to the lead, use food or toy reward to make the experience a positive one, if you want your dog to enjoy something you have to make it as positive as possible, practice walking around the yard with the leash on, again take it slowly, lots of rewards, keep the leash nice and loose. Once he can walk with you inside the yard then very, very slowly introduce outside. When you open the gate don't force him out, let him have a look, make sure again that you have something positive to give him.

The prong collar won't help, you will simply force him to do something rather than let him decide something is a good idea and I'm sure from the tone of your question that you don't want to hurt him in any way.

When teaching a dog the best thing to do is take your time, be consistent and always use praise and reward.

Good Luck

Imana-Banana, thanks very much for your kind and professional reply, unlike the previous reply I received. My dog is very gentle and has a great disposition, and I want to keep her as happy and as safe as possible. I agree with you in that I will have to move very slowly with her. She's 3 years old and in a new environment, so I have to give her time to adjust. I only tried the prong collar one time, and only for about 5 minutes, and would never dream of using anything that would hurt her. I'll continue to move slowly and patiently with her and let her get used to walking in the yard first, as you suggest. Thanks again for your thoughtful reply. Have a good week.

You are welcome, let us know how you get on.

Slowly and surely will win the race with a dog who is unsure, give him plenty of time and space and I'm sure he will blossom

Think about her as a new puppy. She may well be 3 years old, but has had some not good experiences in her life, and also has maybe never been socialised or trained, maybe never been on a lead, unless maybe forced and dragged, so she's going to put up a fight isn't she. What was her last experience of going in a car like, maybe not good either. You're going nowhere with confrontation, you'll lose every time. You're using a short term solution to a long term problem.Take her back beyond puppyhood almost.
So get the treats out, as Imana says in the backyard first of all. Get her to walk next to you using cheese, hot dog, whatever she goes nuts for. As she walks beside you praise her and feed her. She will then associate walking besides you with something really good and edible. Next step after you've done this for a few days, so to her it is routine, treats come out, she walks alongside, she gets told how wonderful she is and gets fed, and you have a collar and lead on her, but the lead is trailing, so repeat that for a few days. After that pick up the lead right at the end so there is absolutely no pressure on it, and repeat the treating and praise, then begin to take in the slack of the lead gradually and eventually you'll get there. To get her in a car, leave every single door open in a secure place and put treats in the car and encourage her to go and get them, she can see she can 'escape' if needs be and she'll maybe jump in grab the treats and jump out again, but keep going with that one.
When she is totally relaxed about this, take her a short walk up the road, armed with your treats and then when she is totally OK with that then you extend your walks.
Ask her to sit when you stop and at the kerb as well, so she becomes used to this.
Is there a training class near to you that you can attend because that will help with her socialisation and also you will have experienced help on hand.

Tawneywolf, thanks very much for the great information and help. My dog is very docile and came from a good home. However, she never leash walked in the past as she ran around the back yard of her last home with the family's other dog. We have a nice, fenced in backyard for her to run also, but I was concerned that her breed, Bloodhound, needed more exercise than just a backyard to stay healthy. I have been walking with her in the backyard, on and off leash, and treating and praising her as you suggest, little by little. She's caught on somewhat, but I'm not rushing her and giving her all the time she needs. It's just unbelievable how friendly she is with new people she meets, and how smart she is. I was thinking that maybe someday in the future she would be a good therapy dog, and I could share her with people who could use a visit from a good dog like her. I like your idea about going back and thinking of her as a puppy, and maybe starting there. I'll give that a try. Again, thank you for the great thoughts. Have a good day.

Oh, wow. Over reaction much? I don't like prongs either but this user came here for help with her dog and the walking issues. Tell me how this is helpful? Ouch!

These harsh replies won't help the user nor will it discourage future use of prong collars. We are American, the use of prong collars is very, very widespread and many people are not aware that they are not to be used. Anyway, moving right along.

I see some good advice by other users. I'd start by only taking the dog a very short distance from home and then going back very quickly. Make sure to bring along lots of treats and speak in a happy baby voice to her, this will likely help.

Also, you can use her leash in your yard and home to get her used to it more. I helped gt my puppy used to his leash by using it in the house a little bit. Helped him loads and he never developed pulling problems or anything.

You can also try clicker training with her leash, Google it and see if it appeals to you. I wish you good luck and thanks for rescuing a doggy and trying to give her a loving home. Nobody is perfect and you did the right thing coming to ask for advice