I am fostering a 6 year old male that was rescued from a puppy mill - my groomer had to spend half a day just to get his coat back to acceptable, his teeth all needed to be pulled bar the K9s. I think this guy was probably kenneled without human contact for most of his life - I have had him just a few days and am trying to get him more comfortable and bring out some personality. One problem I have never encountered is trying to get an older dog to walk on a leash - this guy has no idea even with other dogs out and about with him - Does anyone have any tips??? He has no voice, has not barked or whinned so I have no idea if he is in any pain.

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You can try just keeping the leash, while you can supervise, attached to his collar.  When he gets up and around in the house, he can drag it.  Hopefully, it will help him get used to the idea.  It's so hard with these dogs.  Our Dundee had spent years in a crate.  It took a good 8-10 months to get a leash and collar on him.  And it was a good while before we could walk him.  He just had no idea what they were for and they scared him to death.  Good luck to you.  Thanks for giving this guy a chance.
First of all, bless you for working with this poor guy.  Do you have anywhere you can go and let him off leash?  Just the two of you walking around, enjoying the sunshine?  Maybe some treats and play "come"?  Either way I would take it really slow - having worked with neglected kids, it can take a while to earn trust - the good news is that if Cesar is right about anything, dogs live in the present, in the now.  Make sure you have a confident and happy mindset with you work with him - imagine him playing and romping around...I truly believe they can sense our bliss..and unfortunately our worry.

Daisy was 5 when I got her from a similar situation except her teeth are all still present and in good shape.  As for walkin on the leash... patients and time....  I tried a harnes at first and found it didn't work well, she would ignore it and go on her own way... what worked best was a collar and a hand leash verse the cord reel.... we praticed walking with just enough slack for her to get a couple of feet from me... walking a while, then stopping... then walk and stop...We walked about 1/2 a mile a day at first twice a day, and gradually increased it to 2 miles in the afternoon....  didn't take her long to get the idea of staying on my right side... I sometimes think she got that to good as she refuses to every walk on the wrong side of the road or the wrong side of me...

 

One thing I never do is try to drag her along, it just results in the collar coming off over her head.... a short tug to get her attention then telling her "lets go" works well for me.....  The main thing I think was routine...every day the same thing.... and there is the added bonus that she knew where home was and the one time she got away she took herself for the walk and I found her on the right side of the road trotting along the way back....

 

I had her about a month before she barked the first time.  Was beginning to think she had been de-barked, then one night she had an upset stomach and barked because she needed out NOW NOW NOW... turned out she had come with giardia and was having a bout of it.... trip to the vet cured that...

 

Took about 4 months to come around to the point of not cringing everytime I came into a room and here we are at 10 months and she is very cuddly and wants to sit with her head in my lap anytime she can.

 

One odd thing for training purposes, she doesn't care at all about any treats... not hot dog, dog treats, ham, etc...still haven't found anything she loves enough to perform any action for..... she does like the peanutbutter kong spray, but won't do things for it...

Poor Baby! Thank you for taking him in. You may want to try leading him with a soft treat (chicken or pieces of hot dog, cheese) or some Easy Cheese. Just attach the leash, a light pull on the leash as you give him a command and give him the treat when he comes to you and praise him when he comes. A good command for that is "with me" and  if he responds to that, you can guide him with the treat as he walks beside you- the easy cheese comes in handy with that one! ;-) Good luck and give him hugs!

oh my gosh!! im just sick reading this post... thank God you showed up in his life!!!

i feel like crying :o(

Sadly there are two others in a similar situation who are being fostered in Wyoming - so hopefully after some rehabilitation we will be able to fond them homes forever.
First, thank you so much for helping him!! Is there another dog that he seems to like? If there is that might be the key to getting him to take a walk. He may just need a lot of time before he comes out of his shell. Have you read "Don't Dump The Dog" by Randy Grim? It is really good and he writes about many of his rescue cases and how he gets through to them.

Is he afraid of the leash? If so I'd just leave it out in plain sight for a while so he can understand that it's not a scary thing. Then I'd try just attaching the leash to his collar and letting him drag it around the house, just to let him get used to the feel of it. I agree with Bev too, maybe taking him out for a walk with just one other dog that he likes will help him figure it out.

You could also try a martingale collar if you're worried about him pulling out his regular collar.

Maybe he thinks he's dreaming about Dog Heaven, and afraid he's gonna wake up any moment...
If he's not afraid af the leash, I'd let him walk me. Take him to an area he doesn't find scary, then just stand there. Keep the leash slack and let him wander and sniff. Follow him around and he might learn that leash = fun time.
Thank you for fostering this guy! How long have you had him??? Do you use a Martingale collar for safety? It sounds like his life has been horrible and so baby steps, patience and slow pace is what it will take. I think you have gotten very valuable info from people already so I will not add! good Luck!

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