We have a 14 week old corgi who will not tolerate a collar, much less a leash.  I have never encountered this before in a dog or puppy and it is becoming quite a problem.  When the collar is on, he shakes, scratches at it, and goes into "I will not be happy now" mode.  If I attach the leash, he completely shuts down and will not move.  If I walk, I drag him along on his back.  I've tried treats and talking in a ridiculous "baby talk" voice but it does not work.  I've tried leaving the collar on for short bits of time and just leaving it on all day.  It is affecting his house training because when I take him out to potty without a leash, he simply runs around wildly playing with the cats and our other dog.  In fact, he is becoming very focused on our other animals and paying less and less attention to us.  I've massaged him all around his neck and find no evidence of pain or any physical problem, so I'm assuming this is quite a stubborn streak he has.  Any suggestions?

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Put it on and leave it on. He will get used to it but will scratch and throw a fit. Take him out separately to go potty and praise him for doing his job then let the others out to join in the fun.. Let him drag the leash even in the house but don't let him chew on it. Some dogs react more than others but after a few days....he will be more used to it:)

I agree, put it on and leave it on. He'll get over it eventually.

As far as the leash, I would just let him drag it around the house, and once he's used to that then I would pick up the end and just follow him around for a while.

Puppy classes!!!! Now! Before he takes too much advantage and is harder to train later! Franklin hated his collar. I found some really really soft cloth type collars for him and kept them pretty loose and they didnt' seem to bug him as much. I have since switched him to a choke chain and that doesn't bother him at all. He also used to rub along any building he could as we tried to walk, to get the collar off, and if that didn't work  he would lay down and roll and itch every 5 steps, etc, etc,. A harness was about 50 times worse. I just kept the collar on fairly loose all the time. Also puppy classes.
I found out with my first corgi, Sparty, that they are very sensitive and often will not hesitate to train their human how they want things done! Just make sure it is a light weight collar and leave it on. Our first Obedience class, Sparty yelped like I was killing him when I put the training collar on. I checked him all over and could see nothing wrong. The instructor after I asked if it was possible the collar hurt him said "No but he sure got you to do what he wanted". Lol, it was a learning experience for me to have a dog with such strong opinions. I would use the leash and if he pottys where you want then let him play with the other animals. They can be short, big eared tyrants if you let them!
Yes - I see what you mean!  I made it up to two days in a row with the collar on but he genuinely acted as if something were seriously wrong; not playing, lazing around, very quiet.  I began to worry that he was sick.  As soon as I removed the collar, he was miraculously cured - running and playing normally!  Today, I put the collar back on and he's back in his "I don't have many days left in this life" mode.  What an actor!  He would not come out in the yard no matter how much I tried to tempt him.  Even the cats can't get him to play.  I'm going to have to work hard to outlast his will.
Oh yes, they can be pretty melodramatic. My Ginny acts this way if I put on ANY kind of clothes or harness on her. She has a little winter coat, but she'll go literally pout in the corner until I take it off. And she makes a big show of sighing heavily and harumphing about so you notice how terribly abused she is. And those eyebrows! All furrowed up like she's the saddest little thing in the world. Amazing how these dogs can communicate - and how emotional they are!

we had similar problems with the collars/leashes, and I concur with everyone's opinion about leaving them on and letting them drag them.

 

We watched the Westminster dog show last weekend and the announcers talked about how all of the intelligent dogs in the herding group were "Independent Thinkers"

 

we LAUGHED and LAUGHED about the characterization of hard-headed, stubborn, know it all herders as "independent thinkers"!

This is not fun.  I have been nonchalantly clipping on the leash to take him for a "walk" - which means I drag him on his back while he yelps, pulls, chokes, shuts down, etc.  Now he is biting me when I put the leash on AND when I try to remove the leash after our "walk".  Each time I get him in a submissive position and hold him until he calms down and then I release him to his crate where he sulks for an hour or so.  Since I can't take him to puppy class off leash and right now he will not walk on leash and he is biting (quite aggressively) at putting the leash on and off, I'd like to know what my next step is.  I'm not feeling very confident reading all the posts on here with people who have dogs much older than my puppy who are showing pretty serious behavior problems.  I've got a 100lb great pyrenees who has had no formal training to speak of and he is a walk in the park.  Is there any real hope here or have a made a horrible mistake?

Did you try letting him drag the leash around the house and then picking up the end and following him around? How about putting the leash on and walking around with some super yummy treats, like real chicken or steak. My personal opinion - I'm not a big fan of rolling a dog unless absolutely necessary, and I would not push such a young puppy so hard that he shuts down. You want him to associate the leash with happy things at this age.

 

And you could still take him to a puppy class. Just tell them when you sign up that you're having major issues with the collar/leash, I'm sure they'll be happy to help you on the first day of class.

I think at this point you have made your pup to think the leash/collar is a bad thing.  Never drag them for a "walk".  Yes it is a battle of wills but forcing them will get you only 10 steps backward.  You have untrain for bad and make it the best thing in the world. 

 

Figure out what is the end all beat all treat for your pup-cheese, greasy hotdogs, etc.  Put the collar with leash on him, don't put him on his back in a submissive position-way bad.  But get the collar on, then become a Pez dispenser of treats.  Good scratches, pets and hugs.  Leave the collar and leash on and walk away.  At any point that you have recognition of you and not the "evil" collar-reward.  For now, no treats if he's chewing, eating or attempting to kill him self with the collar/leash.  Only when quiet and ignoring it.  And it make take hours.  You have to outlast the pup.  And for now-no good treats or even treats at all, unless the collar is on.  At no point acknowledge the bad behavior with the collar on, ignore it. 

It's going to take some time to untrain the bad.  As for going outside, get a very light cotton line and tie it to a snap that you can attach to his collar.  Make sure it's 10 -15' long.  Pick up puppy, take outside, set on the group, walk away holding the long lead.  Let him figure out that he can't go goofing off when asked to do his business outside.  Ask him to "go potty" and immediately upon releaving himself, go to him(not bring him to you) say "good potty"(I know that sounds hoaky) and bring out those really good treats.  Pick up pup, go inside.

Changing of collars might work, but your best bet for the long haul is just a simple leather or nylon buckle collar.  Tight enough that it can't slip over the head, but loose enough that you can fit one - two fingers under it. 

Good luck!

Hi Ashley, would you mind having a 3rd person filming you while you put on the leash / collar / and walk him? just let the camera run, it'll give us an idea what you're experiencing. 

 

There is hope, your corgi is a young pup, it will take sometime, just like human teenagers your corgi will go through the same. Corgis are very smart, they are ranked at 11 on the intelligence scale, they think independently and will not blindly follow command like a border collie. Some corgis are very hard-headed and usually not recommended for inexperienced owners.

 

I understand you have a lot on your plate as a stay at home mom, take a deep breath, enroll your corgi for an obedience class, spend the 15 mins a day, keep the learning sessions short and fun. Remember he is a young pup, with a little patience, he'll become your loyal friend.

If he doesn't like the tightness around his neck all the time you could try a nylon martingale collar. They sit pretty loose around the neck when not in use, and then tighten up when the dog pulls against the leash. They can't back out of them either.

I've gotten mine from this seller on etsy, she put lighter hardware on it for my puppy and was happy to accommodate a certain size.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheModDog

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