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BR, our Chewy is a rescue from a shelter and we do not have his collar on him unless he is outside and what we do is leave his collar on his hook and put the collar on right before we go outside.
Perhaps doing this for your puppy could help him get past the leash issue since the lease will be one with the collar.
Good luck.
It's usually a lot easier to rehab a feral dog if you have another, stable dog for the feral to mirror. It also does help in getting them out the door for potty. Have you tried a harness instead of a collar?
Can a dog be feral at 3 months? For most dogs, the window for socialization is one year.
I'm not sure I understand why this dog is so freaked out by the leash. Was she beaten with a leash or something?
I'd get a bunch of leashes and put them around the house so she gets used to at least SEEING them. Then I'd give her positive associations with it. Get her clicker oriented (Check out Karen Pryor) and then whenever looks directly at the leash, click and treat. When she approaches one willingly, click and treat. Eventually, you just start holding one around her, letting her see it, sniff it etc. Clicks and treats for any positive interaction.
Meanwhile, you teach her commands - get her heeling, sitting, laying down, offering her paw etc. The "Touch" command is also useful. When she is finally tolerant of being just AROUND leashes and will "touch" the leash, you clip one on to her collar without making a big deal of it. Then you continue to give commands and click and treat as long as she obeys. If she freaks out, you take the leash off and then try again.
She CAN get over this. But you may need the help of a behaviorist to set up the right protocols.
Can a dog be feral at 3 months? For most dogs, the window for socialization is one year.
I'm not sure I understand why this dog is so freaked out by the leash. Was she beaten with a leash or something?
I'd get a bunch of leashes and put them around the house so she gets used to at least SEEING them. Then I'd give her positive associations with it. Get her clicker oriented (Check out Karen Pryor) and then whenever looks directly at the leash, click and treat. When she approaches one willingly, click and treat. Eventually, you just start holding one around her, letting her see it, sniff it etc. Clicks and treats for any positive interaction.
Meanwhile, you teach her commands - get her heeling, sitting, laying down, offering her paw etc. The "Touch" command is also useful. When she is finally tolerant of being just AROUND leashes and will "touch" the leash, you clip one on to her collar without making a big deal of it. Then you continue to give commands and click and treat as long as she obeys. If she freaks out, you take the leash off and then try again.
She CAN get over this. But you may need the help of a behaviorist to set up the right protocols.
IMHO, I think Jrz's onto something. I thought the same thing...someone has abused this pup with a leash.
IMHO, I think Jrz's onto something. I thought the same thing...someone has abused this pup with a leash.
Thanks, TD. My roommate's dog was adopted from a shelter and is now 14 (and on her way out, unfortunately), but she has always been terrified of belts. And I think we can figure that out.
OP may want to try using a harness too - the dog could have been yanked on her neck, and the harness might be less of a trigger.
Can a dog be feral at 3 months? For most dogs, the window for socialization is one year.
I'm not sure I understand why this dog is so freaked out by the leash. Was she beaten with a leash or something?
I'd get a bunch of leashes and put them around the house so she gets used to at least SEEING them. Then I'd give her positive associations with it. Get her clicker oriented (Check out Karen Pryor) and then whenever looks directly at the leash, click and treat. When she approaches one willingly, click and treat. Eventually, you just start holding one around her, letting her see it, sniff it etc. Clicks and treats for any positive interaction.
Meanwhile, you teach her commands - get her heeling, sitting, laying down, offering her paw etc. The "Touch" command is also useful. When she is finally tolerant of being just AROUND leashes and will "touch" the leash, you clip one on to her collar without making a big deal of it. Then you continue to give commands and click and treat as long as she obeys. If she freaks out, you take the leash off and then try again.
She CAN get over this. But you may need the help of a behaviorist to set up the right protocols.
thats what i thought. how feral can a dog be after 3 months?
im pretty concerned that even if i get her leash trained, she will always be scared of me. ive seen some videos online where they look at feral dogs post 1 year of training. and the dog is still scared of the owner
thats what i thought. how feral can a dog be after 3 months?
im pretty concerned that even if i get her leash trained, she will always be scared of me. ive seen some videos online where they look at feral dogs post 1 year of training. and the dog is still scared of the owner
What kind of dog? Border collies I've worked with were often terrified consistently for months, and then suddenly a light went off at a certain age and they came around. It's kind of herding dog nature. Some hunting pups I worked with from the time they were weaned were always a bit shy, but were mostly quite sociable. My dad's favorite dog was very shy at first, but I worked with him every day and he eventually was fine going to trials and being in crowds.
It can be a lot of work. But I doubt very much this puppy is feral - probably just abused. YOu are well within the one year window for socialization though, so I would enlist a behaviorist to help you get her acclimated. THey really do work - my friends adopted a 4-year-old dog who liked to kill cats. Trouble was, they have 3 cats. It was months of intense training, but now the dog curls up on the couch and snuggles with the cats. She knows they are not prey now. This pup may just need some work and her brain is much moremalleable at a few months than if she were an adult dog.
Patience and lots of time. Progress will be slow. It has to be at that dog's pace, not yours, not the trainer. Puppies feral at 3 months are not uncommon. A dog that was never handled by people or socialized may react in many ways people will mistake that behavior as a result of abuse. Having a collar and leash on a dog is a physical restraint on the dog, something a feral or street pup will react with fear initially until it comes to accept and understand that you are guiding her.
If you can't afford that time to work with her, it is best to rehome her to a rescue that works with dogs like her. She would probably go into a foster home, learn new skills to become a pet and then to be adopted out to a family. Yard or no yard, this is what she needs. Someone who can spend months working with her.
I rescued a feral adult GSP. She is 17 now and sleeping on the dog bed beside my desk. She lived on her own in a very rural part of South Dakota. I am sure she survived by hunting rodents, birds, and squirrels. She went into the shelter after a farmer trapped her.
Lola hated leashes too. I got her over this by getting one of those short leashes and leaving it attached to her collar except for when I had to leave the house. In just a couple days she wasn't nearly as afraid of the leash. After a few weeks I was able to start training her on a 25ft lead. I started that just as soon as she became treat motivated. And I started with very high value treat like bits of liver, hot dogs, and turkey. I also had another dog she could watch and learn how to behave.
Today you would never know Lola was feral. Except for 1 thing. She is still a flight risk. If she sees a way to escape, she will. Then she gets lost and can't find her way home. Even at 17 she can still run like the wind. And that's exactly what she does when she smells freedom. About a year ago a friend left the garage door open and Lola escaped. We spent a whole day looking for her and luckily Animal Control picked her up and called us from the information on her chip. She was tired but completely fine. She is a wonderful dog and a great companion but she never completely lost her desire to be free.
thats what i thought. how feral can a dog be after 3 months?
im pretty concerned that even if i get her leash trained, she will always be scared of me. ive seen some videos online where they look at feral dogs post 1 year of training. and the dog is still scared of the owner
It will take time and patience and love. It sounded like you have patience and love....Do you have to time to dedicate, that is your question.
You may have to lower your standards and not rush this dog....in other words you may want to back off from forcing any sort of training and content yourself with working on simply getting this dog to accept that you will never hurt him and allow him to adapt to you. What you need is someone to train you then you train the dog.
I've known a dog that was so afraid of people that it's owner sat for weeks outside a fence when feeding him...this adult Australian Shepard was extremely afraid and wouldn't allow this man to pet him.....until one day he did. That was one of the smartest dogs I ever met, and he developed a very strong bond with the man that worked so hard to gain his trust.
So, it is up to you to decide if you have that willingness to devote whatever time it takes to help this puppy develop trust, because once this pup trusts you the rest will follow. A dog naturally wants to please the people it loves.
What I would do is simply put a leash on the pup, loop it up so it isn't dragging, and let him wear it around the house...supervised of course....so it can get used to it. It will eventually see that the leash is not going to hurt him. Maybe offer a treat when putting on the leash. Or, if the dog does like to go outside, leash it every time you take it potty....it will associate the leash with being able to go outside.
A pup shouldn't be near the challenge that an adult abused dog is.....simply because the have less history to forget. It is likely that this dog was either born feral, or got lost as a young pup....and simply had little or negative interactions with humans.
Also, check online and you tube for training suggestions and videos which I've often found very helpful.
Keep us posted.
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