Boxer Puppy (9 weeks): Refuses on-leash training

[HarperBoxer]

Harper, my purebred boxer, has been with me off leash since I got him at 7 weeks. We have gone on walks and even with the disractions of people, cars, and all the new experiences he stays firmly by my side. I am starting to get worried that maybe one day he will dart off, so I attempted to use the leash.
The first time I put it on was in the house. In order to get him confortable with it I just put it on him and let him walk around the house with it on to get kind of a feel for it. I've even coaxed him and gave positive reinforcement with treats. But as soon as we went outside and he felt the slightest tug on his neck he flipped out. I mean like when you see cats on Animal Rescue being caught with that pole around the neck. Jumping, Flipping, and everything. As soon as I let him off he looked at me like "What the F*%k was that all about." And we walked without the leash and he was perfect at my side.
I attempted this several times with the same result. Now when he sees the leash I am starting to notice a slight avoidance behavior. I am worried that he will learn that the leash is a bad thing. And will being avoiding me everytime we have to go out... Any suggestions? Thanks for everyones time and I look foward to hearing some answers.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

I like to use a retractible lead with young puppies so I can make SURE they can't get a tight lead at any time.

Some puppies like yours may buck and jump a bit at first, with the slight tension on the lead, but this generally quiets down rapidly and the puppy accepts the slight tension on the collar.

When then happens, coax the pup along with you with treats. Or let him just roam about at his leisure if he likes. Any time he comes to you, give him a treat. Any time he makes eye contact with you while he's on the leash, treat. Any time he moves forward along with you, treat.

Be patient. Get a retractible so he can't get to a tight lead, and use lots of treats.

 

[Doberluv]

LOL. This thread was deleted because it was so similar to the other one in the training forum. But someone put it back. So......LOL. Maybe we should just keep on going on the other one so you don't have to keep going back nd forth from this one to that to see all the responses.

 

[bittervanityx]

Haha, Zelda did the same thing with the lead. She looked like she belonged in a bar with some trashy looking woman riding her for $0.25. =) She'd scream ( and when i say scream i mean scream, for some reason she doesnt whine, it sounds like i was trying to KILL her) and everything, I just waited her out. Imagine the time i had potty training! Now she loves the leash, it means were going outside.

Just wait. maybe bring some treats along when shes good
=) it will pass. Hopefully. haha.

 

[bubbatd]

Get a harness ...........

 

[T&D's Mum]

What's really helped us is this: hold the leash loosely in your left hand with your pup on your right and treats in your right hand, then bend down next to your pup and 'lead' them to walk whilst releasing a treat every 15 seconds. They then learn to associate the lead with good things and get used to it...

 

[girlbuffalo1]

The advice about treats and the advice about a harness are good ones. Don't give in--even if they buck and jump around in the air--keep walking--they'll get used to it. Honey tried that a few times on walks protesting a times but now she loves going on walks--the harness and the not giving in is what worked for her.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

What's really helped us is this: hold the leash loosely in your left hand with your pup on your right and treats in your right hand, then bend down next to your pup and 'lead' them to walk whilst releasing a treat every 15 seconds. They then learn to associate the lead with good things and get used to it...

Great advice, except the pup should be on the left.

 

[Doberluv]

And the treats should be given every step that the pup takes nicely. Reinforce every correct response until the behavior becomes reliable, then switch to a variable reward schedule. In other words, every step, then every couple of steps, then every 6, then 4, then 8, then 2. Then you can work on a variable schedule that is not exactly random, but based on an average number of correct responses.

When pup is just beginning to learn something new, don't wait a whole 15 seconds to reinforce correct responses. He must be reinforced when he's doing what you want at the very second he's doing it. It will make so much more sense to him and he'll learn much quicker that way. (tiny, tiny treats)

I agree that the left side is customary and what is used in competition. But otherwise, it really doesn't matter. Whatevery you like. I use the left side mostly, but later on teach the pup to walk on either side. In fact, my Chihuahuas walk on my right because when we all three go on a leash walk, Lyric walks on the left and those two little squirts on my right to have their own area.

 

[sundog]

What kind of treats are good for young puppies?

 

[T&D's Mum]

You can get Pedigree puppy treats, they are liver treats which you can break up into small pieces.

 

[Saje]

Ick. I wouldn't feed pedigree. I find treats like chopped up weiners, pieces of cheese or dehydrated meat really get my dogs excited which is what you want in training. You can make your own liver treats by chopping up liver from the store and dehydrating them in the microwave or oven.