My Corgi destroyed the harness

[RSX JDM Integra]

Recently I decided to take her for walks so I put on the harness that I have had since I adopted her home. Only problem is she gets scared and nervous whenever I put it on. Not only that, she doesn't seem happy at all and doesn't listen to me anymore. She starts to sit and look at me like she's sorry.

At the time, I did not really take her out for walks as I play with her in the back of the yard. The backyard is really big and spacious so she has all the room she needs to run around and play in.

When I take the leash to attach to the harness and tell her to come she still sits there and when I pull a bit to tell her to come she doesn't come either. I'll have a treat so she can see it but yet she still sits there. When the leash if off of her she will eventually start walking around. So I just left the harness on there so she would gradually get used to it and that it would be accepted by her.

Well, when I decided to put her in the crate for the night. I woke up and found that the harness was no longer on her. She bit off the buckle and took it right off and it is completely destroyed.

I have no idea what to do anymore. I DO want to take her for walks but her attitude and destructive habits is going to leave my wallet empty if I have to keep buying her a new harness. I do not want to take it off because I want her to get used to it so that every time we walk I don't have to put it back on her.

 

[Cheetah]

I don't believe you're supposed to leave a harness on a dog unsupervised, as it's a safety hazard. Also, leaving the harness on her is not going to get her used to the tension on the leash, which she's most likely more afraid of.

It's best to teach her to walk on both collar and harness, so she gets experience with both. Let her drag the leash around the house, connected to the collar or harness (supervised of course!) so she can get used to the leash being there. How old is she? What kind of treats are you offering?

When I first got Shippo, my corgi, he was also scared of the tension on the leash. I simply made sure I did not apply any tension to the leash until he was used to it. I turned my back on him and coaxed him to follow me, and it worked very well. It only took a few days to get him used to the leash.

 

[RSX JDM Integra]

I don't believe you're supposed to leave a harness on a dog unsupervised, as it's a safety hazard. Also, leaving the harness on her is not going to get her used to the tension on the leash, which she's most likely more afraid of.

It's best to teach her to walk on both collar and harness, so she gets experience with both. Let her drag the leash around the house, connected to the collar or harness (supervised of course!) so she can get used to the leash being there. How old is she? What kind of treats are you offering?

When I first got Shippo, my corgi, he was also scared of the tension on the leash. I simply made sure I did not apply any tension to the leash until he was used to it. I turned my back on him and coaxed him to follow me, and it worked very well. It only took a few days to get him used to the leash.

The leash is the retractable ones that have the plastic handle. I have let her just sit there while I watched her with the harness and leash on and she doesn't go anywhere at all but sit there and stare.

As far as leaving the harness on over-night, a vet tech told me to do so but only in the crate where she can't really do much anyways (yeah right). She said just leave it on over-night so she will get used to it (didn't happen now did it). So yeah that is what was advised to me when I took her to the vet.

She is about 11 months old now. And as for treats I use the Purina Burger treats that smell like beef jerky lol. Also give her milk-bone treats as well. I also used Kong stuffing on her kibbles as treats and she likes them but when the harness and attached to the retractable leash, she will not even care if the treat is mouth-watering or not.

By the way, Shippo is cool looking. She's a fluffy type of Corgi isn't she? I really like those ones. I was reading on them and the AKC disapproves of that type. No idea why but those are my favorite types!

 

[Cheetah]

Yup, Shippo is a Fluffy. AKC may disapprove, but I love him anyway - I got him for agility and therapy anyway, not conformation lol. When one of my friends told me her show dog had puppies, and two of them were Fluffies, I totally jumped on it lmao...

As for the leash, go to the store and buy a cheap, regular, nylon leash. This is the kind of leash you will need for training. Retractables have constant tension on the leash - no wonder she's scared! You need a leash you can put slack on, so that you can actually make her feel more comfortable.

Leaving a harness on your dog in the crate is still dangerous I think. The harness can get caught on parts of the crate and strangle your dog. Not to mention that leaving a harness on for long periods of time (hours and hours and hours, day after day) can rub your dog's fur off and cause sores. I've seen it happen.

If your puppy is not accepting the treats when you're trying to coax her to walk with you, then it's possible that they're just not good enough (after all, it's what she thinks about them that counts). Try something else. The stinkier the better... maybe something fishy, or a nice turkey dog, cut up into teeny pieces and burned in the microwave.

Hope that helps!

 

[TopShelfPets]

try putting the harness on right before feeding her and taking it off when she's done eating. then put it on before going into the yard to play - associate it going on with good things. Just work at it slowly.

Retractable leashes are ok for just walking your dog, but for training it's best to have a standard leash.

 

[Cheetah]

And for training a dog not to be scared of the tension on a leash, I think a retractable is pretty useless as well. Train her first on a regular leash, and then move to a retractable.

 

[RSX JDM Integra]

I put a regular leash on her today and she did not budge at all.

I think I may be more afraid of pulling on the leash than her having the leash on herself.

I don't wanna pull to where her paws are dragging or to the point where its dragging her slowly. Would this be too harsh? I don't want to try it until someone says its safe to do because I dont want to hurt her.

 

[Cheetah]

Just put the leash on her inside and let her drag it around first. Make sure you supervise. Tethering (use of the leash inside the house) is a great way for house training anyway, because it will keep her from wandering off and getting into trouble (although at 11 months, I'm sure you're past this).

 

[RSX JDM Integra]

Just put the leash on her inside and let her drag it around first. Make sure you supervise. Tethering (use of the leash inside the house) is a great way for house training anyway, because it will keep her from wandering off and getting into trouble (although at 11 months, I'm sure you're past this).

nope shes very calm and quiet type of dog now. i think it was probably due to the fact that she was acquainted with a Dachshund that had a major level of energy for her to cope with and that after he left (staying 1 week) she started maturing and I saw a different side to her. The only thing that she needs to work on now is the leash and everything else would be fine.

She is housebroken. Does not chew on anything in my presence (although I'm not sure if left in the house while I'm sleeping would guarantee this).

I'll try that tomorrow. Usually if I leave the leash on her for a long time she still just sits there and barely ever moves.

Just incase though, what if she does go crazy at the leash while I sit and wait and she tries to bite it and take it off? What should I do then?

 

[Cheetah]

Just get it out of her mouth and try again. There's also the option of putting bitter apple or vick's vapor rub on the part of the leash closest to her.

But basically, just put the leash on, let it drop to the floor, and let her decide when she's comfortable enough to get up and walk around. You don't even have to stand there and try to coax her, just go about your business, as long as she's in sight. Giving her some treats while it's on could also be helpful.