Help on Getting my Papillon to walk on leash

Karebear614 · New member Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Posts: 10

My papillon is 5 months old and he stated a puppy socialization class last week that requires him to be on a leash. I normally carry him outside to go to the bathroom and place him in an ex-pen so he never really had to go on leash, except for the vet. He is fine on the leash and collar and will walk around where HE wants, but when I try to get him to walk with me and where I want him to go he just stops dead and spreads out his legs so i would have to drag him. In class last week we switched dogs and he did it for the other people and it was embarassing. I know I probably should have started him on leash a long time ago! I tried luring him with a treat to follow me but that did not work. He is being quite stubborn about it! I dont want to drag him to make him do it because then he will probably hate it even more. Any suggestions???

Shineillusion · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:55 am Post subject:

Walk to the end of the leash and stop. Don't pull on the leash, this just encourages him to pull back. Make a sharp snap with the leash and at the same time use your voice to encourage him to come with you. If he makes the least bit of move in your direction, praise and encourage him to continue.

Remember. don't use a constant pull. He'll just lay back and put all his weight into pulling away from you. Use short, quick jerks

DeLaUK · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:44 am Post subject:

So your pup knows how to walk on a leash then as he will for other people?....so from what your saying Im thinking 2 things, either your pup is taking advantage of you or something has happened, like maybe youve got a little frustrated or upset with him when youve had him on a leash....dont get me wrong, Im not suggesting youve hurt him or anything but your moods, your tone of voice and body language are all factors that could have affected his response to you.

What Ive always done with the really stubborn dogs that just refuse to walk on a leash, most can be encouraged just by using your voice (happy puppy sounds, using his name) pat the side of your leg, motivation, sometimes a squeeky toy will encourage them just to get started. If that fails then I put some tension on the leash, take 2 or 3 steps then release the tension to give the pup time to get to his feet, the second he starts to stand give him A LOT of praise and motivate him more, keep moving slowly while your praising him (only praise him when there is no tension on the leash), if he goes down again just put tension back on the leash for another 2 or 3 steps then release and motivate, if he doesnt get up repeat it.

I know youve mentioned you dont want to drag him and dont misunderstand this as Im saying I drag dogs around all over the ground, I dont, its done very gently, some dogs will roll around and create a fuss but not because its hurting them....your not actually doing anything that is hurting them, and you are giving them the option every couple of seconds to get up onto their feet (the reaction can be similar to young children throwing themselves on the floor having a temper tantrum).

Make sure your not on hard ground when you do this, like concrete, tarmac....do it on a clean grass area (make sure theres no sharp debris etc) or you could do it indoors on a carpet.

Ive had a number of dogs were Ive had to do this, none of them were ever injured (apart from their pride maybe), and its done in one short session that usually lasts about 5-10 minutes at the most. The dogs that Ive worked with have not regressed in any way, have not shown fear of the leash or me although this is based on your average dog, there are cases were I wouldnt use this method intially, i.e on a dog that has been chained up for long periods or abused by being hit with a leash or something.....we have one in the shelter I work at now, a small Jack Russell, the owners had him tied to a radiator for 6 months, he ate, slept and used the area as his bathroom from about 6 months old until they finally dumped him off on us, it took about 2 months before we could get a leash near him...very sad. (Hes doing great now though).

It is important that you dont do this if you are frustrated or anything, your pup will pick up on your mood and it will make things harder.

The trainer that your going to should be able to stop this problem for you, should have been done the first week as you cant proceed properly with the training if your pup wont walk on a leash for you.

Good luck.

doglover1234 · Member Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Posts: 42

I think she is saying he behaved badly for the other people as well ? And that was the embarassing part. Or did he walk fine on the leash for other people ?

Karebear614 · New member Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Posts: 10

The class he goes to is a socialization class. It is not a obedience class, so the instructor is not focusing on leash walking. But we bascially pass our dogs to other people and he was bad on leash with other people too.
I am thinking of maybe getting him a harness and he might like that better?
I had him outside yesterday and I let him run around around the yard on his leash and then had him follow me after he did what he wanted for a little and he was a lot better. I have him lots of praise and treats and made a game out of it and he was fine.
He was fine in the yard, but i have a feeling it will probably go back to him refusing to walk with people again once in class. I guess as long as he is fine with me I should not worrk how he is with other people on leash? Perhaps maybe he does not like walking on those rubber mats they have on the floor in class.