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Old 06-03-2009, 04:41 AM   #1
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Default Harley refuses to walk on the leash...just sits and whines...HELP!!

Hi, I'm new here and I've read some really good advice and encouraging messages. I only hope that someone will be able to direct some of that wisdom towards me... Here's my issue ~ Harley is 14 weeks old and she has done wonderful on almost everything I've introduced her to. She loves her crate and is usually always quiet once shes in it. She knows how to sit, stay, and I even have taught her that she has to "wait" until I step in the door and ask her to come inside before she moves. All in all, I think she's VERY intelligent. However, I think that intelligence has turned too being stubborn and wanting things her way. Specifically, the leash. I've always wanted a yorkie and finally convinced my husband to let me have one. I did A LOT of research before bringing her home and I'd like to think that I'm pretty educated when it comes to the training. Within the first 2 weeks of having her, I began putting the harness on her so she would get used to it...no problem. She runs, eats, plays, everything with it on. So then, at about 4 weeks, I attached a string to it so she could get prepared for the leash. That went fine. Okay, 6 weeks, I actually attached a leash to the harness and let her drag it around. She didn't like it at first, but eventually would forget about it and act normal. Only after she was relaxed and calm did I attempt to pick the leash up in my hand. I do this, and immediately she sits. I try calling her to me calmly and no luck. I can not even persuad her to move with treats. She just sits and whines. Several times I've actually just tried to start walking hoping that she would get the idea, but I end up pulling her, which I know is NOT the right thing to do. So, I try giving her more treats, and still, she will not move. Normally, this wouldn't be such an issue as I would take a couple steps back and try at a later date. However, I'm going on vacation at the end of July and she's going to have to go with us. Which means she'll HAVE to be on a leash. It's a long ride and she'll have to get out at rest areas to use the bathroom. To be honest, I'm not even sure she'll go potty on the leash. On top of that, we're going to the mountains and I would LOVE to walk her with me so that she could explore and take all the new things in. But, if I can't get her to walk, what can I do? If worst comes to worst, I know I can keep her in her crate during the day, but I'm still not sure how she'll do on the leash when we're having to stop on the road along the way. At this point, I feel I've been patient and tried almost everything that has been suggested. I do not know what else to do. Any help or advice would be MUCH appreciated. I just want her to be happy and healthy and I KNOW that a daily walk would do that for her.

Thanks! - Harley's Mama
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:34 AM   #2
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First- WELCOME!!!

Second- what a GREAT job you have done getting her used to her leash- wow- that is very impressive...

My Layla HATES walks- hates them- and yet we go every morning and every night! I love that you are making her sit at the door- it should be clear to her who is in charge now. Are you practicing walking inside or outside? With layla i usually have to carry her for a few mintues- almost like our little street is boring and not even worth walking down when I put her down- i took have to drag her a bit- i feel awful but I want her to know this is what we are doing- so you better get used to it- and eventually she does walk. Periodically during the walk I will stop, ask her to sit and give her a treat- to show her that if she keeps walking she is going to be rewarded.

I've been reading Cesar so now Layla's walks consist of her walking right next to me/slightly behind- I don't think she is crazy about this and perhaps this is why she is fighting it even more- but oh well- this is how things are going to be Good luck- keep with it- sounds like you are doing a great job- she is goign to LOVE the vacation lots of new smells!
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Old 06-03-2009, 07:42 AM   #3
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Thanks for your comments... The first time I picked up the leash we were inside the house. I had read that it's better to start in a normal surrounding. However, same thing happened. She just wouldn't move when I had the leash in my hand. So, then I decided "Okay, well maybe if I take her out to a NEW surrounding, then she'd be more willing to start walking because she would want to explore the new area." But still.... no such luck.
I too am a HUGE fan of Cesar Milan, which is what prompted me to do my research ahead of time and start implementing the rules as soon as I brought her home. As said before, I really can't complain about anything else as she usually is fine with each new thing I introduce her too. Seems to be the leash and the leash only. In fact, I even did what I've heard Cesar say and gradually introduce her to the leash. I didn't force it on her at all. I put it out on the ground with all of her favorite play toys and just let her slowly discover it by herself. Whenever I would see her go towards it to sniff or check out, I immediately would say "Good Girl" and give her a treat. She got to the point that she would continually go over to it because she knew she would get a treat. This is the same way I introduced her to everything. I let her think that she was discovering it, but never forcing her to it. After several weeks of this, is when I finally felt confident & comfortable to actually pick up the leash in my hand. I really don't know what I'm doing wrong.... so do you think I should continue each day to put her on the leash and just pull her even if she refuses to walk? I'm afraid if I do it that way, she will always hate it and associate it with something negative. Just do not know what to do at this point.... also, treats do not work. She's just stubborn and refuses even her favorite treats when on the leash. Pray for me please.... LOL
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Old 06-03-2009, 09:25 AM   #4
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Sounds like you have done a great job trying everything ~ The only other thing I can think of is if you have someone you know with a dog to try and walk them at the same time Puppies will usually follow and be so excited they forget all about the lead
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Old 06-03-2009, 09:46 AM   #5
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Hi, I have two yorkies one Leah is two and the other Ellie is one, just this week my eldest Leah is doing exactly the same thing, she refuses to walk when I put her lead on her. Shes been fine for two years but just this week she seems to have developed a stubborn streak, my youngest Ellie is no problem just trots along, I end up carrying Leah to the end of our street then when we reach the field I put her down and she is fine, sniffing and running about like nothing was wrong. I wish I knew why she does this.
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Old 06-04-2009, 06:36 PM   #6
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Default Leash Leary

Have you tried walking towards home instead of away from home? Another suggestion is, walk towards someone she likes. However the latter only works on very very short walks. Yorkies are notorious for collapsing trachea, so rather than hooking the leash to the neck collar, a harness is advised. Best of luck!
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Old 06-05-2009, 06:20 AM   #7
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Sounds like you're almost there and you have been doing a very good job so far
what you can do is bring her outside and have her wander around with you there
The sights and smells outside will get her wamting to walk around and she is less likely to focus on the leash being on her
also as an aside
if you treat walking on a lead as just someting that's taken for granted she is more likely to follow
My Zach was alot like yours
He hated having the leash on ... but when he sat down and acted stubborn what broke him out of it was me just saying Come On very softly and walking ahead and expecting him to follow
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Old 06-05-2009, 08:00 AM   #8
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Lulu was the same way, when we first started training her inside the house. She was playing with her leash alright, but when we tried walking her it was a completely different story. Now though we don't have any problems with her.

What helped us is having her on a short leash while having her favorite treat a short distance in front of her. Sort of "the carrot and the stick" method. Lulu wanted her treat, so she walked forward it while being on the leash. Another good method is to have your puppy's treats in a plastic cup, and make noise with it -- but the puppy needs to learn first that the treats are kept in the cup. And then you can do the same thing; have them on the leash, walk in front of them and make noises with the cup. When they make a few steps forward, reward them with a treat and praise them in a high pitched voice.

Lulu was doing sort of OK when we tried it in the house, but she became a much better leash walker when we started taking her outdoors. At first, she was scared of being outside. So at points she would stop, lay on the ground and refuse to move. But we kept on gently pushing on the leash, and saying "lets go". It worked well, and now she is totally fine with the leash. In fact, she gets excited when she sees the leash now because she knows we're going outside!

Good luck!
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Old 06-05-2009, 09:17 AM   #9
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Wow you certainly are doing a great job, isn’t it funny if you leave the outside door open they’ll bolt out, but wanting to walk a different story, Chelsea will walk with no problem until we go by my brother’s place and to no avail she will not move. “I’m not going up there so start walking Chelsea” yea right…she just looks at me, well I would get excited and in a high pitch voice look at the rabbit and start running, she would follow goes ahead of me then realizes what rabbit and stop again. I stand look at her them turn my back on her, wait than get excited again run, she follows, once she get ahead I would turn the other way and run kinda shock them as what happen and she turn and runs repeat that a few times and then finally she’ figured out.
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Old 06-08-2009, 02:48 AM   #10
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Ok, she is used to the leash, but not to you holding it and walking with her.

Next time, don't pick up the leash. Just clip it on, have some treats or toys with you and walk away from her. If she follows, reward her. If she continues to follow you, continue to reward her. Don't bribe her though. I don't think you should show the treat or toy every time to make her move (at least, not more than a few times) because she will learn that she needs a bribe to move.

Reward her every time the leash is on her and she follows you. When she is used to this and always follows you, you can try picking up the leash. If she then follows you, make a big fuss and reward her.

This way she will learn that moving is what you want. I think that since you did so good with her training (sit, stay, wait), she now thinks that this is what you want. Since she was rewarded for sitting, staying and waiting, she doesn't understand the new concept of walking on-leash. You just need to make her understand that you want her to follow you.
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Old 06-08-2009, 02:14 PM   #11
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We had issues with our 7 month old rescue. We had a lady come by who is a "dog whisperer". Follows Caesar's methodology. She was awesome. In 30 minutes she had Tinker walking right beside us. What did she do?

1. Short, short leash.
2. Don't let her put the brakes on. Just pull her is she does. Not hard, but firmly.
3. Walk with a purpose.
4. If she tries to walk inside your legs, put pressure on the leash and push her out, while saying "no!", or whatever you use (ackkk, etc.).

Unreal. We are on day 3 and it is working fantastic. Even my 84 year old mother, who was afraid to walk the dog, is doing great now. Just remember that is she is pulling a little, it may mean she has to eliminate.
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Old 06-08-2009, 02:17 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by craigt3365 View Post
We had issues with our 7 month old rescue. We had a lady come by who is a "dog whisperer". Follows Caesar's methodology. She was awesome. In 30 minutes she had Tinker walking right beside us. What did she do?

1. Short, short leash.
2. Don't let her put the brakes on. Just pull her is she does. Not hard, but firmly.
3. Walk with a purpose.
4. If she tries to walk inside your legs, put pressure on the leash and push her out, while saying "no!", or whatever you use (ackkk, etc.).

Unreal. We are on day 3 and it is working fantastic. Even my 84 year old mother, who was afraid to walk the dog, is doing great now. Just remember that is she is pulling a little, it may mean she has to eliminate.
Nice method! I like it, and will try it on our new baby boy that will be joining our household soon
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Old 06-09-2009, 06:10 AM   #13
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Hey you are doing such a great job! There are so many helpful ideas to try on this thread. Here is what worked for me, inside the house I started with the leash. When Hiro took ONE STEP I would treat him, then two steps, etc.once he walked around the house, I then took him outside (he too has to wait for me to go out the door first then wait till I invite him out) I went through the one step at a time again. This sounds really time consuming, I know but really the whole thing took maybe an hour. Before this he would run when he saw the leash in my hand. All I can suggest is to try different things until you find the method that works for that particular dog. For my other dogs, the gentle but firm pull worked right away. Good luck!
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Old 06-09-2009, 07:53 AM   #14
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Default Thank you!

Just wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone for their encouraging words. Still not walking on a leash yet, but I'm attaching it to her everyday for a few minutes. She's not yet comfortable with it...she likes to whine & jump in my lap when I put it on her. However....I'M NOT GIVING UP. I'm going to keep trying until she gets it. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you all what a wonderful little walker she is within the next few weeks. Thanks!!
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Old 08-23-2010, 06:52 AM   #15
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Wow -- you've done a great job so far in getting your little angel trained! I really like how you made the puppy sit by the door to assert your dominance -- that is half the battle! I was wondering you had an update for me: did you stick with the collar and leash or did you end up getting a harness? I would love to hear about the long walks you both take now

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