Leash Training a Rescue Dog or Older Dog

In today’s society, rescue dogs have become very popular. Many people feel that rescue dogs are the perfect pet because they have been abandoned and mistreated by their previous owners. They think rescue dogs will be eternally grateful for being given a new home. In some cases, this is true; however, rescue dogs often have some form of trauma that has occurred in the past that can affect their ability to be leash trained.

Many rescue dogs come from puppy mills or other types of animal shelters, and they may already have poor behaviors due to a lack of socialization with humans. A rescue dog’s “personality” is usually not determined until they are adopted. Once rescue dogs are adopted, it is up to their new owners to train them in basic skills like walking on a leash. A rescue dog will not automatically know how to walk on a leash or come when called; these things must be taught or the rescue dog cannot be taken outside for walks and exercise without some type of training.

Leash Training Your New Dog

So you’ve got your new dog and he seems to be pretty happy. He’s rolling around, smiling, chasing his tail, and just being the happy little puppy that he is. So of course he insists on going out and playing off-leash, and it goes fine! As long as you let him run free in a safe area like a yard or dog park, he’ll be perfectly fine. But what about when you want him to come inside and you don’t want him underfoot? It’s time to leash up!

At first, it can be a little tricky getting your dog used to being on a leash since he likely hasn’t worn one his whole life. However, once you get going, it’ll be just as easy to have your dog walking on a leash being by your side without tripping you up as it was to have them play off the leash. The key is in retraining that dog brain to see the leash as something positive rather than an annoying contraption that’s meant to take away their freedom. You can take the dog for dog training classes with a professional.

Once he sees the leash, make sure you have some tasty dog treats nearby to reward him with (though he won’t need them forever) and get his attention. If he comes over to sniff the leash or prances about because he recognizes the leash from when it’s time for walks or playing at dog parks, play a happy little game of “tug” with the leash or encourage him to play with a dog toy. Once he’s all riled up and ready to go, it’ll be much easier to snap on the leash and get going quickly.

Once you have the dog’s attention, what you want to do is make putting on that leash a pleasant experience, not an annoying one. Instead of snapping that leash into place, start putting it over the dog’s head. Once the dog sees that you are trying to put it on him, he’ll likely try to avoid it by running off or pawing at it. As soon as your dog starts backing away or otherwise avoiding getting leashed up, drop what you are doing. Don’t let the dog run off, but also don’t risk getting bitten by trying to force the dog into place. Once you let go of putting the leash on your dog, he’ll still think that the leash is there and might even try to paw at it or grab it in his mouth.

Don’t Give Up Leash Training Your Rescue Dog

Keep dropping whatever you are doing whenever your dog gets spooked by the leash as soon as your dog sees it. This way, your dog knows that any time he sees the leash he doesn’t have to be scared of it since you aren’t going to force him into place with it. Once he’s relaxed about the leash, try again. If your dog is still nervous or completely freaked out by the leash, try putting it on when he’s eating on dinner or playing with his dog toys from the moving dog toys page.

Your dog might take a little while to get used to seeing you attempt to put that leash on him, but once he realizes that it isn’t something to fear and that he can avoid it by playing with dog toys or eating, you’ll be able to work quickly at snapping on the leash and getting him outside without worrying about how he’s going to react.

Walking on a leash is one of those dog training basics that every dog owner should learn. It makes walking your dog much less stressful, and usually, dog owners that try to avoid putting their dog on a leash only do it because they worry about what their dog will think or how he’ll behave when it’s time to go for a walk. However, if you take the time to teach your dog not to fear his leash and make putting it on a positive experience rather than a stressful one, you’ll find dog walking to be much easier.

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