November 25, 2015 at 8:43am
Hey Shawna,
For the leash issue, you can try a couple things:
- At various times throughout the day, randomly pick up the leash and carry it around the house. This will help to desensitize Lucy to it. The change won't happen overnight, but it will help.
- Treat the act of leashing her as a training exercise on its own. Oftentimes what we will do at the training center is put a slip lead on the dog before they even come out of their kennel. Then we will use the slip lead to manage their behavior as we practice putting a second leash on. We use upward pressure on the leash to stop the dog and get them to sit if they start fussing around, And we reward them with a treat if they sit still politely while we put the second leash on. We do many repetitions of this until the dog gets the idea and can reliably sit still while we grab the leash and clip it to them or slip it over them. Oftentimes we will also do this while the dog is on a place command, because the place will help to isolate their movement.
Regarding her behavior outside, is it possible for you to shoot another video so I can see what happens once you go through the door, And how you try to handle it?