Should I hold my dog's snout shut?

[Lord Bile]

We have a 10 week-old puppy (mixed breed, mother a fox terrier) who is good indoors but refuses to walk anywhere on his lead. He chews at it and if I attempt to take the lead out of his mouth he bites at my hand, not hard though. He then just sits and won't move. If I try to encourage him along with a little push he also bites at my hand.

To remedy the biting, my girlfriend suggested holding his snout shut. He absolutely hates it and wriggles insanely. We don't do it hard so I know it's not hurting him, but he whines a lot and I'm unsure whether this will just frustrate him and make him non-compliant. We've also heard that you can grip the skin at the back of the neck or give it a quick tug, but this never seems to work as his head is small enough to just turn around and bite me anyway. I'd also like to know how to encourage him to actually walk anywhere - should just I stand still until he gets bored and comes in my direction? Hasn't worked so far.

Regarding the lead-biting, I know you can put something unpleasant on it to stop this but I wondered if there was a way of ordering him not to do it rather than preventing him, if you see what I mean. Many thanks for any suggestions.

 

[yuckaduck]

Try saying No firmly and then give a command like Leave it and big rewards the second his teeth leave your skin. I have never been a fan of holding the snout shut as the baby teeth are so sharp sometimes they actually bite the inside of their mouths. Had it happen once! So with the big goof here we did the no leave it good boy and now he doesn't touch us with his teeth.

 

[Renee750il]

I'd suggest getting a shoulder/chest harness for him. The lead attaches to the back where it won't get his attention so easily, and it will make it easier to control him without all of the choking and Terrier drama that usually comes with a collar and lead, lol!

AND, Terriers are adept at slipping collars, so it will keep him from being able to slip his collar and get into trouble while you're teaching him to walk on a lead.

 

[YorkieLover]

Great advice Renee, that is what we had to do with Cocoa, she hated having the collar and leash on her. We bought that harness and it works so much better, she was constantly choking herself by pulling on it. As far as the biting/nipping goes... this puppy is 10 weeks old, that is going to happen for quite some time and I don't think holding his mouth shut is the answer. We tell ours "NO BITE" and walk away...

 

[kathisi]

My dog, Drellie, absolutely hated the leash. I pretty much just let her bite it and would pull her along. I took her for 15-30 minute walks once a day at first. She would howl, whine, scream, balk, bite, bark... anything to get off the leash. I never held her mouth shut or disciplined her in any real way. I would sort of force her to walk with me at first, but eventually I just started putting the leash on her and let her walk around dragging it. Now that I look back, I think that she may have just not been ready for the training. I suggest you let things go easy on your new baby for another couple of weeks. He may just need time to grow. Drellie loves her leash now and get sooo excited when she sees me getting ready to put it on her.

 

[Doberluv]

I suggest not trying to have a power struggle with your dog. Doing "mean" things to him won't help him come to liking his leash or trusting you. First you need to have a good relationship with your dog in order for him to trust and go along with the program.

Get him to come along with you in the house without the leash by making happy, cheerful sounds, patting your thigh, giving treats when he comes along. You'll never get him to want to train by forceful methods.

Lay the leash on the floor and put some treats near it. Let him go ahead and play with it. Use a cheap leash for this....one that you don't care if he wrecks. You can undo his wanting to chew on it later. First get him to like it.

Then put it on him and let him drag it around the house, but supervise him so he doesn't get strangled or caught on something. Reward him and praise him as he gets use to this.

Then pick up the other end. DON'T create any tension or try to pull him. Entice him like you did without the leash on. Make it a game...fun and rewarding to come along with you down the hall. Forget going outside with all those distractions for a little bit when you're trying to get him use to the leash.

When he's getting comfortable with that and not objecting (he won't becuase you're not going to be pulling or pushing.) You're going to be keeping him too busy to notice... tossing a toy down the hall for him to go after, patting your thigh, making squeeky, fun noises and rewarding with treats that he loves. You're simply going to be holding the end of the leash where he can see it but not feel tension from it.

You'll do this for 5 minutes 2 or 3 times a day for a few days. And then you can walk along, doing the same and give a very slight amount of tension or rather a lack of slack in the leash. If he bites the leash, distract him with a toy and reward him for NOT biting the leash. You can give a command "leave it." (he won't understand this word yet but as you pull it gently out of his mouth or he lets go on his own to investigate the toy that you're distracting him with, say, "leave it." "Goooood leave it."

Puppies take time and patience to teach. These things we do to them are not natural and can be frightening or unpleasant. Trying to force, scold, put miserably tasting things on the leash isn't going to make him like the leash. Turn the leash into a good thing, rather than more of a bad thing than it already is.

Kathy is right. Let your puppy be a puppy. Scolding or frightening a puppy by holding his mouth shut will knock the spirit right out of him. Go gradually and don't take anything terribly seriously. Puppies should be started on training right away, but in a not so serious way....a few basic commands, sit, come, walking on a leash and begun to show not to bite and jump on people. It won't happen over night. This is a long process. You don't want to spoil the drive or spirit in a dog's personality while you're training. Good luck.

 

[AmberwayGSD]

Will you please try a chain leash instead of holding his mouth shut.After he stops biting the leash than go back to the nylon or leather laesh you are using now.Give it a try.

 

[Doberluv]

It's true, a chain leash will discourage him from biting, but I'm afraid it won't get him to liking a leash. Sometimes the weight and noise that a chain makes is frightening or at best, very troublesome or bothersome to a young pup who has no experience with leashes at all. He's already bugged by the idea of a leash. Now you put this heavy, noisy, scarier leash on him? Gradual conditioning is generally a more peaceful solution where the puppy can slowly become accustomed to a new "scary" thing and then, once he finds out that he can trust you in showing him things, the subsequent, new, "scary" things will be easier for him to accept.

 

[juliefurry]

all our dogs were like that when we first got them. All I did was take them into a quiet place, put the leash on, and when they started chewing I would distract them. I would call their name and when they stopped chewing to look at me I would praise and treat. Now they don't even bother to try to chew on their leash. They are happy to see their leashes. Never pull your puppy on the leash or threaten your puppy in any way while your pup is on the leash ( and I'm not saying you are) that will make him fearful of the leash. Only good things should come from putting your puppy's leash on.

 

[Tobysmom]

Toby would just sit down when we put his leash on to begin with. I had to get him to walk by tempting him with treats. Everytime I could get him to walk, even if it was only a few feet, he would get praise and a treat. It didn't take long for him to get the idea that walking on a leash equals rewards. Now he is a good walker and I only give him a treat once in a while like if he is good when we walk by a distraction like a barking dog in a yard.
As for biting the leash I haven't gotten him to stop doing that, I am hoping he may grow out of that.

 

[bubbatd]

Renee....I'm a firm believer in starting a pup out with a harness too....much safer .

 

[Ash47]

I am harness all the way!! We haven't bought one for Spud yet, so we have just been using his leash and collar. But he doesn't try to tug or back out of his, he just goes with the flow. But on Oreo, Precious, and Roxy Mae, we use the harness/leash combo. Haven't started on Gracie yet, as I don't think we could find a harness small enough!