the backstory is that jean has gotten really head shy over the years, to the point where she would run away anytime i got her collar out. lo and behold, turning this into a “trick” worked like a charm. now she’s happy and excited every time she sees her collar, and it has become one of our best recall tools.
you’ll notice i also often treat her when i take the collar off, so she wants to stick around after i remove her collar rather than bolting away from me. this is especially important since she’s a sporting dog (agility and fast CAT).
at the end are some tricks she already knows, just for fun. :)
I need to do this with my dog. She has come to believe that putting on the harness is sometimes a chase opportunity.
i highly recommend it! i started with the collar dangling from my arm/wrist, and fed her treats from that hand. at first, it was hard to get her to even approach me with the collar like that. slowly, once she was eager to come to me like that, i slid the collar down to my hand and rewarded her there several times until she was comfortable with that. then, i held the collar open in one hand, treat in the other, and rewarded her for sticking her nose through to get the treat. we’ve been practicing this trick for probably 2-3 weeks now, and she’s come a long way!
I’ve got a Jack Russell + chi mix, and she’s just the best. She, too, is very cat like - she uses her ears, eyes, and body language to express her happiness and her tail only wags when she’s hunting (birds, squirrels, chipmunks, laser pointer, lol).
Curious: Does your Jean’s tail straighten out when she’s relaxed? I’ve noticed mine’s does when she jumps up on my lap or curls up by me on the couch. Have never had a chi before, so mostly just curious.
Does your Jean’s tail straighten out when she’s relaxed?
it does! i often call it her “pig tail,” haha. jean also has some russel terrier in her according to her DNA results… but she’s a pretty diverse mishmash of breeds.
I’m just now realizing chi is short for chihuahua 🤦♂️. AFAIK, mine’s mostly russell terrier with something that gives her the curly tail.
She’s a rescue, so I really should do a DNA test to both settle my curiosity and be aware of any breed-specific health issues she might face down the line.
Dog tax:
Big dog, Daisy Johnson, is 9, little dog, Pepper Potts, is 1.
absolute cuties!
They’re adorable!
Thanks! Hard to get a non-blurry picture of them together unless they’re curled up napping. They’re total sisters and are either beating the crap out of each other or curled up together taking a nap between rounds 😄
Great stuff! That’s very similar to how we trained our boy to put on and take off his. We also used it for bandannas (which, let’s be real, dogs should wear) and now he gets to pick between two seasonal ones when we go out. Four of my wife is around to hold two more for him
You may already know this, but chihuahuas shouldn’t have a lead attached to their collar, their trachea is too weak.
oh yeah, this is just to get her in and out of the track or agility course. she wears a front-clip harness or head halter when we go for real walks. :)
Good to hear. Currently fostering yet another dog with tracheal collapse and I’m on a mission :D