- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Many dogs hate having their collars and/or harnesses held, but it's something that most of us do at some point, to keep our dogs safe or move them away from a potential problem. Willow and Shadow were never overly bothered by it, but as a puppy, Luna hated it if I grabbed her collar, and she would try to bite me. This is when I introduced the collar grab game with them all, and I continue to keep it topped up every now and again.
The idea is simple: we make grabbing the collar a pleasant experience for the dog. To do this, we have to start small. How small depends on your dog. It may be that you need to start just by sitting on the floor in front of your dog, lifting your hand slightly. It may be that you can go straight to touching the collar. That isn't for us to decide, it's up to the dog. Watch his body language closely and see what makes him start to look uncomfortable; to either try to escape, or maybe to start vocalising or snapping at you. Then start your practice at a point BEFORE you see this behaviour. If you don't see any discomfort at all, great - but turning the collar grab from a neutral to a positive experience can still be really beneficial.
So, you have your starting point. Make that movement towards your dog, then feed the dog from your other hand. Something really tasty. It's important you get the order of this right. Movement towards the collar first, THEN the food appears. Not both at the same time (at this point), and never the food first. What you're trying to do is make it so that the movement towards the collar (or the light touch on the collar) is a predictor that the food will follow after. This gets muddy if you present the food at the same time, and it can mean that the association isn't made.
Slowly, and over several sessions, you can work towards touching the collar more assertively, putting a finger underneath, working towards a full-on grab. You need to ensure you're not jerking the dog by the collar at all, and if you see any signs of avoidance, or discomfort, you need to go back a few steps and ensure you're feeding a lot at an easier level. For a dog who doesn't like this, your job is to change their emotional response, and that can take a bit of time (and a lot of sausage).
Once you're at the point where the dog shows no sign of discomfort when you grab the collar securely when they are expecting it, you can start to introduce the same idea when they're not. Within games, or on walks, go back to a very gentle touch of the collar, and follow up with food. Make it fun and lighthearted. Build up gradually, at the dog's pace, to the point where you can grab the collar firmly when they're not clued up about it (remember: don't pull them, lift them, or jerk them!) and they remain comfortable with the action.
At this point, you can start introducing movement. Imagine you're in a situation where you need to grab the dog's collar and move him away from something dangerous. At this point, he already has a good association between he collar grab and food. He knows that the grab means food is coming from your other hand. So you can use that as a lure to move him. Making everything else easier, because we're introducing something new, we'll put him in a familiar environment and practice the grab a few times, so he understands the game. Then, grab the collar with your left hand, put the food under his nose with your right hand, and use it to turn him around (maybe just ninety degrees at first). As you move, you can release little bits of the food for him to take and when you have completed your turn, let him have the lot. Again, practice, practice, practice. Get him used to being moved around with this "food magnet". And then, over time, as he gets used to following you in the collar grab, you can start to move the delivery of the food back to when you have completed the turn. Then when you have completed the turn and made a couple of steps. You won't always have food in your hand in the real world, so practice it with and without it in your hand, but ensure that, even when it's not in your hand, you feed him from a pouch or pocket at the end of the behaviour.
This way, you build up a really solid positive emotional response to you holding your dog's collar and moving him around. He understands the game, so there is no fear or conflict if and when you may have to use it "for real".
The idea is simple: we make grabbing the collar a pleasant experience for the dog. To do this, we have to start small. How small depends on your dog. It may be that you need to start just by sitting on the floor in front of your dog, lifting your hand slightly. It may be that you can go straight to touching the collar. That isn't for us to decide, it's up to the dog. Watch his body language closely and see what makes him start to look uncomfortable; to either try to escape, or maybe to start vocalising or snapping at you. Then start your practice at a point BEFORE you see this behaviour. If you don't see any discomfort at all, great - but turning the collar grab from a neutral to a positive experience can still be really beneficial.
So, you have your starting point. Make that movement towards your dog, then feed the dog from your other hand. Something really tasty. It's important you get the order of this right. Movement towards the collar first, THEN the food appears. Not both at the same time (at this point), and never the food first. What you're trying to do is make it so that the movement towards the collar (or the light touch on the collar) is a predictor that the food will follow after. This gets muddy if you present the food at the same time, and it can mean that the association isn't made.
Slowly, and over several sessions, you can work towards touching the collar more assertively, putting a finger underneath, working towards a full-on grab. You need to ensure you're not jerking the dog by the collar at all, and if you see any signs of avoidance, or discomfort, you need to go back a few steps and ensure you're feeding a lot at an easier level. For a dog who doesn't like this, your job is to change their emotional response, and that can take a bit of time (and a lot of sausage).
Once you're at the point where the dog shows no sign of discomfort when you grab the collar securely when they are expecting it, you can start to introduce the same idea when they're not. Within games, or on walks, go back to a very gentle touch of the collar, and follow up with food. Make it fun and lighthearted. Build up gradually, at the dog's pace, to the point where you can grab the collar firmly when they're not clued up about it (remember: don't pull them, lift them, or jerk them!) and they remain comfortable with the action.
At this point, you can start introducing movement. Imagine you're in a situation where you need to grab the dog's collar and move him away from something dangerous. At this point, he already has a good association between he collar grab and food. He knows that the grab means food is coming from your other hand. So you can use that as a lure to move him. Making everything else easier, because we're introducing something new, we'll put him in a familiar environment and practice the grab a few times, so he understands the game. Then, grab the collar with your left hand, put the food under his nose with your right hand, and use it to turn him around (maybe just ninety degrees at first). As you move, you can release little bits of the food for him to take and when you have completed your turn, let him have the lot. Again, practice, practice, practice. Get him used to being moved around with this "food magnet". And then, over time, as he gets used to following you in the collar grab, you can start to move the delivery of the food back to when you have completed the turn. Then when you have completed the turn and made a couple of steps. You won't always have food in your hand in the real world, so practice it with and without it in your hand, but ensure that, even when it's not in your hand, you feed him from a pouch or pocket at the end of the behaviour.
This way, you build up a really solid positive emotional response to you holding your dog's collar and moving him around. He understands the game, so there is no fear or conflict if and when you may have to use it "for real".
