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Leash Biting

1.3K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  MissLillie  
#1 ·
Anyone have some tips on how to stop leash biting? I have a 5.5 month old smooth collie puppy that bites her leash especially during training. The trainer I have been working with uses a 4 stop correction method when the dog does not respond to commands. So if I tell my pup to sit or down and she does not I am to return to the dog and place her in to the sit position then reward then release without repeating the command. The problem I am having with this is she goes wonky when I try to place her into a sit or down and starts biting the leash she has always been on the bratty side when she does not get her way.

I am planning on showing her in conformation and she is fine walking on the lead but if I pick up the pace to gait she starts leaping and biting the leash and won't let go.

I would like to start working with her on a long line but when I have her on the long line all she wants to do is attack and bite the leash and drag it around with her.

I was hoping she would outgrow this but it seems to be getting worse. I have tried bitter apple on the leash and it sort of worked at first. My trainer suggested making the leash biting unpleasant by kinda wrapping the leash back into her and around her mouth sort of gagging her and that did work well at first but now she tries to make a game out of that method. I have been working on leave it and also getting her to focus her attention on me using treats or toys. If I try to take the leash out of her mouth she gets mouthy with me, not in a resource guarding way but more in a goofy playful way.
 
#4 ·
Does she know "leave it"? I would get a solid leave it. If she already knows it, apply it to the leash.

Will she trade it for a toy and carry that around instead?
 
#7 ·
I've got a Cavoodle and he bites the leash and his harness like there is no tomorrow.

He only does that when we are not walking though. IE I put the harness on and go get my shoes I come back and he will have his lower jaw tucked under his harness chewing it. He also does this when in the car or when doing 'sit on the dog' training.

Basically - no activity and he bites the leash and harness..any ideas?

Drop it works - but only for that time, turn around and hes back at it...
 
#8 ·
Have you tried rewarding your dog for walking with you whenever she's not biting the leash? Then increase your speed and keep rewarding as long as she's not biting the leash. This is to teach her what you want her to do, rather than trying to stop what you don't want.

When dogs bite the leash, I usually tighten it by pulling up towards me. This makes the game not very fun for the dog. As soon as they let go I give them slack, if they bite again I tighten the leash again. If the dog grabs the leash and tugs with it, I grab the collar so they can't tug.

But the main fix is teaching the dog what you actually want.
 
#9 ·
Thank you for the suggestions. I think part of the problem is that my puppy does not spend enough time on the leash so I have been having her walk on different leashes many times during the day just around the house and yard. Most of the leash biting has been happening in class situations, I think my puppy gets frustrated not being able to play with the other dogs so she acts up.

I really agree the best fix is teaching her what I do want, having her focus on me and working on the leave it command seem to be helping. I do reward her for doing the behaviors I want, she just happens to be an especially goofy puppy that rebels when she does not get her way.

In conformation class this week while waiting her turn she was trying to pull out of her leash, biting the leash and me, demand barking and flopping on the floor rolling around it was really embarrassing. She tends to do this more often in a class situation by the end of class she was acting much better. This was our second time in this class and this week overall she was a lot better. When moving around the ring she did try to bite the leash but was good about leaving it when asked and responsive to rewards. She is getting better about food rewards, she tends to spit out most treats even cheese and hot dogs, I am still searching for her high value reward.