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Hi all! Last night my Red Heeler, Cody, decided (out of the blue) that he did NOT want to wear a collar or leash anymore! To the point of extreme aggression and biting when we get close to his neck with the collar. I honestly have no idea what the problem is!
Note: We use a collar/leash combo. So he does not wear a collar continuously when he is inside. When I say leash, its also referring to the collar.
When I got home from work yesterday, it was business as usual. I let Cody out of his crate, put his leash on, and took him out for our normal walk/potty break. Several hours later, my boyfriend took him out and again, everything was fine. But then at about 10 last night, Cody started whining (which normally means he needs to go out). So my boyfriend went to take him out one last time before bed (which is what we do every night), and Cody instantly got aggressive when trying to put the collar around his neck. He jumped and tried to bite at my boyfriend.
We have a soft muzzle that we very rarely use when we take him out to places where he might get overwhelmed. (We've never had to muzzle at places like Petsmart or other stores, and we've certainly never muzzled him just to able to take him out!)
He took Cody out with the muzzle, but he refused to go to the bathroom with it on. So they came back in, the muzzle was taken off, and the same scene unfolded with the sudden jumping and biting! He is not biting hard enough to break the skin (I know he is strong enough to), so he is showing some inhibition.
We even tried putting his harness on. He let us buckle the straps around his belly, but he will not let us buckle the strap that goes around his neck/chest.
We were hoping to let him sleep on it, and maybe he would "wake up on the right side of the bed" today, but we were wrong! He will not even come up to the door if one of us is holding the leash!
I just don't know what to do or what caused his behavior! We can't do anything with him if he going to bite us every time we go to put anything around his neck. We live in an apartment and we can't even take him to use the bathroom if he is going to act like that! Not to mention all of the other things we do with him. We take him to the dog park at least 3 times a week and walk with him for at least an hour to an hour and half everyday. And on the weekends we do even more: swimming in the lake, hiking, extra time at the dog park, camping, walking downtown, you name it!
If Cody will not wear a collar we can't do anything with him, including taking him out to use the bathroom!
ANY ADVICE WILL BE APPRECIATED! I have no idea what to do with him!
Note: We use a collar/leash combo. So he does not wear a collar continuously when he is inside. When I say leash, its also referring to the collar.
When I got home from work yesterday, it was business as usual. I let Cody out of his crate, put his leash on, and took him out for our normal walk/potty break. Several hours later, my boyfriend took him out and again, everything was fine. But then at about 10 last night, Cody started whining (which normally means he needs to go out). So my boyfriend went to take him out one last time before bed (which is what we do every night), and Cody instantly got aggressive when trying to put the collar around his neck. He jumped and tried to bite at my boyfriend.
We have a soft muzzle that we very rarely use when we take him out to places where he might get overwhelmed. (We've never had to muzzle at places like Petsmart or other stores, and we've certainly never muzzled him just to able to take him out!)
He took Cody out with the muzzle, but he refused to go to the bathroom with it on. So they came back in, the muzzle was taken off, and the same scene unfolded with the sudden jumping and biting! He is not biting hard enough to break the skin (I know he is strong enough to), so he is showing some inhibition.
We even tried putting his harness on. He let us buckle the straps around his belly, but he will not let us buckle the strap that goes around his neck/chest.
We were hoping to let him sleep on it, and maybe he would "wake up on the right side of the bed" today, but we were wrong! He will not even come up to the door if one of us is holding the leash!
I just don't know what to do or what caused his behavior! We can't do anything with him if he going to bite us every time we go to put anything around his neck. We live in an apartment and we can't even take him to use the bathroom if he is going to act like that! Not to mention all of the other things we do with him. We take him to the dog park at least 3 times a week and walk with him for at least an hour to an hour and half everyday. And on the weekends we do even more: swimming in the lake, hiking, extra time at the dog park, camping, walking downtown, you name it!
If Cody will not wear a collar we can't do anything with him, including taking him out to use the bathroom!
ANY ADVICE WILL BE APPRECIATED! I have no idea what to do with him!