How to Teach Your Puppy to Wear a Collar
Once your puppy is home, it’s time to teach her that wearing a puppy training collar makes good things happen. Move slowly and reward your puppy often while she’s wearing a collar.
Puppies should wear an expandable flat buckle collar without tags at first. ID tags can be a bit distracting, as most puppies will mouth or paw at the dangling bits of metal clanging under their chins. They’re simply too distracting for an inquisitive puppy. After a week of your puppy successfully wearing her collar, then you can add ID tags.
Puppies, or all dogs really, shouldn’t wear choke chains, cloth slip collars or prong collars. They need a flat buckle collar. Harnesses are OK too, but make sure the straps don’t rub against your puppy’s skin, apply pressure to your puppy’s neck or restrict her movement.
Choosing A Collar And Leash
It might not seem like such a big deal, but choosing the right collar and leash for your pup is imperative.
They should be as un-intimidating so as not to freak your young dog out. You might be tempted to simply pick out the cutest leash and collar in the store, but choose the wrong ones and it could mean your training doesn’t go as smoothly as you’d hoped.
Here’s some useful advice for selecting the right gear for your pup:
Putting The Collar On For The First Time
At a time when you and your puppy are both relaxed, simply fasten the collar around their neck. Don’t make a big deal out of it, or your dog will think there’s something up. You want them to feel like it’s nothing to be concerned about.
This is when you’ll likely discover whether getting your canine companion used to their collar is going to be easy or hard. Some puppies are completely unfazed by their collar, whereas others want to get this malicious intruder off their neck right away.
If your puppy is calm, great! Give them lots of treats, fuss and praise, so they associate their collar with all the good things.
If your puppy is trying to scratch or shake their collar off their neck, or is generally displeased, hang in there.
Your first instinct might be to take the collar off, as it’s causing your puppy distress, but you’re just going to have to sweat it out.
If you take the collar off while they’re doing this, it will reinforce the behavior. So, next time you put it on them they’ll remember all they have to do to get you to take it off is scratch at it, or whine, or bark, or whatever undesirable behavior they were exhibiting.
Once your puppy is calm, even if it’s just for a second, say “yes” or “good dog” (or if you’re clicking training, mark the behavior with a click) and give them some treats and some fuss as a reward.
The very first time you put the collar on, you probably only want to leave it on for about 5 minutes. Although, if they receive it very calmly, then you could go up to 10 minutes or so.
Make sure your puppy is supervised at all times when wearing their collar the first few times as they won’t know what to do if they snag it on something and they could hurt themselves.
Remember, never take the collar off when your puppy is freaking out. Always wait until they’re calm, or it will give them the wrong message.
After the first time, getting your puppy used to their collar is simply a case of gradual acclimation. If you’re at home with your puppy all day, you could have four or five short collar training sessions every day, but you should aim for at least two.
Gradually increase the amount of time your puppy wears their collar with each session, but remember to take it slowly, especially if your dog isn’t super keen on the experience.
You want to make it seem like wearing a collar is part of their day-to-day life, so do things you’d usually do with your pup while they’re wearing their collar.
Try doing a bit of command training, such as asking your puppy to sit while they’re wearing the collar. Feeding your pup a meal is also a great idea, as they’ll start to think collar = yummy food.
A good old-fashioned play session wouldn’t go amiss, either. It’s all about creating positive associations so, in their head, their collar means good times are coming.
Some puppies will be perfectly comfortable wearing their collar on the first day, whereas others might take a week or more to get used to it. Remember to keep it positive and let your canine chum learn at their own pace.
When they’re wearing their collar with no issues, you can start on the leash.
How to Get your Puppy used to a Collar & Leash?
You’re in a rush but you need to walk the dog before work. It’s cold and dark outside so you just want to get it done. However, your dog has other ideas. He simply refuses to let you put a collar and leash on him. He’s just a puppy so he’s still confused and unsure about the collar. He doesn’t realize it’s not going to strangle him or do him any harm. It’s making the walking procedure and even taking him out of the house a nightmare. You try to get him to sit still but he’s just not having any of it.
Training him to accept a collar will make your life a whole lot easier. He can’t roam around without a collar. He may end up leaping into the road and seriously injuring himself in a traffic accident, or worse.
Thankfully, training your dog to accept a collar is nice and easy. At the moment, he’s simply not used to it. But as with anything, once he’s had it for a few weeks he won’t even know it’s there. Getting him to accept it though is a hurdle. You can overcome that hurdle by incentivizing him with some mouth-watering treats. You may also need to take a number of steps to distract him from the device being fit around his neck. If you can make wearing a collar fun and a game, then your task will be far easier.
If he’s a puppy you can expect results in as little as a day. If he’s older and won’t accept a collar then it may indicative of something more sinister and you may need several days.
Before you start, you’ll need a few things. If he’s not accepting his current collar then you may want to invest in a new, comfier collar. You’ll also need a decent supply of delicious treats. Alternatively, you can break his favorite food up into bite-sized pieces. This will be used as an incentive.
You’ll need to dedicate just a few minutes to helping him accept his new collar. It shouldn’t take long, he just needs some reassurance.
Once you have all of those things you can grab your collar and head for your dog!
Hold him still and fit the collar on him. Make sure it’s not so tight he can’t breathe, but that it’s also secure enough that he can’t get it off. You wouldn’t like something choking you, so its important you put a mark on the hole you use so you can fit it with ease again next time.
Avoid using a choke collar to start with. These are usually used for training purposes and can be extremely uncomfortable, especially if he’s not used to wearing a collar yet.
Now let him get used to the collar. It may take several hours but eventually he’ll stop trying to get it off and accept his fate. During this adjustment period, keep an eye on him to ensure he’s not in pain and he can breathe properly.
Make sure you don’t give him the attention he seeks when he’s rolling around trying to get the collar off. Don’t laugh, talk or try to comfort him. He needs to know that this type of behavior won’t get him what he wants.
Wait until he’s accepted the collar before you secure him to the leash and head out for a walk. Otherwise, you might find he has a problem with the leash too. So be patient, he’ll eventually give up trying to get it off.
If he’s a puppy, it’s important you buy him a collar that fits now, not one that he will grow into. Bigger collars, he’ll find easier to slip out of and are often more uncomfortable. Think of the now and you’ll find the process far easier.
You want his first collar to be minimally intrusive. That means get him a collar that is small and light. It will feel less like a strain on his neck and he’ll accept it far sooner.
Instead of a traditional buckle collar, opt for one with clips. These are straightforward to fit and remove. This will prevent you snagging some of his skin when he’s fighting to stop you put it on him. The less time it takes to put on the less stressful it will be for him.
If he’s really going crazy when you try to put the collar on, hold out a treat to distract him. Just hold it firmly in your hand so he tries to sniff and get it. You can then use this moment to fit the collar around his neck. When it’s on, let him have the treat and give him some praise.
Fitting a collar for the first time can be a frustrating experience. However, it’s important you remain calm throughout. Don’t shout at him. If you scare him he may become aggressive and you don’t want to instill that as a coping mechanism into him.
Hold him still and then carefully fit the collar. Make sure it fits correctly. Also try to make sure the identification tag on the collar can be seen. If he seems in genuine pain, take it off or loosen it.
For those first few hours he’s probably going to be jumping around trying to get the collar off. You can offer him a means of distraction. Give him a food puzzle for him to sink his mouth into.
Take out one of his favorite toys and distract him with that. Encourage him to hold it in his mouth and then play tug of war. This will keep him distracted until he barely realizes he’s wearing a collar anymore.
Have him perform a trick for you. If he can’t do one yet, start teaching him. You can begin with something simple like ‘sit’. This will keep his mind off the collar and channel his energy into something more productive.
When he’s performed the trick or calmed down, you can give him a treat. It’s important he gets a reward at the end. This will show him that in future, the best way to get food is to behave as instructed and calm down.