Tethering a new puppy/dog to you

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Bicoastal;8201223]
I did it for relationship, too, with an adult dog new to house life and me. He would prefer to hide in his crate. For him, I just did frequent, brief sessions because it was stressful.

I think tethering needs to be balanced (like everything!) with crating and solo time so you don’t create sep anxiety and train-in velcroness. If the dog already leans toward velcro, I’d do less tethering than for a very independent pup.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I agree with this. I am temporarily keeping a puppy (now 11 months) from my breeder and he belongs to someone out of the country. He is already a little clingy and insecure. I am not sure whether tethering that would help or hurt that situation. I definitely would be careful not to over-do it and teach a dog that they need to constantly be with you. Not only is it really annoying, but obviously it is bad for many future situations.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I didn’t tether myself, exactly, but the dog was always on a long line (I may or may not be on the other end). Almost for his first year. He was the longest I’ve done, but he’s also the strongest willed I’ve had. I do this with all dogs, especially outside. I do it more for recall, than ala Monks of New Skete. Dobermans tend to stick next to you (unless they are getting into trouble). I make recall fun (reward) and a “must.” There is no other option.

This morning I called that Doberman off a deer that was sleeping in our backyard, unbeknown to me, and took off running a foot from his face right for the highway. Nothing like a “real world” test with a high drive dog.

[tweeter]

I did this with an Anatolian we were training to guard our turkeys. To a puppy, a little round-headed poult looks like a squeaky toy. I gradually gave him more line, then turned him loose dragging the line. He was VERY smart, and it took less than a week for him to learn turks weren’t toys.

[dressagetraks]

I realize this example is hardly an every-dog situation, but a book I read mentioned this technique to form relationship. The book was about a deaf man getting a hearing ear dog, and when he went to service dog school to go through the course, all of the people there had their new dogs tethered to them 24/7 for the last week of class. Literally EVERY minute of the day. Nobody else was even supposed to touch the dog. The dog went along to the bathroom, stood there at the shower still attached while the person was showering, everything. The dogs were exceptionally trained already, of course, but it really cemented the transition from the dog looking to the trainer for commands to the dog bonding with and looking to its new owner. Fascinating book. That was the first time I’d ever heard of that used other than in the puppy housebreaking and habit-training context.

[Crown_Royal]

[QUOTE=meupatdoes;8200093]
I did this with a rescue dog who was an intermittent marker in the house. I do this with all dogs that are new to the household. I had him housetrained-under-close-supervision until he went out to an adoption event at the local PetCo and the people running the event let him mark in there twice, so he came home and promptly peed on my white couch while I was sitting on the chair next to him.

Homeslice was leashed or crated, period, for 6 weeks after that. I actually don’t think it is a pain at all, I just tie the leash to my belt and then he can trot alongside. It is up to him to learn to follow nicely and not get stepped on accidentally.

All of my dogs are trained to stay with me in the house. They are not allowed to go exploring other rooms. No one is on a leash anymore but they all stay within a close radius of me, either hanging out on the sofa or in bed with me, in their open crate while I cook, or lying on the floor near the table while I eat. If I go to the bathroom or take a shower, everyone gets called to come along. By now it is just ingrained in all of us.

The reformed marker, who I kept despite the fact that he peed on my white couch (it is a good thing he is very cute), still goes on the leash whenever we are at a new place such as a friend’s house or an airbnb. He is not given the opportunity to pee on anything to declare the new place “mine now”. Nope. Three or four days of intense supervision while he is feeling insecure in someplace new prevents him from developing an occasional relationship with the kitchen trash can or a favored curtain. He can feel safe and secure by remaining within a 6’ radius of me.

I completely agree with the poster who says that it is important to teach the dog how to do nothing. Having a dog on the tether (especially with other dogs who are just chilling) gives you a chance to wait for a moment of quiet behavior to reward. If someone knocks on the door and lights up the dog like a Christmas tree, if he is on a tether he won’t get far before you can redirect his attention back to you, quietly insist that he sit, and then give him a treat for doing that instead of losing his mind at the door.

Having the dog within a 6’ radius, on the leash or off, prevents a world of problems. Dog owners should ask themselves: If the dog was in a crate or within 6’ of me (loose or tied), could have have done whatever the latest puppy disaster was? Would he be losing his mind at the mailman by the living room window now if he were sitting by me on the couch instead? Would he have peed on the white curtain in the corner of the room if he had remained sitting by me? Would he have gotten into the kitchen trash while I was taking a shower if I had brought him in the bathroom with me? Would he have chewed the shoe in the bedroom if I had put it away in the closet and brought him with me to the kitchen while I ate breakfast?

Probably not.[/QUOTE]

*tried to PM you but your inbox was full.

I have an adult male dog I rescued a couple years ago that will try to mark anywhere in the house except his “safe room” (the mud room). Part of the issue is his fear of hardwood floors (he had never been indoors before). It sounds like your dog was similar. Do you have any advice? Thanks!

[Fred]

I also did it for training relationship (and safety) with our two previous GSD, both of whom were adult females from a breeder.
The first one had never been in the house, had lived her whole life in a kennel. She had basic obedience training (and was a wonderful dog!) but she had never been housetrained, never seen a cat or a horse.
The second one was house trained, but had never seen a cat or a horse, and her owner had also encouraged her dogs to chase everything. :eek:
Since we had chickens, cats, horses and no fenced yard, safety was of first importance and this worked beautifully.
They were both wonderful dogs who saw me as their ‘job’. Where I went, they went.

I tethered each of them to me for a couple of weeks.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=Crown Royal;8203160]
I have an adult male dog I rescued a couple years ago that will try to mark anywhere in the house except his “safe room” (the mud room). Part of the issue is his fear of hardwood floors (he had never been indoors before). It sounds like your dog was similar. Do you have any advice? Thanks![/QUOTE]

Not meup but I’ll start the ball rolling: this behavior has gone on for how long? A couple of years? With what frequency? Is the hardwood floor phobia still an issue? What have you tried?