Jessie is turning out to be a very well rounded pup but she does have a couple of hang ups .

1. She loves her walks emensly, we don't have any unusual training issues while out and she walks beautifully on the lead, no pulling - but at home before we go out she runs away as soon as she sees the lead and unless I catch her of guard and quickly put it on she will run away from me cowering, looking like a rabbit in headlights.
She won't come for a treat if I have the lead in my hand.
When i have her collar she will stand frozen to the spot while I attach it and her tail is right down .
As soon as we are out the door she is happy, tail wagging.
And she us fine about having the lead reattached while we are out.
Really odd.

2. Same thing about getting in the car. She is fine once in the car but she will resist being put in and as soon as se sees the boot open for her she pulls away. She seems ok in a car ride though she is happy to gt out at the end.

Any ideas!

Don't know if this will help ................

but I was told to always turn Ben's collar so that the "ring" was at the back of his head when clipping on the lead .........not under the throat ......as this is "vulnerable".

And to treat whilst attaching the lead.

This was general trainer advice ..........as Ben was no problem with the lead.

Also .........this was really for when they were out, but you could do similar indoors ........... don't always attach the lead ................. holding the lead .... fuss & treat but don't attach ...
as we were told the BIGGEST treat was FREEDOM.

As for the car ...........no real advice .............but Ben used to get in and then sit stiff as a statue as if petrified .........he's better now and relaxes a bit ... but he never jumps about or turns round ........and won't touch anything whilst travelling ....even his treat bag or a takeaway!!!!!

Ann & Ben

Never thought about the thing with the ring of the collar at the back. Good idea. Peggy loves her walks and sits nicely until you go to put the lead on then she wriggles. I'll give it a try

One of my dogs does exactly the same when going for a walk. Not Phoebe doodle, but Monty my Lakeland-Border cross. He LOVES his walks but will run and hide under the kitchen table when I get the lead and harness out. We have to talk gently whilst we put his harness on and give him a treat. Once everything is on he's fine

Dogs are funny things sometimes aren't they

This is really interesting because my doodle pixie absolutely freezes when I put her harness on. As it passes over her head she just goes completely still and won't move a muscle and when she tries to walk her legs are rigid. She seems to snap out of it as I give her a treat and jolly her along.

She does the same when she had a cone on after spaying - she didn't move a muscle and it's almost trance like.

She only wears her harness to go to flyball which she absolutely adores - I think it is simply the fact that something is being put over her head that causes it. I talk gently and give treats and hope she will get over it - otherwise she is a normal doodle - doing the dashes and boings etc.

hi sarah, dont know really but how about giving her a small treat just as you are about to put it on and then a small treat once its on like lil says - dogs are funny things
with the car i ask luna to jump into her crate in the boot then once the door is shut i drop a small treat in for doing as ive asked.

lovely to hear she is so good though - we've certainly found a crackin pair of dogs havnt we

what height is jessie now ? luna is 20" i think now but ill double check - she might have been on her tip toes

After I walked her this morning I decided to leave lead on her for a while to see if she is ok wandering around the house with it on(I usually take it off outside the back door)
She wouldn't come in the house at all!! I scattered sausage all over the kitchen floor and she just stood outside to scared to come in. After half an hour I unclippled the lead and she came in and ate all the treats.
It's a total mystery to me and I don't know how to resolve it.

Dawn- I will measure her later and let you know her height.

Hi Sarah, no better ideas re the lead problem, but Eddy has strange ideas about the car sometimes. He has never been a problem actually travelling in it, but doesn't much like walking round the back to get in, and now he is jumping in the boot rather than being lifted he sometimes decides he just won't jump !! Other times he leaps in from about a yard away as if he is in the Olympics . And, quite often he doesn't want to get out when we get home - says he's all warm & cosy here thank you very much! Takes a bit of (wo)man handling and a treat to encourage him out. But, as you and Dawn say, these siblings are a great bunch - the little idiosyncracies are what make each one a dog to treasure.

hehee i'd love to see eddy do his olympic jump

i measured luna again - properly this time and she is 19" to the shoulder
she is also looky very cute and super soft tonight, she had to have a shower after a rolling romp in the woods today

Funny arent they!

Hi. Just wanted to add that Noodles does this too. As soon as she see's her harness she goes flat to the ground, then when it's on she always has a huge shake (like shaking it off). I've tried a new harness, didn't make a difference. I only put the harness on when we go for a run, (rather than walk) so you'd think she'd be mega excited by that.

And just to add that as Noodles is older than Luna and Jessie, she hasn't grown out of it.

I'd love to know why they do it?
Rebecca

our daisy is just the same i have to trick her into a room and shut the door back her into a corner then put the harness on,she goes ridged until its on then all is fine,she's done this for over a year now.

Maisy is the same! I have tried so many harnesses, she just hates it. as soon as she hears it she runs away, jumps on the sofa and buries her head under the cushion. Once it's on she runs to the front door and just whines. Lead, she isn't so bothered about.
She was the same with her cone after spaying. She just stands there staring at the ceiling like in some kind of protest!

The trainers think she is touch sensitive, as during classes, if you drop the lead on the floor and a bit of it touches her she flinches. Maisy will also walk like a crab when I put her car harness on, she hates the seat belt bit touching her!

I wonder if it a doodle thing or if lots of dogs are like that. When I say walkies she doesnt jump up and get excited she cowers. When out she's the happiest dog in the world! Hmmm! strange ones!

Barney's very good with his harness but when we're off on a walk and I drop his lead low enough so his tail "wags" into it he gives me such a dirty look

They always have a reason, if only we could figure it out! Poppy is the same with her harness, but I know why - it's because once about 3 years a go I dropped a flexi lead near her as we were getting ready to go out, and ever since then she has been convinced that as I put her harness on I will do it again .

They can so easily put the wrong associations together in their minds - Poppy once ran into an electric fence while carrying a ball, and in her mind it was the ball that was to blame, and she wouldn't touch it again. Now she associates having her harness put on with the loud clattery noise that scared her.