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Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette:

Our dog has to wear a cone around her head while an injury heals. Cadence hates it and struggles while we put it on. Then she keeps pawing at it. Can we teach her to like it? Does she really have to wear it? She is not fussing with her stitches.

Bret

Getting a dog to like anything immediately is probably one of the worst situations you can be put into. You have a time crunch on your shoulders because you need the dog to like the cone now. Tomorrow or the next day won't do.

Whether your dog has to wear the cone or not is something you can ask your veterinarian. It would depend on the individual circumstances and the health care provider would know best. I have seen veterinarians give the okay, so it would be worth asking.

I am seeing collars used more often, so I have recently started teaching young puppies in my classes to enjoy them. When there is no time pressure or medical emergency, you can take several days and do a solid job. A few minutes a day can avoid an enormous amount of frustration and worry.

The steps are very simple and there is no struggle with the dog. Picture in your mind a dog that sees you pick up a leash. They get thrilled at the prospect of a walk. That is a conditioned emotional response. “I love my leash because it means we are going for a walk.” The dog does not have to do anything. They just feel happy.

We want to create the same emotional response toward the collar.

Most people make a critical mistake and put the collar on as their first step. This usually results in a battle of wills that the dog usually wins. If not immediately, then it happens at the first moment your back is turned.

Your first step is to be prepared. Have a mock collar and treats ready for supervised training. The collar should be out of sight. The treats should be visible. This is important.

Bring the collar out of hiding and start feeding some special treats for about 10 seconds. Put the collar out of sight and stop feeding. Repeat this step until your dog is visibly enthusiastic that the collar is out. At this point, if you slow down on the feeding, your dog may get impatient and may even touch the collar with her nose. Great. That is more than great. It is perfect. At this point, you can move onto the next step.

Start feeding when your dog is touching the collar. When your dog is confident on this step, offer the treat through the cone. Start easy, but over time, have the dog reach their head further and further in. It is the dog who is putting on the collar. You are not forcing anything. Finally, feed while the collar is on. Stop feeding when the collar is off. Slow down on the food at a pace your dog is comfortable with.

Work at your dog's speed. If in doubt, end the exercise and come back to it later. You can't force a dog to love something.

The same technique works very well for head collars, nail trimmings and those cute holiday costumes.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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