Helping a Corgi Who Hates His Dog Collar Being Put On

For this LA dog training session we worked with 7 year-old Corgi Asher who hates his dog collar being put on.

After a bad incident with the Leash, Asher stopped allowing his humans to put on his collar, harness or attach a leash. He even nipped at them a few times when they tried to put on his collar.

I spent the first part of the session asking questions about the incident and his backstory. Anytime you’re modifying dog behavior it’s important to understand how the dog feels about the situation. Is the dog fearful of the collar? Does the collar represent something bad (a visit to the vet) or is there something else about the collar or harness that is negative?

In my experience as a dog behavior expert, most dogs nip and bite because they have communicated they don’t want to do something or something is scaring them. The problem is, most people don’t know how to read dog body language or cut off signals. But if the dog is saying im fearful of the collar, over and over, and you keep putting it on wihtout hesitation, a bites doesnt seem so out of left field.

Now im not saying its ok for a dog to bite, but if the human is doing something the dog doesnt like and keep doing it… humans would probably respond in a similar way.

The guardians were a little bit surprised at how easily I was petting Asher. Due to a few bites they have become a little gun shy of touching him. But I was watching him closely and listening to his subtle body language and gut off signals. Recognizing these are important with all activities with your dog, not just when he hates his dog collar being put on.

One of the last exercises I went over with the guardians was how to pair holding a treat to his nose and petting him. During the exercise, its super importance to make sure that you are watching for, recognizing and responding to cut off signals like the dog moving away, getting stiff, turning away, stop taking the treat, etc.

We also went over a few other exercises to help with a couple of behavior problems. I showed them how to use counter conditioning and desensitization to stop Asher from getting upset when the family’s father made smoothies in the blender, walked the entire family through a positive recall exercise and explained why many dogs don’t like to come when we call them.

I also showed the family’s mother a few exercise exercises that would allow her to interact with Asher but at a distance. Although I’m not a dog trainer, incorporating some basic obedience training and having someone practice with a dog some very simple exercises on the regular can help create a healthy leader follower dynamic between human and dog.

I recommended a few exercise tips like scent games by introducing cookie in the corner. I also recommended the guardians get a snuffle mat since Asher likes to eat quickly and could use a little extra exercise.

I wanted to make sure we covered the fundamentals and solve some easy problems before we tackled what the family perceived as the harder issue; Asher he hates his dog collar being put on or taken off.

Dogs are very perceptive and sensitive to how people feel about interacting with them. I knew that in order for the session to be successful, the humans needed to get a confidence boost on their interactions with Asher.

With that accomplished, we were ready to address why he hates his dog collar.

How to Help a Dog Who Hates His Dog Collar Being Put On

This is actually a 2 part problem. Asher not being comfortable with the collar being put on is one thing, but the humans will have to take it off at some point as well. But like most things, first thing comes first, putting gear on a dog who doesn’t like dog collar put on.

I have helped many dogs who hated having their collar put on by changing their emotional response; how they feel about the tool and the activity. This works if the dog is fearful of the collar, has a negative assoication or just doesnt understand it.

For situations like this, I like to use what’s known as a CER or conditioned emotional response. This is an easy way for a dog to grow its confidence and develop a positive perception of something. Instead of being fearful of the collar, they see it as a good and positiev thing.

If you have a dog who hates his dog collar or harnesses, you should definitely check out the free positive dog training video below.

The most important part of this secret to putting a dog collar on is to go at the dog’s pace. Anytime that Asher offers a cut off signal like turning away, withdrawing, refusing to look or stop engaging, the guardians need to recognize that and stop. The next time they practice they need to stop sooner.

The whole point of this exercise to help a dog who hates his collar being put on is not push too far too fast. Small successful steps are the goal. We want to have each practice session 100% successful with no cutoff signals before we add a little bit more criteria the next time we do it.

This process takes a little bit of time, but the wonderful thing about it is it usually solves the problem forever. Instead of your dog being fearful of the collar or harness, they see it as a positive or no big deal. Plus it comes with the added bonus of improving the relationship between dog and human. Now the dog see’s the humans listening when it says its uncomfortable. That makes a highe quality of life difference.

While I am 100% confident that this solution will work, I also recognize that the humans are still uncomfortable with putting the collar on or taking it off.

To help in this regard, I recommended that they get a Martingale collar. This is sometimes referred to as a no slip collar. One of the great things about it is the size.  It can be very loose when it is slipped over the dog’s head. But because of the construction, when the dog pulls, it makes the collar more secure.  So if a dog pulls on the leash, as long as it’s sized properly, the dog should not be able to wiggle out of it.

While this loose construction will make things a lot easier, I wanted to make sure the guardians knew how they could help Asher feel comfortable about them touching or removing the collar. This also needs to be done in small steps.

I was able to find a small Martingale collar in my bag to demonstrate how they can make sure that Asher is as comfortable with them removing the collar as putting it on.

The guardians can practice this positive dog training tip before they are even able to get the collar on Asher. In fact that may make it a little bit easier as there is no collar for him to feel uncomfortable about.

Anytime you’re dealing with dog behavior you want to find an easier version of the situation or activity so the dog can practice doing it correctly before you start making it more difficult or life like. From easy to difficult in small, successful steps.

By the end of the session, Asher was pooped, but I saw signs of progress in his human’s confidence. Often we have to show people what a dog is capable of doing for its humans to feel that they can accomplish it themselves.

Since Asher’s family is such a nice group of people, I wanted to make sure that they could remember all of the dog behavior tips we shared in this LA in-home dog training session.

I pulled out my camera and set it up on a tripod so that I could fill a short roadmap to success summary video to help them remember everything we covered.