help get my dog back on the lead!!

[bellabunny]

I have a 10 month old puppy. When I take him for a walk off the lead he skips around , runs off and always comes back when I call , never ventures out of sight ,loves seeing other dogs etc etc- generally having a great time!

However the minute he senses we are heading home or he's about to be put on the lead he becomes impossible to catch! He still stays very close to me but jumps away every time I bend down to put the lead on. The other day I spent 45 minutes trying to get back him on the lead - it's a nightmare and I'm now reluctant to let him off the lead as I don't always have a spare 45 minutes to catch him!

Any tip most welcome!

What Beer said, but you might need to build up to that by, throughout the walk, reaching for his collar and treating, then when he accepts that without pulling away, touching it lightly and treating, and then holding it, treating and releasing, and then attaching the lead, treating and releasing ifyswim.

Have you tried 'touch'?

Basically you note when your dog is touching something and then click (if you have one) and say 'Good touch' and give him a treat. Or you could just say 'Good touch'. We gradually got our dog used to being rewarded for touching, with her nose, the blue handle of her extendable lead. We did this with her throughout the walk so she got the idea into her little stubborn terrier head that getting close enough to us to touch the lead (or a mobile phone or the lid from a Pringles tube) was a good thing.

It only fails when she's picked up a scent because her hunting instinct is very strong. But for other situations it usually works.

My last dog misbehaved in this way, and speaking from bitter experience I can say that it is never worthwhile to try getting the better of him, never chase him or make a dive at him: he will always be faster, and it is a great game as far as he is concerned.

Perhaps it might be useful to try turning away from him as soon as he starts this behaviour and walking away, ignoring him but having treats in your hand, or perhaps dropping them by you. Then it starts to be about him finding a reason to get close to you, rather than you chasing after him. You could do that frequently throughout the walk and usually just let him take the treats, but occasionally put him on the lead briefly.

Also, no matter how INFURIATED you might feel, stay calm and pleasant to him and reward him when he does finally come. If he senses your irritation he has an extra reason to stay away.

What everybody else has said - but just to add that at 10 months he's probably in the throes of adolescence. My boy did exactly this at around the same age (had been fine previously) - I did what others have said, after a couple of weeks he calmed down again and was happy to have his lead on.

Thanks for all your replies. I'm going to start with the 'touch' suggestion as our puppy is a terrier as well so this might appeal to him!

Will report back- hopefully with a success story!

CHEDDAR - dogs can't resist it. When you're at home, show him the cheese - but he's only alowed a square when his lead is on. You want him to associate 'lead' with 'delicious treat' rather than 'captured damm it'. Do it as often as you can at home - he'll soon get the message. Mine shove their heads in their leads now hoping they might get a treat. Might be worth using a slip lead for a bit as a change to a clip one.