Don't Grab My Collar!

Does your dog run away from you when you try to take hold of her collar? When you reach out your hand to take her collar, most dogs will either run away or actually nip to prevent you from taking hold of her. That's because she's fearful of what will happen when you finally do get hold of her! It might be as simple as anxiety that you will end her playtime, but it also might be fear that you'll hurt her.

Instead of fear, teach her that when your hand comes toward her it means she'll get a reward. You want your puppy used to having her collar taken hold of. If your puppy got loose and someone reached out to grab her, you want her to:

Why Do I Need To Teach Collar Handling?

How Do I Teach Collar Handling?

• First, get your "lures," pea-sized bits of a good smelling soft treat. These will also be used to reward your puppy.


• To put her in a frame of mind for learning, warm her up to the practice session by doing three quick repetitions of eye contact. This will help her focus on you.

Practice collar handling by first lightly taking hold of your puppy's collar, saying "gotcha" then rewarding her while you are still holding her collar. As your puppy is comfortable with this first level, then grab a little tighter, more quickly and use your voice a little more loudly. Always reward when you take hold of her collar AND she has stopped trying to wrestle away. You want to reward only calm behavior while you maintain control of her collar. Keep your hand wrapped around the collar while your puppy is eating the reward.