Y shepherd is fear biting when we try to put on a front attaching halter

[LAUREL OCONNOR]

My 2.5 year female German Shepherd has never worn a halter.  When we try to get one one she starts some pretty serious fear biting.  She has never actually bitten us but I think would if we persisted.  We have continued with the pinch collar as this is the only tool we have that mitigates the pulling at all.  Any suggestions ?

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Head halters require an acclimatation period that can take some time for some dogs. They require several trials of creating positive associations with treats with the goal of obtaining what's known as a positive conditioned emotional response. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Trials need to be conducted on a step-by step basis over the course of several days always working at the dog's comfort level. 

Here is video of Patricia McConnell working on creating a positive conditioned emotional response using a gentle leader:

 

 

If she's fear biting, then that's a sign that she's too over threshold: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ You need to stay safe and prevent her from getting worked up to this level. The goal is for her to be eager to have it put on because interacting with it makes great things happen. 

At the pet store I used to train and work for a while back, we used to help dog owners with the acclimatation process. If you have a professional that can help guide you through making the process the least stressful as possible, that would be ideal. 

I usually though use head halters as a last resort for cases of excess pulling where safety is an issue because of the drawback of the acclimatation process. Some dogs still struggle with it no matter what.

A less involved option may be front-attachment harnesses, but if your dog struggles with anything new and reacts by biting/threatening to bite, you'll need to take a step-by-step approach working along with a professional for safety and sticking to the pinch collar during the process if you need to take her on walks. 

In these delicate cases, we ultimately need to carefully evaluate what's the least aversive/stressful option for that individual dog. Sometimes, this can mean sticking to the usual tool if the dog does fine wearing it, at least until we can reach a steady rate of progress in the introduction and acceptance of a replacement one. 

Hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne 

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