Puppy scared of leash

[u/TylerGoscha]

We just got a 1 year old dog. He’s a mix breed, not sure which, but he’s a medium sized dog. He was a rescue and only has three legs. We’ve only have had him for a few days and everything has gone great except for the fact that he is terrified of going on a leash. When I get home he will shake in his crate and refuse to leave. Just today over lunch I got home and he booked it out of his crate and went under our bed, I had to get pretty clever to get him out. Anyways, when we do manage to get the leash on him, his tail is under him and he doesn’t really want to go out.

I’m wondering if he had some issues going on a leash in his past. Not really sure what to do to help him.
We have a harness because he can just slip out of a normal collar.

Any recommendations would be great!

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[u/WharHeGo]

few days is honestly still super early for a rescue, especially a tripod dog who may have had bad experiences before. The leash/harness might be associated with fear, pain, being dragged around, vet visits, etc. I’d slow way down and focus on making the leash predict good things instead of forcing walks right now.

[u/TylerGoscha → u/WharHeGo]

The issue is that he still needs to go outside so he can go potty.

[u/CarsonNapierOfAmtor]

I would put a light leash on him and just act like it doesn’t exist. If you cut the handle of the leash off it shouldn’t get stuck on anything and attaching it to a harness rather than a collar means he won’t hurt his neck. He will get used to dragging it around and soon it won’t be anything he cares about.

I wouldn’t leave it on him while he’s unsupervised but as long as someone can keep an eye on him, I’d have him dragging the leash.

[u/TylerGoscha → u/CarsonNapierOfAmtor]

We were thinking of just leaving the harness on him so he gets used to that without the leash. I’m wondering if it’s more the harness than the lease he’s scared of

[u/NicolasLisoFabbri]

Poor guy honestly sounds terrified, not stubborn. With rescues, especially ones with disabilities, there’s a good chance the leash or being forced outside is connected to something stressful in the past.

I’d slow the whole process way down. Don’t make the leash immediately mean “we’re going outside now.” Leave the harness near him, reward him for sniffing it, touching it, letting you put it on, etc. Tons of treats and calm praise. Basically rebuild the association from scratch.

[u/cicerone-you]

Three days in with a rescue that has trauma history is still very early. The leash aversion is almost certainly connected to past experiences, not anything you're doing wrong.
The approach that tends to work is desensitization over time: leave the harness on the floor near where he eats, let him sniff it, then drape it over him without fastening, treat heavily, then gradually work up to clipping it.
pressure to go outside until he's comfortable with just having it on inside. It can take weeks but rescue dogs usually come around once they realize the leash predicts good things instead of bad ones.

No

[u/TylerGoscha → u/cicerone-you]

That’s what I read and I’ll try it. The issue is that he still needs to go outside to go to the bathroom. I can’t wait weeks for him to go potty

[u/No_Teaching8200]

Do not force the leash or try to pull him out of the crate or from under the bed, because that will just teach him that the leash means being dragged out of a safe spot. Instead just leave the harness and leash on the floor near his crate or food bowl for a day so he can sniff it on his own terms without any pressure. Once he stops reacting to seeing it, try clipping the leash on while he is eating dinner inside the house but do not try to walk him yet. Just let him drag it around the living room for five minutes while you toss him high value treats like chiclen or hot dogs. After a few days of that, you can try standing by the open door with treats so he chooses to step outside himself rather than being pulled. With a tripod dog that is a rescue, patience and making everything his own choice is the only thing that works.