i have a australian blue heeler , he's been in a dog lot almost all his life, i have tried to get him out for walks, but when i finelly get him to come out of the lot , he crawls on his belly, and he hugs my legs. he really wraps himself around my leg. like he's scared to death. i got him when he was maybe 6 months old. he was mistreated. but from 6 months to maybe a year old,he was in the house, and uselly on my lap. i finlly got a collar on him , and him out of the lot , and down the road , one time. he wrapped around my leg, and he was scared. i want to do more with him, but it's hard. can anyone tell me how to get him out of the lot ,on his feet, walking? he's maybe 5 years ols now.

Originally Posted by lucy28016

i have a australian blue heeler , he's been in a dog lot almost all his life, i have tried to get him out for walks, but when i finelly get him to come out of the lot , he crawls on his belly, and he hugs my legs. he really wraps himself around my leg. like he's scared to death. i got him when he was maybe 6 months old. he was mistreated. but from 6 months to maybe a year old,he was in the house, and uselly on my lap. i finlly got a collar on him , and him out of the lot , and down the road , one time. he wrapped around my leg, and he was scared. i want to do more with him, but it's hard. can anyone tell me how to get him out of the lot ,on his feet, walking? he's maybe 5 years ols now.

Australian Cattle Dogs (ACDs) are wonderful, highly intelligent, somewhat standoffish, individualistic dogs. Their personality of individualism and standoffishness can turn into severe shyness. If you have earned their respect and love, you are a great person. Some of the leg hugging is likely an extension of how they innately herd: they herd cattle by nipping at their heels (heeler, get it? ;-) ) and ducking down to avoid being kicked by the PO'd cow they just nipped.

How to deal with the shyness/fear: the method I'm going to advise you to use is not going to be an instant cure. It requires time, patience, and determination. It will require you to be always looking for the desired behavior and ready to praise it when it occurs. I'm not going to advise you to "flood" the dog by forcing it to do what scares it. Not saying it wouldn't work; I just am not going to advise you to go that route. Your relationship with the dog could be irrevocably damaged by "flooding" it. So, lets go the slow road, okay?

What you will not do:
1. force it to go where it doesn't want to do
2. acknowledge fear behavior
3. babytalk to the dog when it is afraid
4. pet it when it is afraid
5. force it to accept attention from others

What you will do:
1. praise it for any brave behavior no matter how small
2. pet it when it is displaying stable, non-fearful behavior/energy
3. tell people to ignore the dog: no touch, no talk, no eye contact -- advocate for the dog and intervene between it and the world until such time as it can deal with the world

So, if even getting the collar on is a challenge, start there:
1. sit on the floor with your back to the dog and do not talk to the dog or look at the dog or reach for the dog
2. when the dog approaches you: if the approach is to your back, sit quietly and let the dog sniff you and continue to ignore the dog; when the dog approaches you to the front, slowing reach for the chin--not the top of the head--and see if you can pet the dog. Calm praise if you can pet the dog on the chin. (Petting on the head can appear threatening to a dog.)
3. Show the dog the collar and if the dog sniffs it, praise and treat.
4. When the dog has sniffed the collar begin moving it toward the head. If you see signs that it is fearful, pull back to where the fear is gone and wait. You want to show the dog that there is no fear and he/she will not be forced to accept something it doesn't want. Use lots of praise/treats toward the goal of getting the collar on the dog.
5. attach the leash and let the dog drag the leash around. No need to acknowledge this....just let it get used to the leash.
6. take ahold of the leash. No negative response? Praise/treat. Negative response? Ignore...hold the leash until the dog calms down but without acknowledging the dog's reaction in anyway...no jurks no pulling no talking no eye contact...try to communicate calm energy down that leash to the dog.
7. continue to address one obstictle at a time--doors, gates...whatever, in this same fashion. Always ignoring negative behavior and rewarding positive behavior and take it at the dog's pace.

ACD's are highly intelligent so depending on how much you can interact with the dog, try training some tricks. Trick training will boost the dog's confidence, build the relationship between you, and activate his/her brain.

I don't have any advice or criticism, either way. But I do have just one stupid question: What is a "dog lot?"

Im learning a new behaviour mod technique which is cradle and massage - it is suppose to re-se the mind regarding anxious/fearful beahviours. If it works for my dog I will tell the world..........he is a bad case. If you want to know more let me know.