Hi there,

I have a nine and a half week old collie puppy. Obviously he is not old enough to be walking outside yet, but we thought it would be a good idea for him to wear his collar occasionally to get him used to it. Initially we tried him with a harness, as our older dog (cocker spaniel) has always worn a harness with no problems. When we put the harness on the puppy he yelped and squeaked and panicked, so we quickly took it off and bought him a collar. He seems less panic stricken by the collar, but as soon as we put it on him, he goes from being a happy, confident, playful pup, to being really submissive and will not walk around anywhere. He just lies there looking upset. He even hid his head behind a cushion today when we put his collar on! Why is he behaving like this, and can anybody help?!

Hi Blufire, he's only a baby and you need to introduce the collar slowly leave it on for a little while and then taking it off again until he stops worrying at building it up each time.  Hopefully then in time he'll be happy to wear it and when you take it off he'll want it back because it's his.  Also you should never leave a puppy who is not supervised with a collar on they could get it caught and choke, so always take it off when your not there.

Susan

Hi blufire

Agree with above poster but would like to add that when I first put a collar on a pup I have treats and a few toys so that her mind is focused on something else rather than this "thing" you've just placed around her neck I get her to play with me and give a few treats holding the treat on her nose and walk around then when she becomes used to the collar attach the lead doing the same thing treat/toy/play then remove it and try again later eventually you can move onto playing in the garden and picking up the lead .....
I also agree with not leaving a collar on in the home.