"FurPaw" wrote in message
. ..
Paul E. Schoen wrote:
I did not want to startle him, so I went
toward my old car that I usually use to take him to the trail for his
walks, and he seemed very interested in that, so he came trotting up to
me. He wanted to get into the car, but did not resist when I put his
choke chain collar back on him.

This is where you made your second mistake - this one is a bit more
subtle. If you want Muttley to associate the car with a walk, don't use
the car as a lure, when you don't intend to take him for a walk. You
don't want him to associate "car" with "choke collar" when that collar
isn't associated with a walk.

What you should have done was to let him get in the car, drive a bit,
take him for a brief walk, and then come back home.

I did consider that, but the house was still unlocked, I had tools outside,
and it is several miles to where I usually go to walk him on the trail. I
could drive him to a neighborhood about 1/4 mile away, where there are
sidewalks where it would be safe to walk him, but it's not as if I just had
to ride down the street and back. I don't think he got any negative
connotations about not going for a ride, and they will further disperse the
next time I do so. But I appreciate the observation, and it is generally
good advice.


You're not the first person to use a choke collar inappropriately, and
you won't be the last. Now that you know, you'll use the harness when
you're tethering him, right? You never know when you'll be distracted,
go in to answer a phone, etc., and there he is, tethered unattended on a
choke collar.

I suppose it's not that big a deal to put his harness on, but it's also not
such a terrible thing to have him tethered with the choke collar hooked up
so it does not "choke", but simply fits around his neck. It is safe enough
to avoid a choking hazard, as I realized some time ago after having had him
tied out on the choker chain (in choke mode) and tether for up to 12 hours
unattended. It was especially dangerous because he somtimes got the tether
wrapped around a tree, and he also had access to a deck from which he could
have fallen and gotten hung. But I will try to use the harness, as it will
probably be safer as far as his being able to escape. Yet he has been able
to somehow get loose from his car harness, so I don't think anything is
100% safe.

Thanks,

Paul and Muttley