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Thank you! She has tried the treats trail, but I'm going to suggest that she leave the room after putting it down. That may work. She came over today and we all just hung out in the yard for a little while. Morgan is about 2 and a half. As I mentioned in an earlier post (about his unwillingness to go far from our gate on walks) he is a rescue from a puppy mill.

Thank you! I plan to try out your suggestion today.

Hi, folks--I'm the owner of the BC that wouldn't go outside. We've made great progress with him, thanks to all the good advice we got here. Now I have another puzzling dilemma I'm hoping you can help me with. We both work during the day and Morgan is crated while we're at work. For the past six months, we've had a neighbor/dog walker come at lunchtime and let him out. Some days he'll go out in the yard; other days he won't and that's OK. But since Memorial Day, he has refused to come out of his crate when she comes by, even for treats. This morning, I suggested she put a small piece of meatball (which he loves) just outside his crate. He came out just long enough to grab it, bared his teeth at her, and then went back in the crate. I'm really troubled that he bared his teeth at her. Even more puzzling, when we see her away from the house (on the path, for example), he is fine with her, allows him to pet him, etc. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you!

Hi, folks--I'm the owner of the BC that wouldn't go outside. We've made great progress with him, thanks to all the good advice we got here. Now I have another puzzling dilemma I'm hoping you can help me with. We both work during the day and Morgan is crated while we're at work. For the past six months, we've had a neighbor/dog walker come at lunchtime and let him out. Some days he'll go out in the yard; other days he won't and that's OK. But since Memorial Day, he has refused to come out of his crate when she comes by, even for treats. This morning, I suggested she put a small piece of meatball (which he loves) just outside his crate. He came out just long enough to grab it, bared his teeth at her, and then went back in the crate. I'm really troubled that he bared his teeth at her. Even more puzzling, when we see her away from the house (on the path, for example), he is fine with her, allows him to pet him, etc. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you!

Hi, folks--I'm the owner of the BC that wouldn't go outside. We've made great progress with him, thanks to all the good advice we got here. Now I have another puzzling dilemma I'm hoping you can help me with. We both work during the day and Morgan is crated while we're at work. For the past six months, we've had a neighbor/dog walker come at lunchtime and let him out. Some days he'll go out in the yard; other days he won't and that's OK. But since Memorial Day, he has refused to come out of his crate when she comes by, even for treats. This morning, I suggested she put a small piece of meatball (which he loves) just outside his crate. He came out just long enough to grab it, bared his teeth at her, and then went back in the crate. I'm really troubled that he bared his teeth at her. Even more puzzling, when we see her away from the house (on the path, for example), he is fine with her, allows him to pet him, etc. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you!

My apologies, for some reason my last post was copied several times.

Hi, folks--I'm the owner of the BC that wouldn't go outside. We've made great progress with him, thanks to all the good advice we got here. Now I have another puzzling dilemma I'm hoping you can help me with. We both work during the day and Morgan is crated while we're at work. For the past six months, we've had a neighbor/dog walker come at lunchtime and let him out. Some days he'll go out in the yard; other days he won't and that's OK. But since Memorial Day, he has refused to come out of his crate when she comes by, even for treats. This morning, I suggested she put a small piece of meatball (which he loves) just outside his crate. He came out just long enough to grab it, bared his teeth at her, and then went back in the crate. I'm really troubled that he bared his teeth at her. Even more puzzling, when we see her away from the house (on the path, for example), he is fine with her, allows him to pet him, etc. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you!

An update, and thanks again for all of the good advice; we are making good progress. In the past few weeks, he's ventured farther from our house in the city than ever before. But it's not linear: there are still days when he doesn't want to go much past the gate, and when that happens, we just go back inside and play with the frisbee for a while.

Yes, we have, and it works pretty well, although we can never predict what will spook him. For example, a couple of weeks ago we took him running on a wooded towpath, and a train went by in the distance. He simply refused to go any further after that.

Thank you! I read the thread on Kelso and found the story tremendously inspiring and helpful. We are making good progress. Treats help!

Hello, all: This board was a huge help for me a few years ago when we adopted a rescue dog who was thunderphobic and obsessed with the moon. I'm hoping you can help with our new rescue, a two-year-old tri named Morgan. He is a dream dog: affectionate, great with other dogs and people, easy to train. The one problem is that he is afraid to venture far from our back yard. He came from a puppy mill situation in a rural area, followed by a few months in a very good foster home. He's afraid of so many things: bicycles, crying children, car lights, you name it. I thought it would improve with time but we've had him for eight months and he still shuts down after a few feet. We're worried about him getting enough exercise (although we do play frisbee with him in the yard) and it's tough to work on leash training when he shuts down. Suggestions? He loves riding in the car and will go for longer walks/runs when we're in the country.

Hello, all: This board was a huge help for me a few years ago when we adopted a rescue dog who was thunderphobic and obsessed with the moon. I'm hoping you can help with our new rescue, a two-year-old tri named Morgan. He is a dream dog: affectionate, great with other dogs and people, easy to train. The one problem is that he is afraid to venture far from our back yard. He came from a puppy mill situation in a rural area, followed by a few months in a very good foster home. He's afraid of so many things: bicycles, crying children, car lights, you name it. I thought it would improve with time but we've had him for eight months and he still shuts down after a few feet. We're worried about him getting enough exercise (although we do play frisbee with him in the yard) and it's tough to work on leash training when he shuts down. Suggestions? He loves riding in the car and will go for longer walks/runs when we're in the country.

This is an interesting thread. Zorro, our 5-year-old BC rescue, loves all people, including kids. We've had a bunch of people over to our house since adopting him and he's never had a problem with anyone. But I've known plenty of dogs--BCs and otherwise--who were not comfortable with strangers, or took a while to warm up to new people. As long as the dog isn't aggressive, I think people should respect that.

I agree--rewarding him when a dog walks away is a great idea. Zorro is 5 years old and neutered. We adopted him from a rescue last May. He goes to daycare about once a week and I think that has helped, but we still have a lot of work to do!

I've been reading threads about reactive dogs and have gotten a lot of good advice. Here's my problem: I'm pretty sure Zorro's problem isn't fear. His behavior is more, well, belligerant. The other day, for example, DH was walking him and they stopped to chat with a guy who was walking a very friendly Newfie. Both seemed fine, sniffing and playing, when all of a sudden, Zorro barked and snarled at the dog. DH says the other dog did nothing to provoke this. I've seen ths behavior before, particularly when the other dog turns to walk away: Zorro will jump him. He does pretty well at doggie day care, although the staffers say he's sometimes "bossy" with the other dogs. How best to handle this? My solution has been to limit contact with other dogs during our walks (and I've gotten lots of good advice on how to do that here) but would like to teach him how to be a better citizen. Possible?

Some folks who know a lot more about dogs than I do may correct me, but I seem to recall that chin resting is something they learn as puppies when they're still in the litter. Zorro does it all the time, too. It's endearing, but because I want him to understand that Nothing In Life Is Free, I ask him to lie down and then pet him. Most of the time.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Not sure if this helps, but more than 10 years ago we adopted a "rehomed" dog who was much loved by his family but didn't get along with their other dogs. He bonded with us almost immediately; I think he was immensely relieved to be in a less-stressful environment. I think the same could happen with Rue.

The nearby Savage River Reservoir looks like it might be a place for off-leash swimming.

Sorry to come in late on this thread but wanted to share a place I just found out about. It's called Savage River Lodge, and it's located near Frostburg, MD (that's only about 2 hours from Pittsburgh, where the OP lives). My friend went there for a long weekend and raved about it. Visitors are encouraged to bring their dogs Miles and miles of trails and other things to do. I'm hoping to take Zorro there one of these days--preferably not during a full moon. http://www.savageriverlodge.com/index.php

Wow--thanks so much for these great suggestions. I apologize for not responding sooner--I've been offline for a couple of days. After talking to my husband, it appears that the other dog growled at Zorro, which was apparently what set him off. And I don't think Zorro meant to bite my husband; his hand just got in the way. I've had pretty good luck with sit/stay in the presence of other dogs, but usually at a distance. If that's not possible, I usually try to go in the other direction, or sideways (I really liked the training suggestion for teaching an about-face--thank you!). When he's in a sit/stay, I use the "watch me" command and treat him. This works pretty well if the dog isn't too close and isn't showing signs of aggression. I also like the idea of saving his favorite treats for walks and not giving them to him any other time. There's so much good advice on this thread-I am truly grateful. And yes, we are planning to set him up with a trainer.

I am SO disappointed. I felt we were making good progress with Zorro's leash aggression, getting him to sit and stay when he encountered other dogs on the path. But this morning he had a total meltdown over another dog; he barked and leaped, and most troubling, nipped my husband's hand (he was wearing gloves so no skin broken). My husband said he was totally out of control. Any suggestions/support most welcomed. Zorro is a 5-year-old rescue dog and we've had him for about eight months. I don't want to be fearful the next time I go out with him again but this has really upset me.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice! I've been trying these tips on Zorro and he's really catching on. The best advice is to correct him before he buries his nose in a pile of leaves or hikes his leg on a tree. Now that Zorro knows he's supposed to keep running, he wants to pass all the other runners on the path! Too bad I can't take him with me on the 10-miler I'm running in April.

Thank you so much for all these suggestions! I'm training for a 10-miler this spring (although it would be a stretch to say I run competitively) and this is a big help.

Hi, I'm the owner of a five-year-old rescue BC and have a training question. We run with our dog before and after work, usually 2-3 miles each time. Zorro loves to run and has definitely helped improve my pace! But being a dog, he likes to stop and sniff and mark his territory. So here's my question: would it be possible--and fair--to teach him to run continuously for a mile or two, without stopping? I know that sniffing and marking is part of being a dog and am willing to take breaks so he can do that. At the same time, I want him to think of running with us as his job. Running off-leash isn't an option; we live in an urban area, and his recall is a work in progress.

Ours is also the Easy Walk halter in your photo. Make sure you keep the receipt; I had to return the large and exchange it for a medium. But I'm very happy with it.