Puppy afraid of harness and leash
I have a 5 month old rottie mastiff mix that I’ve had for 2 weeks. She’s an angel so far, basic potty training accidents, some crying in the crate, but nothing too hard on us. The biggest two issues I’ve had so far is the barking and a fear of leashes and harnesses. I’ve tried putting the harness on the floor and just rewarding existing around it, then throwing treats on the harness and she’s fine with that but as soon as it’s in my hand she shuts down and runs. Even just sitting with it on my lap while tossing treats, she refuses to even take the treats at that point. It’s so bad that she will even hide in the crate that she hates to avoid having to be near me when I am simply holding it. I’ve never once put a harness on her, but now we are pushing onto needing to take her to her vet appointment and I’m frazzled.
As for the barking, I’ll take her out late at night when there are no noises and yet she will bark and refuse to refocus or offer behaviors for me. I’ve tried even just dropping treats near her when quiet and she won’t stop. I can’t get this to replicate inside the house where there are less distractions, and she is tired from a whole day of working, training, playing, puzzles, etc so I know it’s not just over excitement or boredom. I know she’s got some protection instincts running in that little head of hers, is this something that is just inevitable?
Am I doing something wrong? This isn’t the first puppy I’ve raised but I’ve never had this strong willed of a breed let alone two competing breeds. She’s barely food motivated, mid on toy motivation and couldn’t care less about attention. I know it’s only been two weeks and I need to give her time to fully settle but I’m trying to crack down on the stuff I’m seeing now before I get hit with the wave of puppy behavior.