collar

Bentley is 3 months old and, even though we live in the country, I need to be able to control him if we go on a walk. I first bought a harness and couldn't get it on him he was so outraged, wiggly, scared, or whatever. I took that back and bought a collar and when I put it on, allowing the 2-finger space, he went nuts, crying as if in pain. That came off too. Last week he was groomed for the first time and the groomer put a little bandana on him which he seemed to accept while being held, but on his feet he whined and tried to rub it off.

How can I accomplish this? This is our first experience with any house dog.

my Beans is/was like that!
when i put her first collar on her, she would scream and whine and rush abound trying to brush it off!
it took a week for her to accept that a collar is not the end of the world.
she will still not accept a harness, though (is 9 months now). she tries to brush it off, squeaks and whines, so i have more or less given that up.

the collar she accepts without protest, but it took a while. a new collar, which probably has a different 'feel' she will try to scratch off, but accepts it in the end..

i think you should give time, and not make a big deal of it.

Success! I was told before his first obedience class that he'd need to arrive on a leash. I had not yet returned the collar & leash I had tried earlier, so I put Bentley on my lap, petted & sweet-talked him for a few minutes and gradually slipped the collar on. He has done very well with it. When he first wakes up he acts annoyed by the collar but after a minute he's fine with it. I'm so glad I got this accomplished!

The trick with any foreign object is to get them comfortable with it gradually. So rather than forcing him to wear it from the get-go, perhaps leave it out for a couple of days, sometimes putting treats near it each time. That will train him to associate the object with something pleasant. Eventually he'll get used to -what- the object is. Then you move on to the next step, i.e. putting it on him. Again, help him associate that exercise with pleasantness. Yep, you guessed it -- treats!

Our Skippy goes into a tizzy now anytime we whip out his collar or harness, because he knows that means he's gonna get to go out!

Gracie also did not like a collar at first.... but

She still prefers to go on walks with a soft harness like the one below.
http://www.amazon.com/Non-Pulling-Mesh-Harness-Black-Small/dp/B002AV76MC

She scratches less at her neck and does not pull so hard when she sees a bird, squirrel or whatever it is that she wants to chase. We only use the collar for quick runs out the door to potty.

I decided to try to walk Bentley with his leash this afternoon since we finally had a beautiful day. He went stubborn on me, either sitting or lying down, rather than walking. Later on I took him out again on the leash to potty (hopefully), which he actually did! Hopefully, next week we'll get more help from the trainer on this.