Tips For Harness Training My Kitten?

danteshuman

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So I'm trying to get him to go out a few minutes every day. He is comfortable with the harness and leash (I have been working on it inside with him since he was 3 months old.)

So here is what I'm doing so maybe you guys can give me pointers?
I'm letting him go outside my sliding glass door and sniff the patio on his own time. He does great with it and knows he can always run inside. Plus he always gets treats when he gets his harness taken off.

Since it has been raining (and I'm on the ground floor) I have been taking him inside the hallways of my apartment building. He sometimes freaks out and won't walk, at which point I pick him up and carry him (he is super comfortable being carried and in my arms.) I'm trying to get him used to going to my mail box and back inside (it is a ?20? Yards from my door.) Today I left my front door propped open so he could run back inside on his own terms ... and let him explore the hallways a bit. He was fine until another person came near so I picked him up and carried him back (after saying hello from a distance) and then put him on the ground 5 feet from my door, letting him go inside on his own. I'm trying to build up his confidience, know where home is & encourage him to like strangers. Since he is still a kitten, I figure the more people he meets, the better.


So should I give up on walking him inside? Just stick to letting him outside on good weather days? What do I do when he freezes?
 

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Furballsmom

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I'd continue to do what you're doing both inside and out, I think you're doing a fantastic job.

What if you waited a bit when he freezes before picking him up? You know him really well, see what he'll do :)
 

Anime Chick

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Okay so as a woman who owns two fur babies who are harness and leash trained--and currently working on a third--I would like to try and offer up some advice as I'm very glad to see you working at this. Its always better to train them in this than just letting the free-roam.

Its good that you give him treats when he comes in, but you should also remember to give him treats when hes outside being good, walking too. Right now his brain is currently associating 'coming inside is the good thing, not being outside' because hes getting more good things from getting his harness removed.

I would also suggest having strangers give him treats and have him sniff them before they try to touch him, then ask them to give a few pets and one extra treat. This associates not only 'strangers can be nice things' but also, 'getting pet by strangers is a good thing'.

I personally bring my youngest with me downtown with me because hes my ESA, but even before that I would bring him downtown to let him get used to the sounds and people. This helps him not fear people, even if he doesn't always let them merely touch him--because hes a tabby with a tude--but that he knows they aren't 100% dangerous.

If you're gonna try doing that tho, my suggestion is to get a pet backpack to train him to ride in because he'll need a place to crawl into a feel safe when feeling over-stimulated.

Also, give him lots of praise as he walks around with him, as the more he understands its okay and hes not doing anything wrong, the less tense he'll feel since I'm sure he knows hes not allowed to just rush outside on his own.

I'd suggest also not picking him up if you're not in a hurry to get somewhere. Pick a time when you can dedicate just to letting him move on his own. Cats are different from dogs and when they walk on a leash they need more leeway in that area. While a dog simply follows the lead of the person with the leash as they have they internal 'obey owner' programming, cats aren't programmed that way. They need time to adjust to new things.

Let him just sit there if he wants to not move. You can even sit down with him and just relax, which should help him feel more at ease. This will make him feel easier about moving around on his own.

Again, make sure theres lots of praise when he does what you want. Cats respond really well to praise just like dogs and although they aren't programmed to obey at all costs they do want to make someone they love happy. So seeing you happy and proud of him will encourage it more and more.
 

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Best to have them on a leash in an open area that's NOT part of their normal environment. The train of thought there is, If you try to train them in your living room, they will associate that area with something they don't like.
After they are comfortable on a leash, it's fine then.
 
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danteshuman

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He is fine on his leash ..... just skittish around unknown environment s & people. For example on the way to my mom's house (a 30-40 drive) we had to stop for a short e r r e n d. So he was put in his harness on the planter bed in the parking lot in case he really had to go to the bathroom. He was shaking and trying to hide under a car so back in the safety of the car he went ..... and he calmed down. Going outside through the patio door? Bold confident cat! Running around the semi-known apartment hallways? He is sometimes curious, other times freezing or trying to hide.

He walks me ;) I am going to start giving him treats when he is outside in his harness, walking on his leash and when he meets new people.

*he goes to my mom's house for play dates with his brother & sister. So he is used to car rides (though he complain meow s) He is completely at ease at both homes since he visits once or twice a week.
 

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He is fine on his leash ..... just skittish around unknown environment s & people. For example on the way to my mom's house (a 30-40 drive) we had to stop for a short e r r e n d. So he was put in his harness on the planter bed in the parking lot in case he really had to go to the bathroom. He was shaking and trying to hide under a car so back in the safety of the car he went ..... and he calmed down. Going outside through the patio door? Bold confident cat! Running around the semi-known apartment hallways? He is sometimes curious, other times freezing or trying to hide.
The only real way to help him get over this is by exposing him to the spaces you want him to get used to. Like Furballsmom Furballsmom says, just keep doing what you are doing and he will slowly gain confidence :) If you can, when he freezes just wait it out with him so that he can evaluate and make a decision that something is unthreatening.

Not sure if this will help you or not, but rather than treats I find that a few positive voice commands work really well in situations where my leash trained cat feels unsure. I've slowly trained "you're okay" and "Oh, what's that?" (said in what I think is an encouraging voice) by associating them with good things. So when I get wet food dinner or toys ready I always say "Oh, what's that" and he expects something good and comes to check out what I've got. Or with "you're ok" he get's a reassuring pet. If I say either of these commands outside when he is panicked he will sometimes pause and re-evaluate the situation.
 
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PushPurrCatPaws

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You've gotten some great advice here!

I have experience walking my cat inside, on our floor in our apt building. (I can't help you on tips with outside leash/harness walking, as I choose not to do that.)

But about the indoor stuff... the best way to make your kitty more confident is to let them explore the very same pathways and patterns in the hallway(s) daily, letting them do these "perimeter checks" and sniffing wherever they want to sniff. Also, let the cat sniff by other people's doorways. They will be smelling other tenants smells, becoming more familiar with them, and if they happen to meet said person in the hall, they might recognize that smell. End these repeated patterns of hall-walking with letting the cat sniff and walk their way back to your door. Confidence will grow in the cat when they know exactly how & where to run home if they get spooked.

I really agree with the following (but remember, my own experience is just with indoor walking on leashes)...
... I'd suggest also not picking him up if you're not in a hurry to get somewhere. Pick a time when you can dedicate just to letting him move on his own. Cats are different from dogs and when they walk on a leash they need more leeway in that area. While a dog simply follows the lead of the person with the leash as they have they internal 'obey owner' programming, cats aren't programmed that way. They need time to adjust to new things.

Let him just sit there if he wants to not move. You can even sit down with him and just relax, which should help him feel more at ease. This will make him feel easier about moving around on his own. ...
My cat Milly often just hunkers down and listens, on her walks in the hallway. So sometimes I just sit down with her too. I'd recommend loading your pocket up with a few of your cat's choice treats, so that if you need to entice them home sooner than later while you're with them, you have a few treats to get them walking home again.

Also, I never tug on my cat's leash -- she gets angry and an angry cat on a Walkies is a bad thing. I also have some places in the halls where I don't want her to go or don't want her to focus upon, so I use my "hissing" noise (which she is trained to react to) to dissuade her from going to those places.

Have fun!:goldstar: :goodluck:
 

dustydiamond1

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You have a very nice jacket for your baby, what's his name? This is our ex-neighborhood stray Gypsy. I started her in a Kitty Holster Cat Harness
Telephone pole sniff 11-25-17.jpg
side jacket.jpg

She did so well that we went with a 'H' harness from Walmart. It has a strap underneath connecting the neckband to the bellyband.
A p.jpg

Ostummy2.jpg

And I also got her another Velcro one. It's a Mynwood Cat Jacket. A little too big, it slips sideways.
Outside Sat Feb 16th 2019.jpg

Outside 2-3-19.jpg

She and I have a weekday routine. When I get home from work around 6:30 or 7 during the week she comes out our inside door, runs down the inside stairs to wait for me to throw down a ball, go down the stairs, pet her as she sits on the window sill, throw the ball back up the stairs for her to chase up the stairs then I trudge up the stairs to retrieve the ball at the top as she rushes past me back down the stairs so I can again toss the ball back down...we go through this about 6 or 7 times. She is totally safe, only 4 apartments share our foyer and one of them is unoccupied. I make sure no one is coming in and there is no way for her to get out.
Nonblur inside stairs.jpg
Insideblur.jpg
nside stairs.jpg
 
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danteshuman

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His name is Jackie, and his tiger striped kitty holster vest cracks me up since he is such a lovey dovey baby. I got it a bit big since he has more growing to do.
 

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Okay so as a woman who owns two fur babies who are harness and leash trained--and currently working on a third--I would like to try and offer up some advice as I'm very glad to see you working at this. Its always better to train them in this than just letting the free-roam.

So awesome your cats are leash- and harness-trained! When you take them out, do they actually keep pace with you? Our cats loves to go out in his harness but when he does, he's the boss. We can sometimes get him excited to run up and down the sidewalk, but mostly he wants to meander around, sniff, eat grass, and say hi to people. It's not really a "walk" more of a...idk a lay-about-outside. lol.
 
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Anime Chick

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So awesome your cats are leash- and harness-trained! When you take them out, do they actually keep pace with you? Our cats loves to go out in his harness but when he does, he's the boss. We can sometimes get him excited to run up and down the sidewalk, but mostly he wants to meander around, sniff, eat grass, and say hi to people. It's not really a "walk" more of a...idk a lay-about-outside. lol.
Actually, yes. He goes in between. Both did. Atsuko doesn't come out like she used to anymore but when she does she is happy to either follow me or lead and walk around, checking out stuff depending if we are in a store.

With Atsuko she used to walk around the complex at the apartment I used to live at. We'd walk to the mailbox, get the mail and come home or she'd walk around and normally go out back to the grassy area and roam around sniffing and eating grass.

Eventually, she began getting really insistent on coming more places with me.

I bought her with me in a pet stroller up to the corner store and at times she'd walk alongside and others she'd sit inside while I pushed. I made sure she was always inside it when we went in the store tho.


Saru, on the other hand, tends to heavily take the lead and will lead me around happily. He likes to sniff too but is more 'sniff' and less 'grass chomper'. He likes to examine things more than anything and while we can get held up if he wants to explore an area we find that he likes a lot if I call him he does at times listen and follow.

Still working on it with him but hes only 9 months so its expected that he won't always listen. Atsuko I normally have to only say, 'Mind your business' and she moves away from an unapproved area. Saru still has some minding to learn. Heh.

But I also bring him in a pet backpack too so if hes stalling too much and I have somewhere I need to get to, I normally just put him inside so we can hurry and go.

Cats are vastly different from dogs and are more curious so they will always want to explore and examine things. They like to stop and smell the roses~.
 
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danteshuman

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Update: I just got back from a late night insomniac trash run .... where thankfully they have trash shoot ... even on my bottom floor. He darted out so I propped the door open and ignored him, he was back in 5 minutes. I loved on him and attached his harness & leash. He started running down the hallways with his tail up, all confident!!!!! I had to remind him to slow down. I let him run around the enclosed bottom floor of my apartment building. Sometimes I let him drag the leash. Towards the end I took off his leash and let him explore. I got kinda bored, called him & he ignored me. So I walked slowly back to my place. A few minutes later I hear a meow, call back him softly but stay in my apartment. Less than 2 minutes later he struts into our apartment where I dote on him for returning, offer him treats, close the door and take off his harness.

He wanted to go back outside! :yess:
Plus he wants to go out the building to the outside. All in all I would say he blossoming in his harness training.
(I want him to know which apartment is mine and how to get back home just in case he ever gets out.) Praising him while walking makes his walk easier and boosts his confidence.

I will work on him going outside when it stops raining/warms up.
 

CosmoBot

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Actually, yes. He goes in between. Both did. Atsuko doesn't come out like she used to anymore but when she does she is happy to either follow me or lead and walk around, checking out stuff depending if we are in a store.

With Atsuko she used to walk around the complex at the apartment I used to live at. We'd walk to the mailbox, get the mail and come home or she'd walk around and normally go out back to the grassy area and roam around sniffing and eating grass.

Eventually, she began getting really insistent on coming more places with me.

I bought her with me in a pet stroller up to the corner store and at times she'd walk alongside and others she'd sit inside while I pushed. I made sure she was always inside it when we went in the store tho.


Saru, on the other hand, tends to heavily take the lead and will lead me around happily. He likes to sniff too but is more 'sniff' and less 'grass chomper'. He likes to examine things more than anything and while we can get held up if he wants to explore an area we find that he likes a lot if I call him he does at times listen and follow.

Still working on it with him but hes only 9 months so its expected that he won't always listen. Atsuko I normally have to only say, 'Mind your business' and she moves away from an unapproved area. Saru still has some minding to learn. Heh.

But I also bring him in a pet backpack too so if hes stalling too much and I have somewhere I need to get to, I normally just put him inside so we can hurry and go.

Cats are vastly different from dogs and are more curious so they will always want to explore and examine things. They like to stop and smell the roses~.
Oh wow, this is the coolest thing ever. Congratulations on having such healthy happy and curious kitties. Our kitty, Cosmo, is currently very obese and we are working on a weight loss program for him. I'm wondering if, as he loses weight, he will become more interested in actually walking and covering some ground rather *only* smelling the roses, lol.
 

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Update: I just got back from a late night insomniac trash run .... where thankfully they have trash shoot ... even on my bottom floor. He darted out so I propped the door open and ignored him, he was back in 5 minutes. I loved on him and attached his harness & leash. He started running down the hallways with his tail up, all confident!!!!! I had to remind him to slow down. I let him run around the enclosed bottom floor of my apartment building. Sometimes I let him drag the leash. Towards the end I took off his leash and let him explore. I got kinda bored, called him & he ignored me. So I walked slowly back to my place. A few minutes later I hear a meow, call back him softly but stay in my apartment. Less than 2 minutes later he struts into our apartment where I dote on him for returning, offer him treats, close the door and take off his harness.

He wanted to go back outside! :yess:
Plus he wants to go out the building to the outside. All in all I would say he blossoming in his harness training.
(I want him to know which apartment is mine and how to get back home just in case he ever gets out.) Praising him while walking makes his walk easier and boosts his confidence.

I will work on him going outside when it stops raining/warms up.

Yay!!! Brave Kitty!!!
 
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