terrified dog

Question
We have a dog who is immobilized when put on a chain (not a leash). He has had no previous bad experience, but when we put him on a chain to keep him on our rural property, he was terrified and didn't move at all while on the chain. He is even terrified of walking near it (even before he was ever put on it.) What's this all about, do you know?

Answer
It's hard to know what dogs are thinking, sometimes. Especially when you can't see them in person and don't know their history. How old is the dog, what's his history? How well does he walk on leash? What does he do if he feels pressure on the leash? How long have you had him? Unless you watched him the whole time, it's possible that he hit the end of it and hurt himself. Or he may just find the weight of it scary. Is the chain attached to a harness or collar? If collar, what kind? If he has been rehomed with you, it's possible he had a bad experience at a previous home.
Keeping your dog on your property is important - even rural areas have deadly dangers to roaming dogs. How did you keep him up before? If the chain is truly that great an issue for him, have you considered other methods of containment? One might be a good sized kennel run (most of the larger farm stores and hardware stores sell them) or an overhead trolly system with cable instead of chain would give him more freedom. And of course, he shouldn't live in a kennel, on a chain or on a trolly. He should have plenty of time, play and training with his family. It's what dogs live for. Sandy