One of my black feral kittens decided he wanted some love rubs last night.

look at those faces!

mine were rescues as well, i got them about 5 weeks old and had to bottle feed them.

the hard leads were instrumental along with clear commands and tons of patience. but now they walk pretty well and the retractable leashes give a lot more flexibility. start them early, and get a full harness.

i'm sure there's a book or a youtube, but i found that by incorporating some of the key commands i use in the house they were able to pick up and respond better to me. such as: no, stop and get out of there-- they knew and acted accordingly. then i have specific words or commands that i only use when we're outside in order to control the flow of traffic with them. they'll pick it up quickly, you just have to keep consistent. also, i started by taking them out at night because there was less stimulation, fewer cars, people, dogs. but now they go out pretty much whenever, but they still don't like big trucks.

i don't know why i can't link the harnesses thru amazon. but they're made by pupteck, i can't say enough good things about them. they're inexpensive and work great.
Thanks. I will check out pupteck. I need something so that I can take one of my shepherds in the front of my box truck with me. He's WAY too hyper/puppy to ride up front without a restraint.
I want him to go on a long trip with me, so he's got to be able to lie down and sleep.