So you finally went out and got yourself a nice new puppy, good for you! Now of course one of the many perks of being a Dog owner is being able to show him off at parks and other public places. So do you think you’re ready to head down to the track and show him off to your neighbours? You are! Good, lets head on out.
Wait a minute there. Whats this! He’s not taking too kindly to that leash you have on him. You mean you haven’t trained him on one yet. Well, we can’t just leave the house just yet. He needs to be as good on that leash as he is good looking. So how do we go about doing that? Trust me here: It’s not too hard and in a couple of days he’ll be proud to be on that leash just as much as you’ll be proud of him.
First things first: You can’t just expect your new puppy to know this stuff. Lets think about it this way: You didn’t pop out of your momma knowing how to walk did you? I should hope not. So how can you expect your new puppy too just except that he has to be tied up to you everywhere he goes. He’s his own little man …er pup. He wants to go off exploring and finding out all the cool little things his little piece of earth hold. He wants freedom man, freedom! Thankfully we can give him that by just following a few simple steps.
Step One:
The first step should begin as soon as he arrives at his new home. You want to try to get him accustomed to, and comfortable waring a collar. A simple light weight collar is ideal for this. A good time to put it on him is when he is distracted. Such as when you are feeding him or playing with him. Otherwise he’s probably going to fight you tooth and nail to keep it off of him. (Wouldn’t you do the same if you were in his situation?)
He’s probably going to roll around trying to dislodge it or scratch it off. While he is doing this it is important that do not take it off of him. Wait until he has settled down and has forgotten about it before you take it off. Now that he’s happy wearing his new collar this brings us to step two.
Step Two:
Now it’s time to introduce the leash. The same thing that went for the collar goes for this too. You just want to get him comfortable with it. He needs to know that the leash is not to be feared. Simply clip it on his collar and let him check it out and drag it around the house. That’s all there is to it.
Step Three:
Now that your puppy is comfortable in his collar and with the leash, it is time to pick up the other end of the leash. You want to make these first lessons short and fun. To start with just walk around the house with the leash in hand. At his young age he probably follows you around everywhere anyways so use this to your advantage. When he is walking loose on the leash give him plenty of praise. When he strains on the lease just stop. Don’t yank him to you. Call him over and praise him when he gets there. Never ever keep walking when your puppy is pulling on the leash, this only rewards his behaviour and reinforces the habit.
Your puppy has to learn that when he pulls on the leash, he gets nowhere. If he wants to continue walking, it has to be by your side on a loose leash. The same rule applies if your puppy sits down when you are walking. Don’t yank him forward towards you, just call him over and reward him when he arrives. Then set off walking again with your puppy by your side.
This method of training a puppy to walk on a leash is suited to very young puppies, it requires no pulling from you or your dog. The result is a nice loose leash hanging down between you and your dog. All it takes to achieve this is to follow the above steps, then apply some patience and persistence. So now you’re ready to head on out. Good! Lets go.