How to Leash Train A Puppy
Do you have a brand new puppy that you want to become a well behaved adult dog? By leash training your puppy at a very young age, you can get a head start. When my puppy was only six weeks old he could already walk with his leash. At 8 weeks old, my puppy walked with his leash like he’d been doing it all his life.
Try this simple and easy technique to quickly get your puppy used to the leash. Some puppies and dogs hate the very sight of the leash. A dog or puppy that is afraid of the leash probably wasn’t given the right exposure to it at first.
If you want to know how to begin leash training your new puppy with only positive results, just try the easy techniques that I used to get excellent results.Here is the way I begin the leash training of my puppies without causing any stress for him. As a matter of fact, they get happy at the sight of the leash, since that means they are about to take a walk with me. Begin with placing the puppy’s flat collar around his neck (the choke collar shouldn’t be used at this time). That in itself is no big deal and the puppy shouldn’t even react. Attach the pup’s leash to the collar, but let it lay loose on the ground. There is no need to hold the leash just now. Just let him cruise around the house or yard checking everything out and going about his puppy business. Stay close behind the puppy so you can free his leash if it gets caught up in anything. As long as the leash remains unobstructed, the puppy probably won’t even pay attention to the fact that he’s dragging a leash around.
The next step to leash training your puppy begins once he’s become used to walking around with his leash dragging along behind him. You can now pick up your end of the leash, keeping it slack at all times. Now you can walk with your puppy but let him keep walking along without your controlling him. Once he is thoroughly used to walking with the loose leash, it is time to begin the second step. Next you’ll want to teach him to walk without pulling on his leash. As he walks with you can begin to encourage him to learn to a “loose heel” by having some treats with you for rewards. If you hold the treat in your left hand it will get the puppy used to the idea of staying by your left side. this is because your pup will walk at your left side when it’s time to heel. Try calling your puppy to come to your side offering a treat and lots of praise and affection. Be sure to reward the puppy each time to positively reinforce the right behavior. If the puppy is not listening, try to give him a very gentle pull on the leash to get him to look over and see the treat he’s about to get. Check out BehaveDoggy.com for more good advise regarding leash training.Stop Your Dog From Pulling On The Leash
Always call him with a friendly upbeat tone of voice, and give him his praise and treat . It won’t be long before he gets the idea. By the age of 6 weeks old, puppies can already learn so much. Remember, don’t get impatient or cross with your pet when you are first leash training him. Don’t make it an unpleasant experience for him to learn. Only use positive reinforcement techniques when leash training your puppy, or with any other training you will be doing later. If they are having a good time, your puppy or dog will learn their training much more quickly. I think even people learn things a lot quicker with this method also.
Just keep repeating these simple first steps of leash training your puppy several times a day, until your puppy is walking with a loose leash on a regular basis. Now that he has learned to do that, he is on his way to learning how to walk in the “heel” position. That’s all there is to it. You won’t have any problems taking your puppy for a nice walk it you just follow this simple method.
