Puppy Training 101: Intro to Leash Walking! — The puppy academy (2023)

FAQs

What age should you start leash training a puppy? ›

When to start leash training your puppy. You can start teaching leash lessons as soon as you bring your puppy home. Ideally puppies will remain with their mothers for the first eight to 12 weeks, so you'd likely be starting around this time, but you can introduce basic principles earlier.

Which is Safest: Harness or Collar? While a flat collar is best for everyday wear and for displaying ID tags, our experts agree that a harness is the safest option for going on walks and other outdoor activities or situations that might cause your puppy to pull on the leash.

Collars are also better for dogs that don't pull and can calmly walk by your side. Harnesses are better for overly excited dogs as you have more control over them. Smaller dogs and brachycephalic breeds should avoid wearing a collar. It is absolutely advisable to get your puppy used to both, collar and harness.

More specifically, a well-behaved pup should respond to seven directions in order to become a good canine citizen: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Heel, Off, and No.

Pulling and dragging a pup can not only injure their necks and dislocate knees and elbows that are still rubbery (and with growth plates still not closed), but also give them a highly negative, unhappy association with you, the leash, and going on walks. Dragging and using force can only make matters worse!

If your dog begins to pull on the leash, stop immediately and get your dog's attention. Ask her to sit, then put your treat hand back in front of her nose and start walking again. Practice daily for at least a week, then stop luring your dog with treats in your hand.

What are the three D's of dog training? ›

The three Ds are duration, distance, and distraction, and they affect almost any behavior. Dogs don't generalize well, meaning if they learn to sit in front of you, they don't automatically know that “sit” means the same thing when you're on the other side of the room.

According to Ray, the basic commands that every dog should learn (in this order) are: heel, sit, stay, and come. Heel – With the dog at knee level on your left side and the leash in your hand, start walking with your left foot first as you give the "Heel" command, using the dog's name.

All veterinarians and dog trainers would agree that the collar is not designed to be a 24/7 accessory. Another good reason to remove it at night is nonstop wear could cause fur to break off leading to irritation or infection. The risk jumps if the collar frequently gets wet or if it's a bit too tight.

If your dog is still a small puppy and hasn't received all of their shots yet, they should be indoors at all times because they're still vulnerable to exposure. Therefore, a collar is not necessary.

Harnesses are usually the best choice for walking dogs because they don't put pressure on the neck. But collars are generally more comfortable and have a place to hold an ID tag. You should use a harness and not a collar if you have a dog prone to breathing issues (like a pug).

If all the puppies appear similar, you can identify the puppies using non-toxic, permanent marker pens to mark each one on the abdomen (you can use various colors of permanent markers). You could also tie different colors of ribbon or rick-rack loosely around each puppy's neck to identify them.

Putting your puppy on a harness will train him not to pull on the leash while on walks together. A harness could also keep your little guy safe on a leash. Strong pups could pull so hard their necks could be injured or they could pull their owners down.

The four D's are Duration, Distance, Distraction and Diversity. Below is a brief description of each and why they are so important.

Essentially, your dog wants your approval. So, rather than yelling or constantly saying “No”, quicker progress can be made by teaching your dog a 'no' signal – one that tells him to stop whatever he is doing whenever he hears it. A suitable command can be “Leave”.

How long does it take to train a dog to walk on a leash without pulling? ›

5-10 minute training sessions are all it takes to have a dog that walks beautifully on leash and will work for you happily.

The Two-Leash Solution.

If your dog finds leash-tug more reinforcing than high-value treats, or happily swaps back and forth between leash and tug toy, the incompatible-behavior approach doesn't work. Try attaching two leashes to his collar. When he grabs one, hold the other and drop the one he's got.

No Yelling, Threatening, Or Physical Punishment.

Punishment teaches a dog nothing, except how to avoid the punishment. It is far better, and far more humane, to teach the pup what to do rather than punish it for something it is doing. Also note, that punishment after the fact is not only inappropriate; it is pointless.

DON'T allow your puppy to chew on your hands or other parts of your body. This can become a serious problem that is difficult to break and may cause injury when the dog is older. Also, don't let him or her chew on shoes, socks, or other clothes.

Yelling also can make your dog less likely to respond to your commands, which makes you more frustrated and likely to yell. New research and most dog-training experts recommend you stop yelling at your dog and instead use a soft, quiet voice when you talk to your dog.

When you see your dog about to start barking, capture his attention and stop him by calling his name and drawing him towards you, you can also use the command such as 'look', then give him a click and treat when he does this. It should take his attention off whatever was making him bark.

Contrary to popular belief, your dog pulling when walking is not a way of exhibiting dominance. Rather, the reason they do this is quite simple. They are excited, so excited in fact that they don't want their walk to end and so they keep moving forward.

A buckle collar can put a lot of pressure on your dog's throat when they lunge. A front-clip harness is a better choice. It will put the pressure on your dog's chest and help turn them back toward you when they spring forward. A head halter (also called a head harness) is another option for a leash-reactive dog.

Instead of your dog doing his own thing, he will be watching you and focused on you and what you want him to do. With The Dog Calming Code in place and a solid relationship set up, you'll find your dog is LISTENING to you, wanting to FOLLOW your lead and TAKE DIRECTION.

Call your dog over and let him see the treat in your hand. As you close your hand, say "No!". Let him lick and sniff, but do not give him the treat. When he finally gives up and backs away, praise him and give him the treat.

Why do dogs lick you? ›

Licking is a natural and instinctive behaviour to dogs. For them it's a way of grooming, bonding, and expressing themselves. Your dog may lick you to say they love you, to get your attention, to help soothe themselves if they're stressed, to show empathy or because you taste good to them!

The centre instructs: "Place the back of your hand on the pavement. If you cannot hold it for five seconds, it's too hot to walk your dog." A dog's paws are just as sensitive as human feet and are therefore susceptible getting painfully burned and can suffer these burns even on days you wouldn't consider overly hot.

The first things a puppy needs to learn are basic manners, his name, potty training, and not to bite your hands with those sharp teeth. A puppy needs to learn socialization skills, including people, places, and things.

Commonly used release words are “okay,” “break,” and “free.” Often a release word is followed by another command such as “come.”

Known as “bonking,” the measure involves a towel furled into a roll and bound with rubber bands. Jeff Gellman, of Solid K9 Training, throws the roll at the dog's head from a close distance. The force of the impact, which is akin to hitting a dog, deeply concerns many critics.

The most challenging time of raising a puppy is the adolescent period. Dogs become “teenagers” and seem to forget everything they have ever been taught. This period is individual to each dog, but it may begin when he's about eight months old and continue until he's two years old.

The “Winner” is

The hardest part of dog training is doing nothing. It's standing like a statue, not saying anything, not doing anything, while your dog acts a fool. She's barking, jumping, biting at the leash. If you're in public, it's embarrassing and you want to make her stop.

A great time to do this is at your puppy's mealtime, as you can have them work to earn their breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Keep these training sessions short, fun, and motivating for your pup so they can't wait to do them again and again!

As early as a few weeks old, you can introduce your pup to her collar and leash. Wait until she's doing something positive such as feeding, playing, or getting affection from you and slip on the collar and leash. The idea is both to get her used to wearing them and to have her associate them with positive feelings.

Can you walk an 8 week old puppy on a leash? ›

You can start walking your puppy after 1-2 weeks of them being fully vaccinated. This is usually around the 8 week mark. However, make sure you keep a strict eye on them and ask your vet to confirm when they are allowed out on a walk.

Start out by letting him get used to wearing a collar or harness and a leash. Let him wear them for short periods of time in the house while you are playing with him and giving him treats. The puppy should love collar-and-leash time because it represents food and fun. Teach a cue.

My preference is to allow your dog to sleep out of a crate around 4-5 months and to be free completely before a year. Your dog should be housetrained; which means you know how long your dog can hold his bladder and he knows how to ask to go outside to go.

Short answer: it depends on their age, breed, health, temperament, and other factors. To keep your puppy healthy and happy while you're away, follow this general rule: Puppies younger than 6 months: Leave them alone for 2 hours max at a time. Puppies older than 6 months: Leave them alone for 4 hours max at a time.

According to the American Kennel Club, puppies younger than 10 weeks cannot be left alone for more than an hour. From 3-6 months, they should not be left longer than their age in months (for example, 3-month-old puppies cannot be alone for longer than 3 hours).

Stop immediately and don't move until your pup lets up and there is slack in the leash. You may have to stop again three seconds later and do the same thing and that's okay. Just be consistent about refusing to let them pull. When they pull, turn and head in the other direction.

Your puppy's age

A rule of thumb is a puppy can walk five minutes for every month of age starting at eight weeks. So a two-month-old puppy can walk about 10 minutes. What is this? And a three-month-old can walk for 15 minutes; and a four-month-old for 20 minutes.

A simple method to leash training a puppy without pulling on the leash is to stop moving forward when he pulls, and to reward him with treats when he walks by your side. A treat bag for your waist can be very helpful in the training process.