Dog Leash Training in 3 Easy Steps
Who doesn’t want to just “baby” their cute little puppy when they bring it home for the first time? As tempting as it is, do your best to resist as this will result in an untrained and spoiled dog. And over the long run, your dog can end up developing many different behavioral problems that will be hard for you to retrain once it is older and the patterns are ingrained.
Dog leash training is one of the issues that you will want to get right while the dog is still a puppy. Training your dog on a leash is much simpler when the dog is little and easier to handle. It is much more difficult to train an older dog, since it is physically more capable of pulling the owner around and causing problems.
The first step to dog leash training is to get your new puppy familiar with wearing a collar. When you first put a collar on your puppy, he will most likely try to get it off by scratching at his neck, rolling around, or using other means to try and remove it. This can be agonizing for you to watch, because you know he doesn’t understand what is going on. It is important that you do not remove the collar until your puppy has calmed down and has focused his attention elsewhere. Eventually, he will learn that the collar will not come off by his other behaviors, but that it can come on or off at any time.
The next step in dog leash training is to introduce the leash into the equation. At first, just attach it to the collar and let the puppy drag it around with him while he is playing. Eventually, just like the collar, he will forget all about the leash, and then you can move on to the next step. One important safety precaution is to always supervise the puppy while he is dragging the leash around, in case he gets caught on something.
The third step in dog leash training is to now hold the end of the leash, and walk with the puppy around the house or yard. Keep the leash loose between you and your dog, so the dog is always walking right by your side. If the puppy leaves your side and starts to pull on the leash, immediately stop walking and call the puppy so he comes back to your side. Once he’s back, then you can start walking again. Continue walking as long as the puppy remains on your side with the leash hanging loosely. Be sure to give your puppy A LOT of praise when he performs this properly so he will learn that walking by your side is enjoyable.
