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September 2nd, 2010 by KittyKitty

When you take a puppy home on his first day, you will feel quite tempted to coddle him since he is so little and helpless. Unfortunately, this will quickly turn your cute little fur ball into a spoiled and hard to handle dog when it grows up, complete with behavior issues that are harder to get rid of than they would have been to nip in the bud from day one. One of the biggest problems that dog owners face is leash training. It is better to train a puppy than an adolescent or full grown dog for many reasons, but mostly because they are easier to handle when they are small. Quite simply, once any dog matures, their strength can be used at full force to direct you where they want to go, versus the other way around. The owner and pet will become increasingly frustrated, making leash training more complicated.

The Process

The very first thing you need to do is to get your puppy comfortable with wearing a collar. Collars can be uncomfortable at first and chances are puppy will scratch at it and want you to take it off, but he needs to get used to it – this really is an important first step. It might be tough to see him scratching and rolling around trying to get it off but you must be strong and just wait it out or try to distract him with toys until he forgets it’s there. In doing so, the dog will understand that the collar won’t be taken off because of his negative behavior and that it can be removed at any given time.

Step Two: You need to get your dog familiarized and used to being on the leash, just as you did with the collar. Leave the leash attached to the puppy’s collar while he is walking around or playing; it should drag around behind him. As with the collar, it will not take long at all for the puppy to forget the leash is even there. When you have accomplished this step, you may proceed to the next part of the process. One of the most crucial aspects to take with this step is to never leave a puppy by himself while he has that leash on, as this could result in injury or even death lest something goes wrong.

Step Three: You need to get puppy used to the feel of you holding the end of the leash, so it’s a good idea to put it on him and walk around the house with him awhile. Make sure to keep the leash between you and the puppy sort of loose, but keep him walking right by your side at all times. The owner should promptly stop walking if the puppy begins to tug on the leash and issue a command for the puppy to return to the proper position. When he returns to your side you can start walking again as long as he stays at your side, keeping the leash loose between the two of you. Whenever the puppy is walking next to you and not pulling, provide an abundance of praise to positively reinforce his good behavior. It will encourage him to keep it up, as dogs strive to please their owner.

If you would like to find good advices, take a look at: Training Dog on Leash

If you’ve found this article helpful, you may also want to see my review posted here: barking dog stop train