Ultimate Guide to Leash Training for Puppies

The ultimate cause for misbehaving in canines is lack of exercise. Since your puppy is not street wise on issues to do with walking, an individual has to take responsibility for this exercise. Accumulated energy in a dog causes bad behavior in a dog such as tearing and chewing your household property. The same is true for well-trained dogs. Provided they are conserved in their kennels, they will still find things to do to release their energy.

This behavior brings us to one conclusion; you should find ways of releasing your puppy’s energy before he decides to destroy your sofas! Fortunately, all a dog needs is a guided walk across the street to release their energy. However, some people avoid dog walking like a plague. Not that the people hate dog walking; they fear the process as some dogs exhibit aggressiveness and resistance to leashes’ pulls. The bad news is that people fight this leash-fighting problem every day of their lives. On the good side, you can overcome this challenge through training.

Experiencing the leash

When you get a first born puppy in your house, the puppy knows nothing about life. You teach the puppy to do things such as taking their food. The puppy will learn that when a bowl gets pulled from the cabinet, it means that it is feeding time. The dish becomes an object that excites the puppy every moment he sees it. Regardless of whether the bowl has food or not, the puppy looks forward to seeing it.

This is the same way that a leash works in theory. Once they see the leash, they become aware that the walk is about to happen. Unfortunately, not all puppies feel happy about the leash. They hate being restricted and also the discomfort that comes with it. The best solution for this should be introducing the leash even before they realize what it does to them. However, take the process as slow as possible. Always use extra small dog harness vest on your puppies to make them confortable. Here is a complete guide on ways to train your puppies and dogs on leash walking to ensure that the exercise becomes enjoyable for you and your puppy.

1. Lure the puppy to like the leash at first sight

Before tying the leash around the puppy’s neck, let him experience some play with you. Hide the leash behind you and show the puppy as a surprise. Repeat the process until it excites him. By this, the puppy will think that the leash is a cool thing once they see you holding it. At this moment, you can tie the leash on the dog’s collar while still giving it complements like, ‘Yes! That’s it!’ Repeat the process for the second time until the dog looks comfortable with the leash.

Figure 1; image from www.rover.com

1. Have the puppy get used to the weight of the leash

Though the dog may look comfortable in the leash, the problem comes when he walks around only to realize that the leash is adding extra weight on him. This problem can be solved by having mini-walks in the house. You can make the walk exciting by throwing treats at different parts of the house as you let the puppy run around. In this process, reward good behavior such as staying close to you.

2. Leash training outdoor

After the indoor experience, take the puppy outside the house. You should keep it in mind that the puppy does not have prior exposure to outdoor environment hence everything around it feels, looks, and smells strange. For the first walk, take him in a more controlled location such as a backyard to avoid distractions as much as possible. The worst mistake you could make is hitting the busy street on your first day of dog walking.

In the process, you will find out whether your dog is a daredevil or a wallflower. Daredevils are the types that run at top speed at everything they see. They are too excited to see new things. For the wallflower, they are afraid of their environment and have to be coaxed to take any step. However, the only way to handle such behaviors is communicating with them. Let them know that certain practices are not encouraged. You can use treats to praise their god character.

When dogs pull away from you, never pull them by force. Always be gentle on the pull. Remember that the purpose of using the leash is to keep your puppy safe and not to control him.

Conclusion

Training a puppy to love leashes is as simple as teaching a child to avoid certain behaviors. However, you have to be gentle and persistent in correcting the puppy. This is the only way to make him love the leash.