# When to start leash training



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I think it is good to get them used to the leash right away but don't plan on getting anywhere until they are about 6 months or so. At that point you can start going for short walks where you are leading the way. Try to minimize pavement walking until the pup is a year old to avoid joint damage.


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## avincent52 (Jul 23, 2008)

At my vet's advice I started Tessie on a leash immediately. (My breeder, who doesn't live in a place where you need to walk dogs on a lead suggested waiting.)
Any puppy is going to pull or just stop walking, but if you start early and make it fun, you've got a head start. Take advantage of the backyard, and walk toward someone or something she likes.
FWIW, I remember that Tessie's early walks had a distinct character--she would kind of drag her feet, stop and sometimes turn around when we were on the outbound leg of the walk. Coming back home, she'd definitely be leading the way. 
It's not like that so much anymore.
FWIW, we've often fed Tessie a whole meal as "treats" which is one way around the overfeeding issue.

allen


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

It's never too early to start gently shaping the habits you want to see later in life. Work with her in 5-10 minute sessions, several times a day, and you should see some really good foundation work laid. You want to reward her for paying attention to you, and you want to make sure she doesn't get reinforced for not paying attention. 

If she goes flying out ahead, just stop and start walking in the other direction. You can make whistling or squeaking noises to generate excitement and interest as you do so. The noises (as well as shuffling your feet) can help keep her interest up when she lags.

If she drags you towards a dog or a person, make sure she does not get rewarded for this behavior by getting the interaction she wants. If she really wants to greet someone and is pulling, just stop in place. Eventually she should stop trying to drag you there and will offer another behavior, like a sit (particularly if you've trained a sit). Once she gives the desired behavior, you can start moving again. The first few times you do this, you'll feel a little silly, but you'll show her that pulling=stop and behaving=go.

Reward her with food and praise when she's giving you a loose leash and/or her attention. Timing is crucial. If she was chewing a leaf and ignoring you but perks up and comes to you when you make squeaky noises, treat her right as she gets to your side. It helps to be holding a treat in your hand on the side she's coming to so you can reward her without reaching across yourself or bending down more than necessary. 

It's also generally good practice not to try to attract her with the treat, but rather to have it come out of nowhere when she offers the behavior you want on her own (even coincidentally). Luring with the treat is OK, especially at first, but you want to get away from it as soon as possible, since you're not trying to teach her that she should behave when you have food, but rather that behaving results in sporadic and unexpected rewards.

Be generous and random with rewards. Good behavior should receive consistent reinforcement with praise, increasingly sporadic reinforcement with food, and periodic jackpots of treats and praise parties. These methods will help make food, praise, and other kinds of rewards (i.e., getting to greet another dog) meld together in the dog's mind so that your praise carries extra weight when you move past treats.

As others have mentioned, she's _way_ too young to offer consistently good leash behavior, but she's at just the right age to start learning the basics in a positive, non-coercive way.

PS - If confidence is an issue, try out these skills in safe spaces (indoors, backyard, etc.) for a while first. If the neighborhood is making her feel anxious, it'll be much harder to start these skills. If, however, she learns the skills a bit in a safer environment, she'll learn to rely on them when she feels nervous.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

PS - Just another idea for the very first basics. It relies a little heavily on luring, but it works well for very young puppies. It plays into their natural instinct to chase and helps lay the foundation for both leash walking and recall.

Have your dog sit facing you (on leash), show her a treat, and step backwards saying "OK, follow me!" Walk a few steps backwards, and then give a treat as the dog follows you, marking the treats each time with a clicker or with a happy "yes!" Over time, build up to walking several steps, feeding treats periodically along the way so the dog learns that watching you and walking together is lots of fun.

Once she has the hang of that, start walking backwards, but turn around and lure the dog with the treat to the desired position at your side. Once she hits the position, mark it with your click or "yes!" and treat. As you walk slowly together, keep her attention with excited talking or whatever noises she likes and mark/treat every few seconds that she stays in the right position. If she gets out of position, get her attention and lure her back into place with the treat, and mark/treat when she hits the right spot again. 

Play this game a couple of times a day for about five minutes, and remember that it's a fun game you play together, not rigid training to induce compliance. If she gets bored and it's hard to get her attention, you're playing for too long. You want to end games while she still wants to play, not after she's lost interest.


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## norabrown (Jul 20, 2007)

It's never too early. They can't handle long walks at such a young age, but even walking them around the yard and taking them to that special corner you want them to potty is excellent.

At first Samson wouldn't walk when the leash was on so we had to bribe him with kibble. By 12 weeks we could take little walks down the street and back (no other dogs around). Until all vaccinations, keep them away from where other dogs potty and walk.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

It's never too early to begin leash training. It will actually be a lot easier to start when they are small pups since they aren't big enough to pull you all over the place and they will learn how to behave on the leash at a very early age, which will save you a lot of hassle and frustration when the pup is much larger and stronger and will be capable to taking you for a ride the minute she sees something worth chasing. :bowl:


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