# Leash Training



## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

Our pup Duke is 9 weeks. 

Because of our living situation(apartment/townhouse) we do not have our own yard or fenced in area. We started using a leash and collar with Duke when we first brought him home - 6 and a half weeks old.

He has progressed in training, but he will at times resist. I've read training methods on the Internet and realized we were using a collar instead of a harness on him at 6 to 8 weeks of age! The collar was choking him because he would resist when I wanted him to follow me, poor boy 

Now we have a harness, he resists but I have more control and it doesn't choke him. In fact he is starting to resist a lot less. 

In order to teach him to follow me and look, I hold up a treat in the air while walking making sure his eyes are focused on me(I do this training in the house with the leash on). He does great and walks with me as I hold up the treat and say "That's a good boy! Keep following! Good boy!" Of course this doesn't replicate outside. :doh:

My hardest part is when he is outside to stop walking when I stop and to always follow me. 

Any tips?


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## djg2121 (Nov 22, 2015)

TiffanyGolden said:


> Our pup Duke is 9 weeks.
> 
> Because of our living situation(apartment/townhouse) we do not have our own yard or fenced in area. We started using a leash and collar with Duke when we first brought him home - 6 and a half weeks old.
> 
> ...



Let him grow up! He's still a puppy who is curious about the outside world. Focus on training him to walk on a leash without pulling and if he wants to stop and explore, let him. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

I think clicker training would be helpful. Just stop walking, stand quietly and let the pup figure out what to do. He will probably continue trying to go in all directions. Say nothing, do nothing except hold on to the leash. Once he stops pulling and sits, click and treat and praise verbally. Just stand there for as long as it takes until he sits. Do this a few times during the walk. Good luck!


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## Monkey&Marshall (Aug 17, 2015)

I'm getting ready to have to really get on this with my little one - he is getting too big to carry. :/


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## IrisBramble (Oct 15, 2015)

Monkey&Marshall said:


> I'm getting ready to have to really get on this with my little one - he is getting too big to carry. :/


It's totally worth doing a puppy class, they will teach Lose leash training its very helpful to see the trainer do it with you for a few classes so you have the basics to do it on your own, they will also teach several commands.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> He has progressed in training, but he will at times resist. I've read training methods on the Internet and realized we were using a collar instead of a harness on him at 6 to 8 weeks of age! The collar was choking him because he would resist when I wanted him to follow me, poor boy


LOL. Today is not my day. It seems like every single thing I'm reading has me sitting back and checking my temperature in case I have a fever or something... 

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Anyone who might have sipped one too many tequilas may write any kind of crazy stuff that comes to mind.

You do NOT have more control with a harness. Harnesses are made to allow dogs to pull more comfortably. You're not choking your dog, but odds are good your dog will be pulling your arm out of its socket until whatever point you upgrade to a harness which cuts into or binds the legs to make it painful for the dogs to pull. 

I put a harness on my dogs while tracking because it allows them to pull forward and track without restriction from me.

More seriously - walks are not necessary or even encouraged for puppies as young as 6-8 weeks. Generally leash training involves taking the dog out for potty. Otherwise, I would go out side with my puppy off leash and let them play. Generally when they are that young - they stay very close to their "pack". So the whole thing about putting a collar and leash on a very young puppy and choking them doesn't even apply - because why are you walking a puppy that young?


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

Megora said:


> LOL. Today is not my day. It seems like every single thing I'm reading has me sitting back and checking my temperature in case I have a fever or something...
> 
> Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Anyone who might have sipped one too many tequilas may write any kind of crazy stuff that comes to mind.
> 
> ...


Thank you. As you know this was written quite a while ago. He has been doing well with leash training without any other dogs. But mind you when another dog comes around all hell breaks loose! :doh: I'm strongly considering a prong collar for him as we haven't used a harness in a while on him. His pulling has gotten far too outrageous to the point I'm using all my strength to pull him back. It results in me pulling and him wheezing. I know this is bad behavior and we need help solving it. I would love any suggestions you may or others have. It's causing me(not my significant other) to dread walking around other dogs. I can no longer bear the exhaustion of pulling a 40lb dog back, soon it will be too much!


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

Please don't use a prong on such a young pup. If not used properly it can cause more harm then good. He's still a baby. You want him to learn to walk on a plain buckle collar. You may want to work on more focus training in an area with less distractions. Practice, practice, practice. As he gets better you can slowly add distractions.

Encourage him to go a few steps with an animated happy tone. As he walks a few steps, give him a treat and praise. When he pulls on the leash, stop immediately. When he looks back to you again praise and you can give a small treat. Never ever keep walking when your puppy is pulling on the leash, this only rewards his behavior and reinforces the habit. Your puppy has to learn that when he pulls on the leash, he gets nowhere.

Remember, puppies have a great zest for life which is great, so you need practice and you need a lot of patience. This is what will pay off for you and the pup.


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

4goldengirls said:


> Please don't use a prong on such a young pup. If not used properly it can cause more harm then good. He's still a baby. You want him to learn to walk on a plain buckle collar. You may want to work on more focus training in an area with less distractions. Practice, practice, practice. As he gets better you can slowly add distractions.
> 
> Encourage him to go a few steps with an animated happy tone. As he walks a few steps, give him a treat and praise. When he pulls on the leash, stop immediately. When he looks back to you again praise and you can give a small treat. Never ever keep walking when your puppy is pulling on the leash, this only rewards his behavior and reinforces the habit. Your puppy has to learn that when he pulls on the leash, he gets nowhere.
> 
> Remember, puppies have a great zest for life which is great, so you need practice and you need a lot of patience. This is what will pay off for you and the pup.


Thank you so much for your input!

This post was from months ago as Duke is now 5 months old, that is why I've been thinking about the prong collar. He just gets overly excited with other dogs, people at first but will listen more with people rather than dogs. I want to say it's because he is just in the stage of becoming a "male", or even just the teenage stage? I will make sure to let Zack know to work on this with Duke, but Nala is 12 weeks tomorrow and I think it would behoove me to work on this right now! Any other advice about heeling? What signals to show for her to comprehend heel?


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