Dog Adoption 101

Walking on a leash is an necessary puppy skill it is best to start teaching your puppy the quite very first time you both go out as component of her house training. The freedom she enjoys inside your residence is just not practical when you are going about in public. Actually, most states have laws that need dogs to be on leashes on public property like parks and beaches or flat out bans on dogs “roaming at large.” But look around your neighborhood and you’ll see a lot of examples of walking a puppy on a leash that look like an tense game of tug of war.

Your puppy should not be straining at the end of her leash and dragging you behind her, nor should you be yanking her down the street like a pull toy. She doesn’t have to match you step for step like a show dog. But you need to teach her not to run past or slow down beyond the end of her tether or fairly soon you will be at the end of yours!

Training a puppy to walk follows the exact same general rule you use when training your puppy to do just about anything. When she does what you would like her to do, reward her. When she doesn’t do what you want her to, do not punish her but do let her know this is not what you anticipate her to do.

To your puppy the walk itself is a reward and you may use this to your advantage. Whenever your puppy starts pulling on her leash (and at the beginning of her training she is all but certain to), come to quit. Stand your ground and she will ultimately quit pulling along with the leash will slacken. When this happens, shower her with praise and start off walking once again. As soon as she pulls once more, repeat the method. You may add a firm (but not angry) “No” as you come to a stop. When you have been making use of this word when she engages in other unacceptable behavior, she may well already make the association. If not, teaching her to walk on a leash is a superior chance to introduce this command.

If this sounds like the very first walks may possibly take a while, well, yes, they’ll. Don’t let your impatience tempt you to pick up a slow-poke puppy or let a pulling puppy off her leash. In case you don’t lay down the rules, you can’t expect your puppy to follow them.

Pet Places provides resources on how you can choose which puppy to buy and how to take care of puppies.