What is Leash Training
Leash training is essentially just getting your dog comfortable wearing a leash and behaving correctly. This means that on a leash, your dog will not pull, run around, or run away. It’s a fundamental skill that can be mastered easily and is beneficial to you and your dog. This skill is essential for many reasons, the biggest one being safety.
When your dog is secure and behaves on their leash, they are safe. They cannot run into the street, they cannot run away from you, and they cannot be pulled into other dogs or animals who are not behaved or friendly. Being leash trained also gives you stress-free walks. Daily walks and exercise are vital for your dog, and being leash trained makes this daily event easy and enjoyable!
Being properly leash trained will also help to avoid injury. If your dog is pulling on the leash, it can cause health issues to their body from the pressure of the collar. And, last but not least, being leash trained will give your dog a sense of pride, and this will provide them with a healthy and positive life!
When to Start Leash Training a Puppy
You should start leash training a puppy as soon as possible! Your puppy doesn’t need to be perfect at it, but they should learn to be comfortable in their puppy leash and collar right away.
Most puppies cannot come home to you until they are 4-8 weeks old, and at this age, they are learning new things every day and creating habits and routines. You can start building proper leash training behaviors at this age, and before you know it, they will be a pro at walking on a leash!
How to Leash Train a Puppy
When leash training a puppy, the first thing you should do is get them comfortable with their leash and collar. We recommend wearing a collar and leash around the house as you supervise. If they are comfortable right away - you are all set. But, some puppies will have difficulty with this step. You can improve this by having play and treat time anytime they have their collar or leash on inside. This will provide positive reinforcement and associate their leash and collar with something fun and happy.
Once your puppy is comfortable, start practicing walking with you holding their leash. This will help teach them the feeling of the leash being held and show them you are leading this behavior. We recommend keeping the leash at a short length and held close to your body during these practice steps. You are working to avoid leash pulling and teaching them to heel. As you take a few steps, with them right by your side - say “good heel” and reward them with a treat! Repeat this often and reward them anytime they do it on their own.
After practicing inside, you can start taking them outside for walks. Outdoors provides many more distractions, but you want them to be comfortable walking outside as soon as possible. Continue this every day, and slowly, your puppy will be accustomed to walking on its leash.
Over time they will learn to understand the heel command and walk right along your side! If your puppy is pulling on their leash, a common tip is to turn into a “tree.” This means that as soon as your puppy pulls, stand still and firm. Don’t move or yank back on your puppy’s leash. Instead, stay still and wait for your puppy to walk back to you. Then you can continue walking forward and reward them for being at your side.
Just as any training, it will take repetition and patience, especially with puppies who have very short attention spans. But with lots of positive reinforcement, your puppy will learn this basic and essential skill, and you will be grateful that you taught them early on how to behave on a leash!
