Leash walking puppy

[OscarLolamom]

My 10wks old Lola does not want to walk on a leash at all. She would walk 20 seconds then she would sit down of just pulls back home. I tried treats to lure her, but I do not feel it is right to treat her every 2 seconds. Any recommendation?

 

[Flashy Fawn]

I was about to post a similar question about leash training. My boxer is only 7 weeks old, but I would really like to start training him on a leash. Also, how long of a walk is long enough and too long for a puppy? I am concered about pulling him to hard. How hard is too hard? Any ideas or suggestions would really help me.

Thanks in advance,
Nick and Cooper

 

[NateBazooka]

Let me preface by saying that I am a first time dog owner, and my boy is only 5 months old. So I'm far from an expert. But I thought I'd chime in - maybe some of the more experienced members of this forum will have different advice, and I'd defer to their judgment

I'd think that with either of these dogs, at 7 and 10 weeks old, you would need to keep in mind that they are babies. With the 7 week old pup, I'm surprised that he's even been removed from his litter. So, worrying about treating too much, or taking extended walks, I would think, would be somewhat misguided. You don't want to have to constantly treat your adult dog to get him to walk, but I don't think that that is something that's going to happen with a Boxer, and for a little puppy, treating probably isn't bad, and will probably make him *love* walks. For the length of walks, I've heard 5 minutes per month up to a certain age, when they are puppies. I'm not sure what the threshold is, but exercising the dog too hard at that young of an age can be damaging. At 7 or 10 weeks, I'd think that the most important thing would just be getting them used to the leash, and making your trips outside positive. I would assume at that age, you'd be housebreaking too, so maybe them used to going in a certain spot (and associating a command word with them going) might be good ideas.

One thing you might try to acclimate your dog to the leash is to just leave it on (with supervision). Let the dog just drag it around, and get used to it being on.

With my dog, there were times he just didn't want to walk, and times he wanted to pull away, and was hacking from the pressure of his collar on his throat. So I switched to a harness, and, while trying to keep the walks positive, also didn't let him just sit down and end the walk. I also tried to not move forward while there was pressure on the leash (from the dog pulling). The harness isn't a long term solution, as I believe it almost encourages the dog to pull, but for a puppy who really doesn't know well enough to stop pulling forward even if it's hurting him, it's a good way to keep him tethered to you (it also helps when, as your puppy is getting into puppy misdeeds, he has a handle on his back ) When Kevin (my dog) got to be a bit older, I tried walking him with just the collar, and he did much better than he had when he was a real baby.

Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in, but I'd say the problems you guys have can be chalked up to having puppies. They're still trying to figure out what's going on in this crazy world, so of course they're confused by being asked to walk around while connected to a rope held by their giant parents. Don't let the puppies run things (I would think it would be a bad idea to let the puppy get the idea that if he plants, the walk is over), but work on getting the puppy acclimated to everything, keep it positive, and be patient with your baby. They'll figure it out. Soon, you'll have to deal with them pretending like they *need* to go out, when really they just want a walk.

 

[Furface]

Hi,

We took Devon to Puppy school which uses treat based trainaing. When it came to walking on a loose lead,initially we took two to three steps and then rewarded with a small treat. We built up from there. We also stopped walking every time they pulled, and used the treat to manover them back to the heel position. It does work.

The world is also a big new place for them, so give them chance to absorb all the new things, it seems like your walk will take hours initially, but they soon get brave...

 

[larrygs]

These guys are really really young. I wouldn't worry too much about them being a little hesitant for walks. It is a big world and you are asking them to be way out of their comfort zone. Their world only a week or two earlier was probably no larger than indoor room, perhaps no bigger than a puppy pen.

Even though Layla was nicknamed Ms Assertive in her litter, she was also hesitant at that age to walk very far. Initially we could only get to the end of the driveway, then the neighbors house, etc. The trip back was faster than going outbound. LOL, no problem walking now, and the trip back is slower than outbound. Believe me, there will be a time when you are asking about how to stop them from pulling.

I think it is very important to focus on "socialization" ie exposing them to many things, and understand about the fear phases to come. There is much here and elsewhere on the subject.

I would also take the opportunity to play with them in a safe area outdoors and build the connection of them following you around off leash. We would find a fenced ball park or football field and just walk around. A puppy at that age usually will follow. In a short time, they will need to be on leash all the time. I am not an expert, but just believe this helps build the connection to you and may come in handy one day.

Have fun!

 

[Skywalker]

Hi guys!

NateBazooka offered some great suggestions there. As said don't forget they are still young and getting them used to the leash is the most important part at the moment. Also mentioned was the 5 minute rule and just to confirm it is 5 minutes of leash walking for every month over 2 months of age. Therefore when they are at 3 months it is 5 minutes, 4 months 10 minutes etc. So with your little ones you do not need to worry about the fact they will not go far yet !

Of course if you are taking them off leash then they can run around no problems as they will rest when they are tired, I believe it is the constant pounding of walking on leash at your pace that you have to be careful with.

Anyway good luck and I am sure they will get better as their little legs get longer! When we got our boy he would walk about 5 houses and sit down and he was 15 weeks

Good luck!

 

[Skywalker]

i agree, i must say though, for you and your pup, i would avoid to much street or side walk walking, its the impact of such a hard surface on your joints that causes them to mash down on the synovial capsul and deteriorate the cartolage causing arthritis and other problems...its because of this we wear shoes w/good arch support and air or gel cushioning, but your dog doesnt have those kind of shoes. also, if you must walk on the street or side walk, go with AND against traffic...roads and side walks are tilted for drainage. this can cause an imbalence in your (and your dog). im not a vet, but i can tell you, because i see humans with busitis, sciatica, etc...almost daily, and 90% run on the road and go with or against traffic both ways. try finding sand, grass, dirt, etc...

Interesting point. When we do neighbourhood walking I have always walked on the sidewalk and got my boy to walk on the grass as all the neighbourhoods have grass before the road I figured it`d be better for him!