Walkies

[geggy]

hi we have just brought a 8 week old gold lab first time puppy owners, could you tell us when is the best time to start walking her on a lead.

Thanks

[Erny]

Hi Geggy .... and welcome to DOL.

I don't have time for a lengthy reply - a very early start tomorrow demands that I should have been in bed by now. But to start with, just allow pup to get used to wearing a collar. Pop it on for very short periods only. In fact, pop it on and immediately off (don't even have to buckle it up the first few times) and have some fun - making the whole deal positive (and also gives you a chance to see how concerned she might be about it).

When she's ok with the collar, attach the lead. Walk around with her with it on (ie don't try to do any lead work with her) for a bit. Keep these sessions really short, but you can do them frequently throughout the day. It's all about creating a positive experience.

Try to not make a big deal about the lead - by that I mean try to not draw her attention to the lead too much. This is only going to encourage her to mouth/bite the lead. Try to keep it up (without applying tension) out of the way of her mouth/face.

For the first week I don't worry about walking on lead too much (save for getting pup used to the concept). Mostly I concentrate on socialising to worldly things (traffic; noises; different surfaces; and so on and so forth).

Are you going to doggy school with her? That would be a great start for you to learn about lead handling; socialisation; beginnings of puppy basic training. Much better and easier that trying to understand it all from over the net, as it would be demonstrated to you and the instructor can help you if you have any troubles. Source a reputable school with instructors who have knowledge not only about training but also about puppy and dog behaviour/psychology as well. You will find these people a wealth of knowledge to help you as you journey through with your pup in its various periods of development.

But always - the sessions should be short.

And not a lot of what I refer to as 'forced' walking for a young puppy. Exercise, yes. But in the form of free play where pup can dictate when pup is tired. You have very soft and growing bones to consider at this stage.

Over all, have fun and enjoy your puppy. Set your guidelines now and steer your puppy to live within them. In this way your pup will learn and be the least confused and conflicting as she grows and matures.

I know others will join your thread and post some excellent advice but for now I hope the above gives you some idea.

Congratulations on your new family member. Labs are wonderful and ever so adorable especially (but not only) as pups.

Oh - and beware. Pictures will be demanded .

Edited November 2, 2008 by Erny

[Stewie_the_Frenchie]

Great reply erny - as usual

When we got Turtle, we would just put the lead on him in the back yard and let him drag it...as he is a Newfoundland and was a massive pup, the weight of it didn't affect him so I don't think he really noticed it.

Just get your pup used to having it on, don't try walkies yet.

Once pup is ok with the lead, try picking it up and walking alongside - again, just in the back yard and for short amounts of time.

Make sure once you are actually walking your dog that you teach it to heal next to you and not pull - the earlier you do this the better. But this won't be for a while.

Good luck :rolleyes:

[geggy]

Hi there thanks for the advice we will go and buy a lead for holly ,she loves to run around the back yard with a peace of rope .

[GotAnyBlacker]

Also make sure you don't take her out until she's at least had her 12 week vaccinations. I didnt take mine out till 16 weeks unless I was taking them somewhere I knew was safe.

[Erny]

I don't agree with the blanket comment of "keep pups in until after puppy vaccinations". It is another subject though, but keeping pup isolated from all the experiences they'll need to be comfortable in coping with in our big wide world can have negative consequences that can (and too often enough do) affect for the whole of the dog's life.

It is a matter of checks and balances. Sure - keep them away from environments where lots of unknown dogs visit, but I see no point in not allowing them to experience the noise of traffic; socialising with other dogs in controlled situations; experiencing crowds of people and the noises that go with that; and so on and so forth.

By the time my pup was 16 weeks old I'd built up his experiences to enable him to easily cope with train rides; bus rides; high rise elevators; walk in CBD Melbourne; walk around Tullamarine Airport; visit at street cafe's in busy streets/road; and more. These experiences will set him up to be able to deal with many of the things that he's likely to be subject to throughout his life.

Did you know that the early experiences a pup receives during its critical period (ie 8-16 weeks) ACTUALLY changes the shape of his brain? So important and permanent this period is. After that, the dog continues to learn through experience, but the brain no longer is developing at the same rate and to the same extent.

Many people think it's ok that they have 4 whole weeks (ie start at 12 weeks through to 16 weeks) to socialise their pups. But careful and proper socialisation needs to be done incrementally if you're to be as certain as you can be that you'll avoid overwhelming/traumatising your pup by doing so. It was three visits to the train station, each was gradual in intensity, before we even boarded a train and on that trip only went a couple of train stops and then back again. Another train trip to a neighbouring busy township. And lots of other things in between before I felt him ready to confidently cope with a visit to the City. This (and all the other things I did in his early socialisation program) took up a great deal of my time - and I am fortunate enough to be in a position where for the most part I could structure my work around the things I needed to do to gradually introduce my pup to new/novel things and bit by bit work them up in intensity. I started him at age 8.5 weeks and only just made it up to the "big" (read : intense) things I wanted to accustom him to, by the age of 16 weeks. For people who work full time and only might have the weekends to manage this, four weeks equates to only 8 days. And that's presuming they don't have to share their lives with a partner and children. Not to mention that there's only so much socialisation/experiences a pup can manage on one day - the mental stimulation for them is exhausting and they aren't at that age built to keep on keeping on - they need their feeds and lots of sleeps (also vital for normal development) in between their day. And it's not just a matter of doing something once and then moving up to the next level of intensity. With some things you're better to stay at a certain level and vist there a few times before moving upwards from it.

Admittedly there are some dogs who don't receive this or as much socialisation experience in that early period and they seem to cope with life ok. But there are many who don't. And once you find out that there is a problem that relates back to insufficient critical period experiences, you can't go back and start over to fix it. You may well be able to improve on whatever the issue (much depends on what it is) but those early critical period memories are permanent (and that includes the 'lack' of memories as well) no matter what you do.

A lot of what we did was done with me carrying him in my arms as he was just too young to be fit enough to cope with all the walking that went with it. I admit this got a bit difficult by the age of 16 weeks, being a large breed pup .

Make the most and best of the pup's critical period. You don't have to "keep them in". Even parvo virus can affect pups that haven't stepped a foot outside their yard. Just be sensible about where you take your pup.

IMO

ETA: The only thing I did do was keep my puppy away from any other dogs (known or unknown) as well as from public thoroughfare areas for a period of 7 days beyond his vaccination (I'm not following the common vaccination protocol - the common protocol being somewhat questioned as being the best thing for dogs these days) so, puppy already having received his first C3 vacc when at the breeder's, only had one more C3 at 12 weeks of age whilst under my care. I also made sure that during that 7 day period I only did things with him that I knew he was already very comfortable with. In this way, keeping his stress levels to an absolute minimum. Reason is that pup's immune system is already being 'tried' following the vaccination. I avoided adding further stress to it until it had a chance to recover.

Edited November 4, 2008 by Erny

[gsdog2]

Ok, so now I'm confused . I like the idea of -

"By the time my pup was 16 weeks old I'd built up his experiences to enable him to easily cope with train rides; bus rides; high rise elevators; walk in CBD Melbourne; walk around Tullamarine Airport; visit at street cafe's in busy streets/road; and more. These experiences will set him up to be able to deal with many of the things that he's likely to be subject to throughout his life".

But, I've just read where K9 Force says that 12 to 16 wks is a fear period for puppies. So, wouldn't it be better to wait until they're 16 wks for these experiences? This fear period concerns me and I'd hate to accidentally expose a pup to something I didn't realise would cause fear and then suffer the after-affects for the rest of their life.

How do you balance the exposure to life experiences, while also being aware this is a crucial fear period?

[Patters]

Ok, so now I'm confused . I like the idea of -

"

But, I've just read where K9 Force says that 12 to 16 wks is a fear period for puppies. So, wouldn't it be better to wait until they're 16 wks for these experiences? This fear period concerns me and I'd hate to accidentally expose a pup to something I didn't realise would cause fear and then suffer the after-affects for the rest of their life.

How do you balance the exposure to life experiences, while also being aware this is a crucial fear period?

K9 Force says he takes the pup everywhere from 8 - 14 weeks, in the pinned article at the top of Puppy Problems. Just being very careful of both known and unknown dogs. From 16 weeks can be too late to correct a problem that should never have occurred in the first place, if the pup had been socialised (neutralised) properly from 6 -14 weeks.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Clankaree

[gsdog2]

K9 Force says he takes the pup everywhere from 8 - 14 weeks, in the pinned article at the top of Puppy Problems. Just being very careful of both known and unknown dogs. From 16 weeks can be too late to correct a problem that should never have occurred in the first place, if the pup had been socialised (neutralised) properly from 6 -14 weeks.

Ok, so in that fear period exercise more caution and be aware. I have always kept previous pups in my own yard, friends yards (that I knew were safe), and where I work - from 8wks to 12wks. Next time I think I'll take Erny's advice and expose any future pups to a few more "experiences" from 8wks instead of waiting for the 12wk vaccination - keeping in mind that fear period between 12 to 16wks