Would Like Advice On How To Teach My Puppy To Walk On A Lead :(

[regalghost]

Hi

We have a 8week old lab who is an absolutely beautiful but yet stubborn boy..lol

Who will NOT walk on a lead around our backyard

We have tried EVRYTHING to coax him into it including treats & yet he is very resistant to it

I do NOT want to pull on him i would just like to be able to teach him that its not such a scary object and that later on (once he has his 3rd needle) we will be able to go for long walks in the park and that can be great fun for him! ;)

Any suggestions on how to approach this would be GREATLY appreciated ;)

Thanks

[Arley]

My Puppy is the same, if u put a lead on her in the yard she will attack it and get agressive, but if u take her for a long walk out side the yard she is really good.

[Kavik]

What does he do when you put the lead on?

Have you tried putting the lead on and following him around when he moves? Will he come to you with treats with the lead on? What about kneeling down and getting on the floor, have a game, roll a ball, tug etc? Just get him used to having the lead on without trying to take him in a certain direction yet.

[Jed]

Put the collar and lead away for a while. I presume you do have a flat collar?

Arm yourself with a few treats. Pick an area with a wall - ie, semi enclosed - down the hallway inside the house, or outside with the house wall against your left side.

Use an area where there are NO distractions. No other dog, no helpful relation giving you advice, no cats, no chooks.

Call the pup - make a fuss of him. Then begin to walk - hopefully, with the pup on your left side with the wall or hallway on his left side

so he is between you and and wall.

Slap your leg, use a happy upbeat voice - "c;mon Fred (or whatever his name is), c'mon", keep slapping your leg. If he is normal, he will run along beside you

make a big fuss as you walk

"good boy, good boy, c'mon, gooood doggie, c'mon walkies"

Only walk the length of the hall or wall. No matter whether he did it well or not.

At the end, give him a treat, and tell him good dog.

Just do it a few times at once. Don't look for any good obedience stuff - just be happy if he is going in the right direction at about the right speed most of the time.

Try to do this several times a day, just for a couple of minutes.

If he goes the other way, don't chastise him, simply turn on your heel and walk off in another direction. He will soon follow.

It is really important to make this exercise fun - keep praising him.

What you want is for the dog to run along beside your left leg.

Once he does that reasonably reliably, move away from the wall or hall, and do it in a larger area - not for too long, and don't expect too much.

When he is doing it quite well, put the collar on him.

Do the same thing with the collar on.

Do it a few times, over a couple of days,

Then put the lead on - don't pull the lead. Use exactly the same words/treats you have been using.

He will run along beside you with the lead on.

He's lead trained now.

Now, you can begin refiing him - so he walks beside you.

The reason this works because it is a dog's nature to (a) run with his master (you will have seen him following you around) and (b) to resist any pull on his neck - because it means "danger"

Once he understands you want him to run with you - and you are happy with him, it is easy to get him used to the collar.

If you put the lead on him, and he runs backwards, don't pull back - drop the lead, and use the commands you used to get him to walk with you off lead. Pick up the lead when he is walking with you.

[SoL]

I had another method cos I'm kind of going through the same thing with my girl but after having read the previous post I'm going to try what Jed has suggested, sound good

Oh yeah, remember he's a BABY

[12345]

First up, you put a collar on a dog

leave for a day or two - next you attach a very short lead onto the collar - they almost carry it around for a day or two. Next you put a longer lead on the dog.

They almost carry that around too.

Next you put a short, but longer lead on the dog and you hold onto the end. They still wander around, but you give them a reminder (just a gentle tug) to let them know that you are at the other end.

The dog is now used to having a collar and a lead.

All the time you tell the dog that it is good - your might even want to reward the dog - a little bit of liver treat, or a quarter of a goodoh in your pocket.

Most dogs don't really want too much.

Then you are really ready to go for a walk.

You have your pocket with goodohs in it - the dog knows you have the goodohs in it

You have the treat in your pocket - the dog knows that it is there.

It is amazing how are dog will "work" for even the tiniest of treats.

[TessaBella]

Bella has recently begun pulling. She used to walk by my side. I have used the stop method (where you stand still and pay no attention to the pup until they return to you and sit) but it isn't working (have been trying for nearly 6 weeks).

Suggestions?

[sas]

I don't use the 'stop' method, I personaly don't think it teaches the dog quick enough...some people struggle with this methods for months and months.

We use the 'turn' method....when the dogs shoulder passes your leg you say "heel" and then turn in the opposite direct and continue in this direction for approx 10 paces, then say "Heel" and turn back in the direction you were going....some dogs pick it up really quickly some may take 4-5 days to grasp the concept.