A Guide to Leash Training Your Puppy

Train your puppy to calmly walk on a leash.

Teaching a puppy to walk on a leash can begin as soon as they’re eight weeks old. Some puppies master leash training quickly, others take a little longer to grasp the concept. Either way, it’s important to remain consistent, positive and patient.

Leash training can be confusing for a puppy. They’re not used to the restriction of the collar/harness or the leash and will need to go through an adjustment period before they can be expected to calmly walk beside you, without pulling on their leash.

In this article, you’ll learn the fundamentals of training your puppy to walk on a leash, as well as the following:

• Why is Leash Training Important?
• When Should You Start Training Your Puppy To Walk On A Leash?
• Leash Training Essentials For Your Puppy
• The Step By Step Process For Puppy Leash Training
• Common Leash Training Problems & Their Solution

WHY IS LEASH TRAINING IMPORTANT?

Leash training helps to build a puppy’s trust and boost their overall confidence. It also allows dog owners to expose their puppy’s to new environments and helps to establish important boundaries that help to create positive behavior around training sessions.

Puppies who haven’t been taught how to walk on a leash often develop one of two habits. They either become quite anxious when taken for walks outside as they’re fearful of their new environments and the different noises and obstacles (people, other dogs) that they encounter along the way. Or they start to act out and can become aggressive or overexcited when taken for walks, thereby making it difficult for the owner to take back control.

WHEN SHOULD YOU START TRAINING YOUR PUPPY TO WALK ON A LEASH?

As i mentioned earlier, you can train your puppy to learn simple commands by the time they’re eight weeks old, this includes leash training. Essentially, you can introduce your puppy’s leash/harness to them as soon as you’ve brought them home.

It’s important for your puppy to get used to the idea of walking beside you, wearing a collar and learning that you’re the one in charge right from the beginning to avoid undesirable behavior forming.

LEASH TRAINING ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR PUPPY

It pays to be prepared (where puppies are concerned) — leash training is no different.

I have listed a few leash training essentials you’ll need to help accelerate the learning process below:

• Leash
• Collar and harness
• Treats
• Barriers — Including crates and or playpens
• Patience (and a lot of positive reinforcement is key to successfully leash training a puppy)

THE STEP BY STEP PROCESS FOR PUPPY LEASH TRAINING

Teaching a puppy to walk calmly by your side means there’s no need for pulling — on either end. Instead, your puppy will be trained to walk beside you within the length of the leash, which will be a much smoother and more enjoyable process for both of you.

Keep reading to discover my step by step process for teaching a puppy to walk calmly beside you while on a leash.

1. Introduce Your Puppy To Their New Leash or Harness
2. Teach Your Puppy A New Command
3. Encourage Your Puppy To Come To You
4. Walk Your Puppy Around The Room On A Leash
5. Take Your Training Session Outside

1) INTRODUCE YOUR PUPPY TO THEIR NEW LEASH/HARNESS

The first step in leash training is allowing time for your puppy to get acquainted with their new collar/harness and lead — it’s best to start indoors where there are fewer distractions.

The best way to begin leash training your puppy is to allow them to sniff around their new leash/harness whilst giving them plenty of positive reinforcement in the process. Once their interest deters you can fasten the leash/harness to their body and allow them to get used to that.

2) TEACH YOUR PUPPY A NEW COMMAND

Once your puppy feels comfortable with the leash fastened around their body, it’s important to introduce a command such as ‘come’ to encourage them to walk towards you with it on. As soon as they come towards you, reward them with a treat and plenty of positive reinforcement.

(3) ENCOURAGE YOUR PUPPY TO COME TO YOU

Just as before, continue to move around the room beckoning for them to come towards you. Get ready to reward your puppy as soon as they’ve done what you’ve asked and get them to repeat this process a few more times before calling it quits for the day, just to be sure they fully understand what you’re asking of them.

I know it seems like an easy enough process but remember puppies have a short attention span and will often lose interest during their training. When this happens it’s important to remain calm and not lose your patience.

(4) WALK YOUR PUPPY AROUND THE ROOM ON A LEASH

It’s common for a puppy to pull away when first introduced to the leash, if this happens don’t try and stop it. Keep your puppy in eyesight as you allow them to drag the lead around the room, this will allow them to get used to the feeling of a loose leash. It’s important to give your puppy an appropriate amount of time to get used to their leash and allow them to get comfortable with their new accessories.

The real trick to teaching your puppy to walk on a leash is not to drag or force them into walking beside you, or where you want to go. Instead, allow them to get used to the feeling of the leash if they start to become over-excited and try to pull, stand still and wait for them to calm down before moving forward. They need to learn that no pressure on the leash means go, and slight pressure on the leash means stop.

(5) TAKE YOUR TRAINING OUTSIDE

Mastered the above? It’s time to start training your puppy outside.

There’s plenty of distractions for your puppy to get lost in when introduced to the outside world so it’s important to train in an area with fewer distractions, a backyard maybe? Practice walking forward just a few steps and asking for their attention as you move forward. The training process will remain fairly straightforward although there will be a couple more distractions for you to deal with as your puppy encounters the outside world.

THREE COMMON LEASH TRAINING PROBLEMS & THEIR SOLUTIONS

A walk with your puppy can either be an enjoyable time or it can be a bit of a battle gaining back control. The responsibility for nurturing a more relaxed, controlled walk rests solely on the human. Once you understand why your puppy is showing signs of undesirable behavior, you can redirect them to a more constructive behavior.

I have listed 3 common leash problems and how to overcome them below:

1) PUPPY PULLING ON THE LEASH

Pulling is a natural response for a puppy, it allows them to get to where they want to go at their pace. They’re not doing this behavior to show dominance over you but simply because it works.

When out walking with your puppy it’s important to be aware of your body position. If you’re idling a few steps behind your puppy, allowing them to take the lead then this will make them feel as though they’re in charge and they will start to tug at the leash to pull you along during the walk.

There are various methods for training a puppy to stop pulling on the leash, i have listed a few for you below.

PLAY THE REWARD GAME

One of the easiest and most effective ways to teach a puppy to walk on a leash beside you is to reward them each time they pay attention to you and perform your desired action i.e. walk on a leash by your side, at your pace.

ENCOURAGE YOUR PUPPY TO FOLLOW YOU

This process is simple, hold onto the leash and take a few steps forward from your puppy — this action encourages your puppy to follow you. As soon as your puppy approaches, reward them with a treat and plenty of encouragement.

CREATE A SHORT ROUTINE IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

It’s a good idea to create a short route in your neighborhood that you stick to and walk repeatedly. A familiar walk helps your puppy to be less distracted, it becomes considerably less distracting for your puppy to walk the same route multiple times than to be introduced to a new route each time.

BURN OFF EXTRA ENERGY IN ADVANCE

Puppies have a lot of excess energy to burn and they need to expend it somehow. If you take them for a walk without burning off this extra energy beforehand then it may cause your puppy to pull extra hard on their leash. Including an extra exercise session into their day before a walk helps to combat this problem.

2) PUPPY BITING ON THE LEASH

The easiest and most effective way to stop your puppy from biting on their leash is to redirect their attention to something else. A puppy’s natural behavior is to run around until they’ve burnt off their excess energy and decide to have a nap. As soon as you put a leash on your puppy it restricts them from their natural behavior, which is why your puppy may seem more stubborn to learn in the beginning.

Redirection is one of the most important aspects of raising a puppy. It’s a technique that can be used across various training sessions, most of all leash training.

See more methods for leash training below:

DON’T PULL ON THE LEASH

As i mentioned earlier, tugging on your puppy’s leash reinforces their desire to bite the leash more and pull harder as it seems fun and rewarding for them.

PROVIDE YOUR PUPPY WITH A TOY

Remember how we mentioned redirection as a key training method? This is where your puppy’s favorite toy comes into play. Once you’ve successfully stopped your puppy from biting on the leash, replace it with their favorite toy to teach them to shift their focus there instead.

USE FOOD TO REWARD AND REDIRECT YOUR PUPPY

Once your puppy has let go of the leash, re-focus their attention on you by enticing them with their favorite treat— their focus will be predominantly on you once they know you’re carrying some tasty treats with you!

3) PUPPY ACTING AGGRESSIVELY WHEN ON A LEASH

Leash aggression is more often associated with older dogs, however, it’s important to train puppies to be calm from the onset to avoid this behavior from occurring. Dogs acting aggressively when on a leash is often caused by them feeling restrained, frustrated and uncomfortable in a social situation while attached to a leash. If a puppy feels as though they can’t protect themselves from a potential threat while on a leash, it may cause them to act out aggressively.

It is critical to remember that a leash aggressive puppy is not bad or mean, they are likely scared and punishing them may worsen the behavior. If you have a problem with leash aggression, you may want to discuss the problem with your veterinarian, a veterinary behaviorist or a trainer recommended by your veterinarian. In the meantime, avoid the stressful situation and do not engage in negative reinforcement.

COMMON SIGNS OF FEAR AGGRESSION

The easiest way to deal with aggression is by recognizing the warning signs before anything can occur. As i mentioned earlier, aggression is often associated with your dog feeling fearful or stressed and likely feeling trapped. Body language that may be displayed when your puppy is feeling aggressive are as follows:

• Lunging
• Posturing
• Direct eye contact
• Pricked ears
• Teeth exposed

If you witness your puppy displaying any of these types of behaviors then it’s important to calmly remove them from the situation and focus on re-directing their attention to something else, as i explained before. You must stay calm in these scenarios, as your puppy will be able to pick up on your energy when you’re stressed which will cause further distress for them too.

Training a puppy to walk on a leash is usually a successful endeavor that will create a new and fun way to bond with your puppy. However, if any aggressive behaviors arise, book in a few training classes with a veterinary behaviorist or dog trainer.