Puppy Leash Training

I am often asked how to teach a new puppy not to pull on the leash.   Keep in mind that your puppy has spend his/her entire life running freely any time his feet were on the ground. 

leash manners takes practice, its that simple.

The owners perception of walking their new puppy is often frustrating for both pup and owner as he/she pulls every which way and the walk often turns into chaos. Even with high value treats the puppy may ignore his/her owner.  Walking is often no fun for the human as their new puppy can't seem to stay on one side nor can he/she keep her nose off the ground.  This often reduces the time spent on leash and the owner finds ways to exercise their new puppy off leash as it is simply easier.  However, this only reinforces your puppy bolting anywhere he pleases, so when you do attach the leash, the frustration will be even greater.   

Now that you have introduced him/her to an entirely new world of smells, sights and movement outside the yard, all of which are so new and exciting, they out rank the food you may be using to teach your puppy to stay with you.  What to do?

To make walking on a leash a win win for you both, always begin your leash training in a quiet area in the home or back yard where there are little distractions.  Once she/she understands that the leash means he goes when you go and he stops when you stop, ask your puppy to walk a certain length, say 10 steps while focused on you and reward with a treat, after a few repetitions of this say "ok" release her and let her go sniff.  Repeat, train, reward, sniff or play time.  Her attention span is very short so know this is a progression!  Always begin your leash training indoors and gradually move this training outside while increasing the duration your puppy can focus on you.  Leash manners will take many weeks or even months depending on how often you practice.  If your pup is running off leash Monday through Friday, then please do not expect them to have good manners on leash if he/she is spending most of his time off leash.  Remember your dogs environment is training your dog as much as you are!

Personal Space

KT trying to be friendly to Pablo.

These 3 photos were taken one right after another just a few months after I started working with KT (Fall 2009). KT asked for a photo of my dog Pablo for her new flyer so we opened the back of my truck and I took this photo.  As you notice from Pablo's body language here in the car, he is not very comfortable having KT in his personal space.

Seeing his body language, I moved him to the ground to help him feel less confined.





Keep in mind that this dog had met KT many times before, yet his reaction is clear in these photos.

Notice the look away in this second photo, tongue flick and ears drawn back.

Notice also how much she is leaning into his space, although she is trying to get low for him, he is not very happy about this intrusion of personal space.  KT's body language is normal for humans, but not so much for many dogs.

Here Pablo lifted his paw in a submissive gesture, as he looks and leans farther away from her.  Now his mouth is closed tight and he appears to be saying "just take the --- photo" or in canine words "I hope this ends soon".  It was time for me to give him a break by calling him to me to create space.

I always create space for him so he feels safer when he is in a situation he is uncomfortable with.  I have had hundreds of people toss treats, hand feed and touch and treat him so he has a positive association with people.  So, while many dogs tolerate people petting them, many do not enjoy it as much as the human does.

Car Aggression

Have you ever walked by a car with a barking dog inside?  What did you do?  Stop and stare? Ignore it? You most likely kept walking as you were going somewhere.  You may have thought "someone should correct that yappy dog!"

This pup has no worries:0)  If he barks it is only so you
come give him affection.

The dog however is rewarded when you move away, especially if you stopped and confronted him with a look, then turned and walked away.  How many times can a dog get a reward from barking at people that walk past his car in just a short shopping trip?  Each one is reinforcing his behavior, he has no reason to stop, he made you move away!  This environment is encouraging him to practice an unwanted behavior.

 If your dog does not bark in the car, then he is most likely a happy dog that is not worried about being confined.  However if your dog barks in the car, he may also bark in a crate, the house or a fenced in yard.  This type of dog has issues with confinement which need to be addressed.  Sure you can "correct" the behavior, which only stops it when you are there, but it does nothing to change the emotional state of the dog, so his behavior will most likely become more intense over time as he seeks out the reward more often.

Helping the dog learn to associate confinement as a positive rather than something that is frustrating or scary is the key to helping the dog curb his barking behavior whether you are there or not.  Consider a dog that is aggressive in a crate when you approach, showing his teeth and barking wildly.  Try to approach, toss a treat and retreat away, do this 10 or so times until the dog is happy with your approach.

How about a dog that is growling and barking in a car?  I bet if you have a friend approach, toss a yummy treat in the window and retreat several times, the dog will stop barking and look forward to his approach. With repetition of this conditioning "people approaching my car = something yummy"  The dogs association is changed so the behavior is also changed.  Does this training take time, yes, but is well worth the effort if you want your dog to mature with less stress and frustration.  The fact that the dog stops barking is a bonus reward for you!