Puppy Leash Training Made Easy

Most owners want to be able to take their dogs for walks. But walking can quickly become a chore if your dog hasn’t had any proper puppy leash training. It’s important to begin teaching your puppy to walk on a leash almost as soon as you bring him home.

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Many owners don’t understand that their own actions determine how a dog will behave on a leash. You must be careful to teach your puppy that pulling is not okay. If he learns not to pull as a puppy, he won’t pull as an adult.

The first step is to allow him to get used to wearing a collar. Many puppies don’t mind having something placed around their necks, but some get nervous and try pulling it off repeatedly. If this is the case with your puppy, try distracting him with some games once the collar is on. By distracting him, he will quickly forget it's there.

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Once your puppy is used to the collar, it's time to add the leash. Attach the leash, but don’t hold on to it. Let your puppy investigate it as he drags it around. He’ll wonder what it is that keeps following him. He might even think it’s a toy and try to carry it in his mouth. Let him do whatever he wants with it - soon he'll learn that it's harmless, and he won't be afraid of it.

Once you pick up the leash, be careful not to tug on it. It’s important to keep the leash loose as much as possible. Now that you have the leash, encourage your puppy to follow you without dragging him. Take a few steps away from him. Talk to him in an excited voice and make following you a game. Lure him with a treat in your hand if you need to. Don’t try to pull him where you want him to go. Let him come to you.

Once your puppy has reached your side, reward him and say “good heel.” You want him to associate this position with a command. It will help if you repeatedly say your command while encouraging him to follow you. It might also be helpful to always walk your puppy on the same side. If you want him to walk on the left, teach him to “heel” to your left side.

Teaching puppy early not to pull is key to leash training

Gradually increase the number of steps your puppy must walk on a loose leash before you reward him. Make sure you never give him a reward if the leash has tightened. He needs to know that good things only come to him if there is slack on his leash. As he improves, you can decrease the frequency of his rewards.

If your puppy begins pulling, resist the urge to pull him back. He’s pulling because he wants to go faster or he wants to go in a different direction than you want. Simply stop walking. Stand still until he starts to return to you. As soon as the leash loosens, reward him with a treat and praise, and begin walking again. Make sure that every time the leash tightens, you stop walking. Don’t reward him by moving again until he comes back to your side.

Make sure that walking on the leash is always a positive experience for your puppy. Avoid scolding him for pulling. You don’t want him to become fearful of walks. When he pulls, stop walking and patiently wait until he lets the leash go loose. Reward him when he does. Leash training is one of those techniques that requires consistency. Some dogs take longer to get the hint, but this technique does work. When they understand that the walk stops every time there's tension on the leash, they'll work to make sure the leash stays loose.

Puppy leash training is one of the fundamentals of dog obedience and is very well covered in our most recommended dog obedience training resource. Since walking is an essential activity for your dog, it is important to train him, as a puppy, to walk properly on a leash right from the beginning. Walks give a dog a chance to exercise and experience the world. It also gives you some quality time together and you should be enjoying the walks as much as your dog. But if puppy leash training isn’t implemented early, it gets more difficult to break bad habits as your dog gets older. Teach him to walk on a leash properly early before pulling and other bad habits develop.

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