Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash – Stop Leash Pulling

Don’t let the end of summer end your exercise routine! If not for your own exercise, get out and walk for your puppy’s sake, focusing and teaching puppy to walk on leash should be a first priority also.

Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash – Stop Leash Pulling

Below are some Tips for Walking with your Pup

Keeping your pup on a leash while exercising, when Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash, is very important. This is advisable even in parks where you are allowed to let your dog off the leash. “Dogs may be fine until the day they meet up with that one dog they see as an enemy”.

Respect Others – To have your pup on a leash shows that you’re committed to care not only for your own pup, but also that you respect other people walking with their pets in the same park. Walking your dog with a Leash is often a municipal local law, and can cause fines up to $500. Some people also use it to prevent exposing their pet to other pets. Using a leash can also stop your dog from following that squirrel across the street into traffic. In light of this, dogs participating in a pet race must rather be on a leash.

Conditioning your Puppy – Before you plan a long hike or run a few kilometres in a pet race, your pet needs conditioning, Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash. Take long walks or runs to work them up to the goal distance. Just because your dog runs in the yard and chases balls doesn’t guarantee that he can run 5 kilometres on a nice warm summer morning. At a pet race, the dogs who do best are the ones whose owners run with them all the time. Exercising and preparing with your dog at the same temperature probable for the planned hike or run is a good idea as well. That’s why training is so important, teaching puppy to walk on leash will take time and needs to be a normal routine.

Testing your Puppy – Test your pup’s physique a while before your pet run adventure. Normally before a pet run, veterinarians and veterinary students look at the pets before the race. They will move any that look too young, too old, or too heavy from the running to the walking category. In some cases, they might try to talk you out of participating with your pet, especially if your pup’s physique is not up to standard.

Let your Puppy Set the Pace – So when exercising with your pup, Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash, try to regularly evaluate your pet’s condition. Your pup will normally let you know and will often set the pace. If your pup or you are not conditioned, walk with your pup until you both are ready to pick up the pace. Rest often if your pet seems uncomfortable. Slowing down, panting excessively, increased salivation, limping, or sitting down are all signs that your pup needs a break. When this happens at the pet race, they might ask the owner to stop. They will help to cool down the pet with on-site first aid. It’s critical to have water or shade to rest in along the route if possible. Or alternatively have a hose to cool the pup down with. If you have a fur coat, that would be awesome on a hot summer day!

Overheating your Puppy – During races, when overheating, your pup can get depressed, vomit, seizure and even have brain damage or multi-organ failure in a worst case scenario. Best would be to take a rectal temperature if you suspect your pup having heat stress or a heat stroke. If the temperature is over 106 degrees, get the pup into a tub of cool water and call you veterinarian.

Normally at big races, an average of 2 to 4 dogs overheat at these races. Most are older, overweight dogs with longer coats. Once you get them into the tub and into air conditioning, most should be fine within the hour.

Walking and Exercise Routines – We encourage exercising with your pup and also teaching puppy to walk on leash. It’s good for you. It’s good for them. Walking, running and racing in events like these pet races are great opportunities to continue keeping yourself and your pup in shape for life.

Now to get Started with the Dog Leash Training

The goal of leash training is simply to train your puppy or dog to stay close to you when walking on a leash and to do so without pulling or tugging.

You don’t want to come back from walking your dog and have your whole body feel like you were holding back a freight train.

Make sure you start with the right equipment.

• A Plain Dog Collar – Trainers today recommend the use of plain dog collars to leash train your dog. Specialized dog collars such as choke chains and prong collars can cause injury and permanent damage to your dog’s neck. These types of collars should only be used by people experienced with their use.
• A Short Leash – A dog leash of no longer than 2 feet is appropriate when teaching a dog to walk close to his owner.
• Lots of Treats – You will need a lot of yummie treats for encouragement, positive reinforcement and to praise your dog when he performs well.
• Create a calm environment – Important to create a calm atmosphere, set the correct tone. Stay calm during sessions, otherwise your dog will pick up on your energy, they are more likely to stay calm if you set the right tone.
• Avoid having a set destination – In the beginning it’s easier to let your pup go and explore, just in case your pup does not respond well at first. Let the pup lead the way around the area.

Start out in small sessions of 10 minutes or so. Remember, never speak harshly or yell when you are training. Make the training session’s fun for you and your new pup. Good Luck.

Let’s Dive In – Teaching Your Puppy Loose Leash Walking

Sometimes I think they are giving too much attention to techniques like “penalty yards” and “be a tree”, not focusing on the most important points of such techniques, which remains the positive reinforcement for all actions done correctly! It is also portrayed that teaching puppy to walk on a leash is always very difficult and that it takes allot of time if you’re using positive reinforcement rather than using methods like attraction – and in our experience this is totally untrue.

You can get a tremendous amount of success teaching loose leash walking with just a leash, a clicker, and enough small treats. I would refrain from using things such as halties, choke chains or gentle leaders.

Like all other training sessions, this one is no different than any other behavior session. Start SMALL and in the beginning limit the amount of distraction, over time it could slowly increase. It is not a special formula! You need to focus on the basics, here are the Steps for Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash:

1.Warming Up – Select your training room and start by ‘warming up’ the pup with the clicker with a few basic commands (sit, stay, down, etc.) so the pup know there are something to work for, the treats will get him going!

2.Walk Away from Pup – When you walk away from your pup, they will normally follow you! With every correct behavior, positive reinforce, Click and Treat your pup! Don’t worry unnecessary about where the pup is, as long as he’s following you and close by.

3.Change Direction – Now change direction and go the other side – your pup should normally follow! Dogs normally LIKE to follow us all over the place, especially if they are aware of the treats, knowing they can earn Treats makes the difference!

4.Repeat –  And Wala…. after repeating it enough you will soon have a pup that realize, “Follow the boss around will get me some treats”

5.SLOWLY Raise the Criteria – Start by clicking when he’s close to you, then later up the criteria to being near the side that you ultimately want your pup to heel on. Again repeat the process over and over!

6.Keep on Raising the Criteria – Change your pace, you can Go slower, go Faster, Change direction – checking how the pup responds? When With you – That’s Good! As long as the pup is not wandering off somewhere else? If he does, Ask yourself, What level of reinforcement you should be giving? If your pup is not having fun, you’re doing something wrong! Important to keep the sessions Short, don’t overdo and bore the pup! Keep it full of fun!

7.Break Out the Leash – Once your puppy catches onto the game, you can now break out the leash! Your Job Description now changed, you need to make sure the leash is never taut. At this stage it’s still your job to keep the distance, not the dog’s job yet. Baby steps first, the game has changed, but get him to follow through. You can drop the leash and let it drag along, as long as he learns the follow me game.

8.Change the Game – Keep playing the same game, but only with a leash this time. So where you normally Click and Treat your pup when the dog is in position, you also want to make sure your puppy NEVER has the opportunity to pull the leash! Fortunately pup’s are so clever, and they like playing around, it therefore won’t take long for them to ignore the leash and they will be following you around the room.

9.More Practice – With a bit of practice, your pup will soon follow you around with his leash all over the room! He won’t’ be thinking of pulling the leash, but would rather follow you around! Great that means Success! You might think this is not useful? That’s Not true! You might not think so, but baby steps always let you move QUICKER, you don’t want to attempt to start training the puppy outside with all other distraction.

10.More Distractions – Now go into your yard, all you need is your backyard, don’t forget your dog, your small treats, and your clicker. Warm up first, your dog should know that treats can be earned while having fun at the same time. Sometimes it’s necessary to walk away, turn around and physically walk away from your pup. This way, when he follows, you must acknowledge and always Click and Treat, please do positive reinforce these behaviors. This must sound familiar?

11.Rinse and Repeat – Repeat, repeat, and repeat steps 1 through 9 in the safety of your own backyard. Your pup should be catching onto your game, so hopefully it would not take so long to get your pup to familiarize himself with the rules of the game! Or maybe it can, after all every breed is different, and some might be easily distracted! Once your pup can successfully “Loose Leash Walk” in your yard, it’s time to expose them to a different area!

12.On Leash From The Start – Ok, this might be a different, your pup should be on leash from the beginning. Someone suggested a flexi-lead, or maybe you should use a long line to start with. Guess what, best would be to repeat steps 1-9 in a different area!

13.Adding distractions – Again, everything takes time, we suggest baby steps at all times. Too hasty, too quick, most people have a problem with this method, because they add WAY too much responsibility way too fast. Amazingly, an actual walk is far more full of distraction and to try and  reinforce these behaviors, trying to teach pup’s about something as ambiguous as “Loose Leash Walking”, might be overwhelming. Don’t worry, it’s a process and you slowly need to add distractions to advance the puppy’s learning curve. The best things in live comes with time, practice makes perfect.

14.Have Fun – Important to have FUN and start SMALL. Have your spouse/friend/child distract your puppy while you exercise IN YOUR ROOM with your puppy, off leash for more fun. Run and Turn away from your pup, he needs to follow along? Again, Click and Treat, you want to positively reinforce all correct behaviors! It’s important to rinse and repeat the process until your pup is onto the game and you can’t distract him any further. Try all methods to distract the pup, squeaky toys, Try throwing balls, make noise, maybe a bowl of food and let’s see what will create the necessary distraction, try just out of leash range, etc. Again, maybe proceed to the yard, again starting with the “off leash” situation at step one!

It might sound incredibly time consuming, but it never is. Short, but daily sessions every day and you’ll see you’ll be done. This must be a GAME, you should create some fun and always try to set your pup up for fun. It’s always important to set your expectations for success back at 0, it’s important for every extra distraction you add. If he things go wrong, it’s important to laugh it off, and set him up for success! Puppies like playing games, so if they are having fun they will not likely be looking to the environment for further reinforcement.

15.Keep an Open Mind – When you think you’re ready for the big walk down town, make sure you keep an open mind please! Hopefully even a small child eating ice cream two feet away from him can’t distract him from enjoying the exercise?

16.Get Him in the Game – Grab your pup, a clicker, some small treats and a long leash. You need to get your dog in the game, start by warming up your pup with loose leash walking in your yard. Maybe you’re living on a road that’s not so busy, it’s a great opportunity  to walk him down the the road as a start. Keep him interested in you, keep on reinforcing positive behavior! He might wander out of your “zone”, it’s ok, ignore him and walk another direction. If he’s one of those hard headed pup’s, RUN another way! So does he now follow? Again it’s important to Click & Treat! Then continue again, this time with an even STRICTER reinforcement. (In my opinion, it’s not necessary at this point to use a clicker every time, feel free to issue treats). At this stage you don’t need to go too far! So important to have Fun and End on a high note, and also reward your pup all the way back home.

17.Rinse & Repeat – You can practice regularly until you have a pup that can reliably walk up and down the park or street and staying in your “zone”!

18.The Big Test – Yes you will be putting the leash on with your next walk. Once you know you and your pup are both ready for the next step – The Big Test, you can grab more treats, put pup’s leash on, grab a clicker and off you go, your first Big Mission. Some of the questions you should be asking right now: Does your pup have a good idea of what type of behavior you expect from him while he’s on leash (being in your zone)? The Big Treat and lots of Fun – Does he associate the leash with getting a massive amount of fun and reinforcement when he stays in your zone? If so you will have a jolly time and you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Normally I would discourage this, but here’s where I think you need to “Be A Tree” and “penalty yards” should come into play. What if your pup knows the game, he shows excitement and know the rules, choose not to play the Game anymore? If he begins to pull on leash? At this stage it’s SO IMPORTANT, you need to ALWAYS freeze, also Now “BE A TREE”. Cause-and-effect are normally obvious to pups: If I Pull, Then I  Can Move. If you reward him once for pulling, your pup will continue to pull, and then continually ignore you! After all, why would he need you then?

19.Bad Habits, Stop it Immediately – First of, pulling is definitely an indication that either a) you have not trained your pup under circumstances with enough distraction, b) the amount of reinforcement you provide was too low, or c) the pup still does not understand your “game”. In either case, you need to go back to the basics!

Meantime, you should be using the “Be A Tree” method, in most cases the pup will quickly move back into your “zone” and he’ll be ready to try all over again. If a pup still ignores you, If he still ignores you and tries to forge ahead, then Stop and slowly start walking backwards, you can continue to walk backwards until the pup comes back all the way to your “zone”. It does not mean that you stop walking backwards when the leash no longer taut. The Rules, The Game state: only if pup is in the “zone” will he achieve the reward! Ok so when you now move forward with your pup and “in your zone”, you can now make sure you get a couple of paces of “zone” work, and also don’t forget to Click and Reward that lovely animal!

20.Stopping on Walks – not allowed! – One last thing you should take note of when Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash – The Rules State: All pup’s on walks should be in heel the position, and although sniffing will be allowed, when walking your pup should not stop the walking parade! The “No Elimination Rule” on walks – These simple rules will enforce it, as these rules are not necessary part of your game! It should be clear to the pup, if he’s not walking with you, he’s not in the “zone”, and he’s not playing the Game! If he’s taking a leak at a tree, he’s not with you, and he’s not playing the game! It sounds harsh, but Imagine walking three dogs at the same time and each one randomly pulling, stopping and peeing all over the place. So this rule definitely comes in handy and you and your pup will have a wonderful walk together without unnecessary issues!

This may sound like allot, but believe me it will be quite easy, allot of fun, and it’s normally a straightforward process and you could have your pup heeling nicely within two weeks of starting the Game. Good luck with teaching your puppy to walk on leash!

Let’s also look at some of the other related questions that people normally ask about: Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash

Why Does My Puppy Not Want To Walk

Negative associations are in most cases responsible, this is a popular question asked many times before, “Why does my puppy not want to walk”. Let’s not focus too much on the negative side off things, but in this section we’ll concentrate on resolving it, Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash.

Please you want to start real slow, it’s better to be gentle at first. Teaching your pup that his leash is always associated with lots of Fun.

Best to start with a short session, when your pup is in a good, but not uproarious state-of-mind. You can now hitch up his leash (In the beginning a harness normally works better, puppies do not always immediately click with the collar), and praise your pup to create a positive experience. A suggestion, maybe first let your pup roam first, don’t lead him first. Follow him where he goes (as long as he don’t endanger himself), for not talk to him in a cheerful voice and let him explore the area.

Your pup’s sense of smell is a hundred times stronger than yours. Where people rely on their sense of sight, a pup explore the area by their sense of smell.
Every time you scout outside your pup will want to explore every little smell that gets to him – it is just normal this way, he would be checking out the surroundings. Let your puppy take time to explore the area. During this time, don’t praise him. Just talk cheerfully and make it fun for the pup.

Remember you will not always go wherever the pup leads you, only let him free for a while, and after a while, call his name gently and then start to walk in the direction you want to, but try not to tug on the leash. He can form negative association with the leash if you’re tugging the leash too often.

When teaching puppy to walk on leash, never start by dragging the pup in a direction. First get his attention, then turn to the direction you want to go, call him to you and now put some gentle pressure on the leash to “encourage” him to come with now while you slowly start walking. (That’s why we rather prefer a harness for a pup, thereby not choking on his neck, but rather having an even pressure on his shoulders and his front body.) Always try to praise him when he comes in the direction you want to go. By making the leash a pleasurable experience he will quickly associate it with fun will be happy to go for strolls …and also go where you want go.

Also never underestimate the power of small treats. Get some nice and tasty treats, and use it as a reward every step of the way, positive reinforcement. This should happen at every step, Give him praise and treats (P&T) in the entrance way when leaving. Again P&T when you get the leash on. Again P&T on the porch and on the lawn and when he pees. The idea is to make every step a positive experience, association with fun.

When Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash, Our suggestion is a few short sessions, a few times a day in the beginning. Pups are like kids, very short attention spans…but they will love the outing, to spend with you exploring. Over time start to take full control, you need to control the direction you go.
Most importantly, don’t worry. The both of you will get accustomed to walking together over time. Be patient! The outdoors should be a fun activity for your puppy, so it’s your responsibility to make sure it is one!

How Far Can a 12 Week Old Puppy Walk?

Your Pup have lots of go-go juice, but in the beginning not enough muscle tone to go out on long walks or runs, so how far can a 12 week old puppy walk?

Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash, Your pup is the only one that can tell you when he had sufficient exercise – when your pup starts lagging behind maybe then rather stop.

Let’s look at some general tips:
Maybe it’s a good idea to Google-ize Deep or see your Vet before you form an opinion on a fitness program for puppy. The exercise you choose for the puppy should depend on his age, health, weight and also his breed. Is your pup a retriever or a hunter, a pup who likes to run or is he a smaller breed that likes couch sitting? Before you decides on your pups daily workout, ask yourself some questions first to get clarification.

Similar to people who are unfit and not used to exercise, pups should also start off slow. Walking within reason and with a moderate pace would be a good place to start – then only let your pup further build their cardio-lix and muscle strength without punishing their joints.

Pups need far less exercise then a fully-grown dog. Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash, Don’t over-exercise your growing pup, you might overtire the pup and damage his developing joints, you don’t want this to cause early arthritis. Your rule of thumb should be a ratio of 5 minutes exercise per month of age (max twice a day) until the pup is fully grown, i.e. 10 minutes (twice a day) when your pup is 2 months old, 15 minutes when 3 months old etc. When your pup is fully grown, he can go out walking for far longer.

At 12 weeks old, I would suggest taking your puppy out as follows:
• On lead walk to field or in street (about 5-10 mins by month of age)
• Off lead playing (for up to 30 mins) – you can leave him to sniff around and also get him to run around and chase you, and if possible (when you are joined by another person) also practice recall sessions. Your pup will normally spent a lot of time stopping and sniffing at his own pace.
• Free play as referred to in point 2 above are where a puppy can stop, speed, slow, turn on a soft surface for long periods. It would be kind to your pup with to soft, young joints.

Some people will limit this till he’s 18 weeks old. They will keep him off leash with lot’s off free play, but will sometimes cut it short in cold, on straight hard trails. AND in some cases you might find that the pup will not stop by himself so free play will have to be monitored too.

Keep to 10-15-minute daily walks, as this would be a good start and you can build to an hour a day only when you’re pup seems up to it. If, after a some time, your pup can handle fast and longer walks without fatigue, you could think of running as the next step.

Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash – Some activities you should be careful off, these would not be good for your pup:

• Avoid biking or jogging with your pup if he’s got any pre-existing health issues.
• If he seems tired always please take notice.
• Don’t forget taking water along for your pup.
• Should you go out early in the morning on hot summer days or late evenings when it is cooler.

Most importantly, patient! The outdoors should be lots of fun for your pup and also yourselves, so it’s your responsibility to make sure it does!

What Age Should You Start Leash Training a Puppy

Your Pup can start with leash training when he’s still a teeny tiny pet. Puppies so young still have very short attention spans, however you can expect him to slowly start to learn basic obedience commands including “sit”, “down” and “stay” as soon as 7 to 8 weeks of age. Amazing & impressive, huh? One of the main reasons to start training your pup so soon when paw-sible is because they are like sponges at this age, and they are able to absorb far more when we give them credit.

You want to put the pup on a leash as young as possible for certain activities like outdoor housebreaking, exercises and other related activities. But for actual leash-training, the real deal, which entails teaching proper leash manners, at 10 weeks it would be the ideal age.

Some people belief that puppies could not be trained before they are six months old, now that is not true. At 6 months of age, basically all behavior issues are already settled in and very hard to rectify. Confirming that early training should be used to avoid future problems before it becomes so difficult and frustrating to change their ways.

Normally at ten weeks, your puppy should already have their daily routine, such as going out, and going to the bathroom. They should be familiar with your typical signals that you link to pleasing behavior or words like “Good Boy”, “Great”, “Yes” and others.

Your pup should be adept at being calm in house without biting everything and being mischievous or destructive. Last but not the least, he should know how to interact with other patrons in the family.

As soon as puppy has the previous skills mentioned, they will be ready to further teach them how to properly walk on the leash! Your training sessions should now be easier as he already know the meaning of some words and how to react and behave when they see unfamiliar dogs or people.

Good puppy behavior start at home. Furthermore don’t take him for any outside walks until you first taught him how to stop pulling inside your own home and yard. Positive reinforcement.

Best of all is you can combine leash walk training sessions with recall training. Every time you call your puppy include recall training as a standard.

Should I Take My Dog’s Collar Off at Night

Obviously when you remove the collar it will of course only add comfort, but if your pup wears a well fitted, nylon light collar, it’s not more uncomfortable to your pup than when you wear a tight belt or a ring, at an early age they really won’t feel it.

As a general rule: to decide if a collar should be taken off or left on your pup, it normally depends on the pup and your living situation at home. A suggestion would be to take the collar off whenever the pup is safe, and let him wear a collar when he’s not well grounded or is in an unfamiliar destination.

Again, normally you never need to put a collar on your dog while he’s inside. It’s normally not even necessary to put his collar on in your backyard when it’s completely fenced in or when your supervising your pup. Then there would be no way for your pup to get loose. Another precaution would be to microchip your pup, sot that if for some reason he gets out, the collar would not be an issue anyway.

So as a suggestion, the only time you really need to put the collar on the pup is when you’re Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash, leaving your home, going for a long walk or to go to town or even the Vet.

Normally at the very least, you should take your pup’s collar off at night so he can have a comfortable sleep. Also, if you have other dogs, when he play you don’t want them to get caught in the other’s collar.

Another idea is to have a soft, loose collar on your pup when in the house, one that isn’t heavy-duty as the outside collar with extra bells and whistles.

In some cases, you don’t need them to wear collars unnecessary, with some breeds it messes up their fur and in rough terrain, thorny bushes etc, ticks have a tendency to attach around the collar.

Ask yourself, how does the dog react when you remove the collar vs. if you leave it on all the time?

With some dogs, putting the collar on will be associated with “Let’s Go, Let’s take a walk.” In these cases you could have them on full time.

Ultimately it’s your preference and what you feel will work the best for your pup. Yes sometimes it might not be so comfortable, but puppies adjust quicker to stuff, sooner than we think.

Either case, there is no right or wrong, you would certainly not do anything wrong; as long as it works best for your situation.

How to Train Your Pup Using a Collar

• Start indoors – attach a light-weight leash to your puppy’s collar and let the puppy drag it around, so it can become familiar with it.
• Don’t leave your puppy alone while the collar and leash is attached
• Do this several times over a few days and pretty soon your pup won’t even notice the leash.

Walking on a collar and leash:

The key to training your puppy/dog to walk is to keep them beside you, controlled, not dragging you and you not dragging them.

You will need the right equipment – a leash about 3-5 feet long and a collar that won’t slip off.

1. Hold the leash and a food reward in your right hand. Your left hand should hold the slack line of the leash
2. Start with your dog sitting on your left side.
3. Begin to walk starting with your left foot. – Starting off with your left foot all of the time will signal your dog that you are about to walk.
4. When your puppy/dog lungs forward slide your left hand down the leash and give a quick, sharp tug while commanding “heel”.
5. When your puppy/dog is in the ‘heel’ position reward with a treat.
6. Command your dog to “sit” and repeat steps 3-5 increasing the distance covered while your puppy/dog obeys your commands.

Extra Tips:

• Start training at your home where there are fewer distractions.
• When giving the command “heel”, say it only once. This is so your puppy/dog doesn’t learn to associate the command with repetition of the command.
• Only reward your dog with a treat or praise when they are in the ‘heel’ position, not before.
• Gradually reduce the food rewards – the praise will be reward enough.
• This is a more difficult command to teach – so persistence and consistency are necessary for success. Puppies/dogs may take several weeks to learn.
• Practice this several times each day, keeping lessons short (about 15 minutes).

Troubleshooting:

If your dog tries to jump up at you while Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash:

1. Move away and sternly say “no!”
2. Command your puppy/dog to “sit”
3. Start the steps 3-5 again.

Pulling forwards on leash while Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash:

1. Each time they pull forwards, slide left hand down leash and give a quick sharp tug.
2. When your puppy/dog is in the correct heel position command it to “sit”.
3. Start walking again, give the command “heel”.
4. Repeat this every time puppy/dog pulls on the lead.

Husky Off Leash – Step by Step Train your Pup Off Leash Forever

Unlike “Basic Obedience” training, “Husky Off Leash” training is done in a step by step manner. In order for your Husky or pup to be trained in “Off-Leash”, they must first have completed basic obedience. “Off-Leash” utilizes the same commands as basic obedience; Heel, Sit, Stay, Come and Down, with much greater emphasis on the “Come” command. There is more emphasis on come, because you must be able to get the dog to come back after you release it.

For Husky’s or dogs protecting sheep, working and herding breeds must have advanced training in “Off-Leash” in order to effectively perform their duties. Although a dog’s natural instinct is to be free, allowing this behavior would not permit handlers to properly use their companions. Law Agencies throughout the United States regularly employ dogs for various functions. Whether it is the United States Military, or Local and State Police Departments, the use of dogs is a vital service to all of us.

Training a Husky or pup in “Off-Leash” can require more time than that of basic obedience.
The number of weeks it takes to train a pup in off-leash is dependent upon two things. First, how strong the dog’s natural instinct is to be free and second, the breed of dog. Every breed of dog has a strong desire to be free and wander, but certain breeds such as the; Husky, Bloodhound, Beagle, Labrador and Spaniel have a stronger desire than most. These particular dogs tend to require more training time than that of their relatives.

Off-Leash training, if done properly, should be done outdoors. Training the dog outdoors requires the dog to be in its natural setting during the training process. This is important because it forces the dog to focus while having to experience all of the distractions which occur around them daily. It also allows the Handler/Trainer to visually see which types of distractions are a problem for the dog. Having this information allows the handler to tailor the training accordingly to the distractions.

With more and more people purchasing and adopting dogs for their families, it is important their dogs have the proper training. Although the majority of people do not choose to continue training their dogs after basic obedience, they are making a big mistake. A dog that is Off-Leash trained is ten times more likely to return to their owner when called, if they escape. A dog that is Off-Leash trained is twenty times more likely not to be hit by a car if they get loose from their owner.

“Expert Dog Trainers” will tell you that every dog should at least be trained in Basic Obedience and Off -Leash. This is because they are aware of the importance of a well-balanced and properly trained dog. It is important to consult an expert trainer when determining what type of training will be best for you, you companion and your family.

Husky Off Leash – Step by Step Train your Pup Off Leash Forever

I would like to introduce you to Nick White Dog Trainer, the owner of Off-Leash K9 Training (please take note that the info in this post was relevant at the time we created this post and can change over time). He’s also the host of A&E’s new show, “America’s Top Dog!” He’s one of the top rated, well-known Off-Leash training businesses in America; however, his dog training business is located in Northern Virginia. He’s a former US Marine Veteran, and former US Secret Service, also, and have around 140 locations in the United States at the time. They specialize in basic obedience, advanced obedience, personal protection, and drug detection. He trained with some of the best trainers in the world. As you will see, in past years his client list includes: John Cena, Ryan Reynolds, 3x Cy Younger Winner Max Scherzer, NBA Star John Wall, UFC World Champion Jon “Bones” Jones, and many more!

As you will see on his website, he’s getting a lot of publicity and it’s continually growing! He had American Legion, US Military Veterans, NoVa Dog Magazine, Military Times Magazine, Smart CEO Magazine, and The Virginia and Maryland Dog Magazine do stories on him (just to name a few). You can see all of those articles if you go to his “About Us” page of the website and scroll to the bottom. Recently, he was named one of the top trainers in the world by the Dogington Post!

There are over 3,000 videos of dogs they have trained on YouTube so you can see the amazing results they get verse them just tell you about it, so we would highly encourage you to check out their YouTube Channel and see all the stuff they do!

When to Start Leash Training a Puppy

Opposite to what most people might think, pup’s will not learn to walk on a leash by themselves. No, you need to know when to start leash training a puppy! Leash walking is one of the most critical skills that you should be teaching your pup. When you training your pup to walk you will require a leash. That’s why it’s also known as leash training. So let’s look at when to start leash training a puppy.

A key ingredient in successful leash training will always be consistency and patience as. It’s basically very similar as teaching your baby to walk, it will take extra time and effort but they will manage to do it on their own.

So What Is The Right Age To Leash Train Your Puppy?

When to leash train a puppy – It’s actually a straight forward answer, as soon as you can, so when you bring your pup home, you should immediately be training him. They start learning from birth and certain breeds of dogs will learn to socialize immediately. It’s good to know that there are certain skills that you could immediately introduce to your pup the moment he opens his eyes and learn how to walk. Although smaller pups have a short attention span, some of them can learn a number of obedience commands starting from week 7 or 8. The important commands will include “sit”, “go”, “stop” etc.

Usually, formal puppy training will be delayed until the dog reaches the age of 6 months. However this later stage should be considered a rather late or poor time to only start training since pup’s tend to learn much quicker based on experience. So by delaying training your pup, you would definitely miss out on important opportunities to train him certain aspects on how to behave when growing up. At this later stage, your pup will already be at a certain point where certain adult behaviors already solidifies.

Behaviors trained as a puppy might need to be changed and altered. Added to this, all the skills that have been taught incorrectly to your pup must be taught from scratch. Pups are really capable of learning even when they are so young still. When start training your puppy around 7 to 8 weeks, you always want to rely on positive reinforcement methods such as leash training. Since a puppy has short attention span, training sessions must be short and best to do it regularly. At this age, you can teach your puppy the basic skills first, you can use treats to motivate him to learn.

How to Stop Puppy Pulling on Lead When Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash

Pulling on the leash can be caused by boredom or excitement, or it may be your dog’s way of showing his natural dominance over you. Although we will be looking at how to stop puppy pulling on lead, you might have a bigger problem if your dog is trying to show his dominance over you, and this is something you should also address.

You shouldn’t try to match your strength against your dogs by repeatedly pulling back on the leash.

If your dog pulls regularly, you need to retrain him in the basic obedience commands.
Sometimes the leash itself makes a dog want to pull. This is why it’s important not to use the leash to pull him back – your dog will get used to you pulling him back, and he will just learn to pull against it.

Here’s some steps to help you:

• Walk with your dog on your left side, holding the leash with both hands. When the dog pulls, slide your left hand down the leash and pull back firmly.
• When the dog is in the correct heel position, command him to sit. Start to walk again while giving the command to “Heel”. Repeat this each time your dog pulls.
• When your dog will walk to heel without pulling, reward him with a food treat. He will soon associate the rewards with good behavior and learn to stop pulling on the leash.

Here’s Another Solution:

When he starts to pull you, quickly turn in the opposite direction. Praise you dog when he follows you in the new direction.

And Another:

As your dog pulls you forwards, give him the command “Wait”, then put your right hand in front of his nose. Keep a firm grip on the leash with your left hand while you do this.

DOGWALKERS – What You Should Look Out For

There would be times when you would need the assistance of a good care person to take your pup for a walk or when Teaching Puppy to Walk on Leash. You would expect such a “good pet care” persona to be trustworthy, reliable and to care about your pup’s well-being. Such a person would be a valuable asset in so many ways. The “pet care person” term refers to a pet sitter, a dogwalker, those who would board pups in their own home or a facility. You might be working long hours or days away from home, or maybe travel without your pup, and in such examples a good reliable person will make sure your pup is receiving the necessary care he deserves when you can’t be there for him.

This would include:

1. affection and companionship
2. fresh clean water and food
3. routinely outdoor walks to wet the grass (or to the newspaper if your pup isn’t immunized)
4. playtime, socialization and sufficient exercise

Finding A Good Pet Care Person

Referrals is king, try reliable sources (veterinarian, your breeder, local animal shelter, also friends in the neighborhood who would use a petsitter or dogwalker). Important to double check the person’s reputation as thoroughly as possible.

Starting Steps

When you identified a reputable pet care professional, it’s best to set up an interview at your home, so that you can meet the person, and this will normally tell you a lot about the person.
Get a few references, unless this person comes highly rated and recommended by reputable sources. If he or she works for a pet care service or someone else, rather speak to the manager or owner of the company, and request more info around their screening and hiring procedures.

Questions to Ask

Important to know how many dogs will be boarded or walked along with your pup.
For most pups, walks with one other compatible dog or solo walks would be best. The American Dog Trainers Network would not recommend a person who walk more than three dogs at the same time, so in general pack walks are very risky. So as a rule the only real exception would be when there are more than three dogs from the same dog owner, so they know each other very well and the dogs are well trained already, and then the person also do have ample experience handling, walking, and training dogs.

If hiring the person through a pet care service, always ask if the company is bonded and insured. There will be many wonderful persons which are not bonded or insured, but it would be a nice plus if they are.

Still important to know, while bonding and insurance benefits the owner of the dog by reimbursing him if any property is ever stolen or damaged, it will NOT ensure that the person is also reliable, conscientious, trustworthy or caring. This is why their reputation is so important!

Interview: Other Things To Look For

How the person relate to (interact and greet) your pup? Is the person gentle and friendly with your pup? If the person horseplay or tease your pup, it would be inappropriate? Take note of their manner, attitude and demeanor? Is their real interest towards your dog? If the person doesn’t reflect first hand interest towards your pup, the thinking would be – why would this person do so later on when your pup is all alone with him?
What’s your first impressions and also your gut feelings about the person?
A good feeling about this person would be great! Would you trust this person enough to leave your pup in their care? And the Big Question: Would you feel comfortable having this person in your home when you are not there? What’s their experience and for how did they do this professionally? Any experience with your breed of dog? How competent and how knowledgeable is this person?

Is any of the veterinarians familiar with this person? To which Vet would he take your pup if something had to happen?
As a backup, who would he nominate as his reliable and experienced back-up pet care person in case he needs to?

Does the person ask a lot of questions about your pup, and if any special care requirements such as medicine, feeding, walking, general routine, or any problem areas? An Experienced dogwalker would also want to know about:
1) your dog’s behaviour and temperament towards children, strangers, other dogs, etc.
2) what commands your pup responds to, and any training your pup has received
3) any problem areas, phobias, quirks, fears, aggressive tendencies, physical conditions etc
4) emergencies and how it should be handled (your process: must they call you first, or immediately take your pup to the Vet?). In your absence, whether to discuss with you what to do (or who else contact) if anything should happen in your absence.
5) your specific rules pertaining the pup: diet, sleeping, behaviour, games, playing with other pups, visiting local pup runs, etc.

A Trial Period Is Always Recommended

If you’re hiring, make sure to set up a trial period (two to three weeks is normally sufficient) to get to know the care person a little bit better. This will assist you in the beginning to evaluate the quality of care provided by the person and also how reliable the dogwalker is. If possible, it’s always better to enlist the help of a family member or neighbour to give you feedback about your dogwalker and if he handles your pup in an appropriate manner when you’re not there.

It’s Critical to Make Your Expectations and Terms and Clear

You should write down all instructions you have, also make sure your goals are very specific and clear. This will always prevent any future misunderstandings or problems. If hiring a person who will be staying in your house while you’re away, you need to agree on specific times and put together a schedule that the person can use with your dog, also when the person will be reachable by phone. (i.e.: Maybe call him every evening at a specific time to get feedback on how it’s going.) It’s critical to communicate any safety issues you may have. It’s always better to put together a short list to check at evenings:
1) make sure the front door is locked
2) double check the gate is shut
3) pup always on a leash when taken for a walk outside the home.
4) any training collars are always removed before putting your pup in his crate or any other time your pup is left unsupervised.
5) your pup should never be tied up unattended (ie: at the supermarket, in front of a store or restaurant)
Be clear on how many walks your pup would receive every day, and also how much time it would take. Three walks a day could be your minimum for the average dog. Puppies and elderly dogs will require more. As the owners you may prefer to have your pup eliminate, play, exercise in your fully enclosed yard. Make sure you insist that the person closely supervise your pup at all times, especially if your pup will be allowed to run off-leash in your yard or as an example at the local dog run. Under no circumstances should the person allow your pup to run off-leash on public property except within legal, safe, confined and supervised dog runs or play areas. And also only if you approve!

Payment Options

Very important to put this in writing, if possible agree on any financial arrangements with the pet care person or service in advance.
Many Dogwalkers will request a partial upfront payment (could be half of the fee), then are paid the difference at the end of the period. Other might request to be paid the full amount upfront. If the Dogwalker has a great reputation in the community or you have a personal relationship with him, it could be an adequate arrangement. You need to use your own judgement, but if you’re uncertain or are feeling uneasy about an upfront payment, you should not allow yourself to be pressured to do it. Another thing to note is some are paid monthly, while most prefer to be paid weekly. A suggestion would be to first consider a two-week trial period, before you agree on paying him for the entire month.

House Keys

Rather get your keys marked “PLEASE DON’T DUPLICATE”, and NEVER attach your address details to the keys. Some Dogwalkers will color-code the keys to keep track of all the keys, but also trying not to jeopardizing the owner’s security as a preventative measure for when the keys ever get lost or stolen. Some residents would prefer that the assistant pick up and drop off their keys at the neighbour to first get to know the person better.

Travel Plans Should be Confirmed With Your Dogwalker

When deciding to communicate plans with your Dogwalker a couple of weeks prior to your travel date, our suggestion is to again confirm your arrangements about 2 days before leaving to your destination. It’s always best to communicate your travel itinerary to your Dogwalker, as well as your expected return date, and also any necessary info and emergency contact numbers (important the phone number where they can contact you while you’re away), and VERY important have it in writing.
It’s best to make formal arrangements in advance to talk to each other by telephone the first evening when away (agree upfront on when you will contact each other), to confirm all is OK. If you think this sounds like too much, just do some research as an example search for – Ozzie Foreman’s article “Summer Nightmare” (Dog Owner’s Guide). There is several similar stories, but the Ozzie Foreman’s article represents a realistic example of things gone wrong.

Pet Supplies Prepared

Try to organise a drawer for your pup’s little things, this can include pet supplies (Not food) that’s easily accessible. Use this drawer to store your dog’s:
1) A Brush, shampoo etc.)
2) Chewie Treats and Toys
3) Dog Towels, paper towels, Baggies etc.
4) Critical medicines
This will obviously make it easier to find (and put away) your pup’s things.

You Should also Prepare the Following Things For The Dogwalker

Added to you supplying enough dog food for when you’re away, also leave:
1) letter to authorize:
a) to access your house,
b) providing care for puppy, and
c) to take the puppy to a nominated Vet that you select for when an emergency arises where your puppy might need special treatment.
2) create 2 copies emergency numbers (ie: your neighbour, your Vet, important helpline’s, maybe a family member, your emergency numbers etc.). Leave one copy on your fridge, and then the other one you should give to the Dogwalker to keep with him for quick access.
3) all other important instructions.
4) a calendar with all important dates and times marked off, as well as stationary to record info or make notes for when necessary.

To See How The Person Handles Your Pup Outside, Arrange a Walk Together

Watch how the Dogwalker handles your pup when out for a walk together. It would be great if you can provide constructive feedback and extra suggestions if necessary.

When You Return From Traveling

You should be contacting your Dogwalker a day or two before you plan to return home from a trip.
Arrange this before you leave for a trip so that you can get in contact with him as soon as you returned after traveling. If for some reason you don’t make contact on the arranged date that you are due to arrive back home, the Dogwalker should carry on to care for your pup until contact is made and it’s confirmed you’ve return home.

When Dissatisfied with the Walking Service…

You should say so if you’re not happy with a service pertaining to the dogwalker.
If communicated and still not resolved to your satisfaction, rather look for another service. Happy Traveling and Happy Training!

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