Dog training: Walking on-leash

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Forging ahead is the biggest problem when walking adolescent dogs on-leash. Dogs pull on leash for a variety of reasons. Many adolescent dogs pull on-leash, because they were allowed to pull as puppies. Once the leash is tightened, your dog no longer has to pay attention to you, since it has a taut telegraph wire through which it may sense your every move and even your very intentions, thus freeing its nose, ears and eyes to 'scope the 'hood. Also, it would appear that pulling on leash is intrinsically enjoyable and self-reinforcing for many dogs. It is as if most dogs view a trip to post a letter at Shattuck and Vine as a work-out for the Iditarod. Whatever the reason, leash-pulling is usually unacceptable and often dangerous. Once the leash is tightened, you can no longer control your dog - a principle of elementary physics.

It is considerably easier and smarter to first practice all of these exercises with the young puppy on-leash indoors. Also, to have a simple rule that no one, that is NO ONE, is allowed to walk the pup on-leash outdoors, not even a single step, unless they can walk the puppydog without it pulling. It is utterly unfair to let a puppy develop a leash-pulling habit, knowing full well it will be punished for the same habit as an adolescent. It is so much easier to establish an acceptable status quo from the outset. Just bear in mind, the dog weight-pulling record is in the region of 10,000lbs, i.e., in just a few months time, your average dog will have the power to pull the entire Cowboys' defensive line backwards. From the getgo, NEVER permit leash-pulling to get going.

Using a leash to walk the puppy is necessary as a safety precaution, and leashing the dog is mandatory when leash laws are in effect. However, once a novice owner and an adolescent dog are connected with a leash, the dog will pull. And to stop the dog from pulling, usually (but not always) the owner pulls back, i.e., the owner jerks the leash. Most owners find this unpleasant. And it is not much fun for dogs either. Since we do not want the dog to associate walking and heeling with numerous physical leash corrections, we must first make sure the dog can stand calmly on-leash before further exciting the dog by moving.

Training game: Red light - green light

Firstly, before even considering leash training, make sure that you can get your pup to follow you around the house and garden and that it will happily sit-stay in front of you for a good 30  [Continued]

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