One of the first challenges faced by most dog owners is how to potty train our new puppy. The second big challenge is how to leash train our hyper young dog, without incurring any bodily injury whenever a squirrel decides to dash up a tree.
Even though walking a dog is often portrayed as a Zen moment that is both peaceful and enjoyable, the reality of the situation is often not quite so perfect. In fact, leash training a puppy is probably one of the more challenging aspects of dog training.
When our puppy is out on a walk, he is exposed to a lot of new stimuli, including new sights, sounds, and smells. Everything will be very exciting, even leaves flying in the wind and he will want to chase, smell, and see all of it at top speed. That is part of the joy of spending time with a puppy; sharing the excitement, joy, and wonder of youth.
However, all that excited energy can also cause crazy pulling, barking, jumping on people, and sometimes aggression. Here, we consider some of the key leash training ingredients that will help make dog walking into a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable experience.
Putting on a Collar
In the beginning, a puppy will be unfamiliar with collars and leashes. He may get apprehensive about having something new around his neck, and the weight of the leash may feel strange. My Shiba Inu was very sensitive to wearing collars during puppyhood. When we tried to put one on him on the first day, he tried to bite us, as well as the breeder’s husband.
From the puppy’s point of view, having some unknown person put a strange object on a vulnerable part of his body must seem extremely dangerous.
One of the best ways to start the leash training experience right, is to slowly desensitize our puppy to the collar. Help him learn that the collar is a positive thing that gets put on before a fun outing. Here is how I desensitized my dog to wearing a collar –
- First, I get some food that my dog really likes. Then I ask him for a Sit, show him the collar and reward.
- I keep repeating this until he gets comfortable and is looking forward to seeing the collar.
- Next, I briefly touch my puppy with the collar and treat him for staying calm. I repeat until he is comfortable with this new step.
- Then, I drape the collar on his neck and reward. I repeat until he is relaxed and comfortable.
- I continue doing a little more each time so that the collar becomes more and more familiar, in a positive way.
- If I observe any kind of stress from my dog, I back off, and go back to the previous step. This ensures that collar training sessions are always fun and rewarding.
Note that the snap sound made when fastening a collar can sometimes startle a dog. A useful added step, is to have some snap sessions. First I snap the collar without it being on my dog’s neck, treat, and so on. Later, when I snap the collar around his neck, he will already be comfortable with the sound.
In the collar desensitization process, make sure to always go slowly and not overtax our puppy. Remember that the main idea is to get our dog comfortable with the collar and help him associate it with something positive. Do not force the collar on because he will start to associate it with a negative experience, and will likely fight us every time he sees the collar.
Putting on a Leash
Some dogs may also be uncomfortable with the feel and weight of a leash. When I first got my puppy, I would fasten a light leash onto his collar, let him move around, and play with the leash on. While using a drag-lead –
- I make sure I am around to supervise.
- I use a flat collar and *not* an aversive collar. An aversive collar such as a choke chain or a prong collar can cause physical harm to a dog when not properly used. They should not be used with a drag lead or when a dog is off-leash.
- I ensure that the leash does not get caught on any furniture or fixtures.
When my puppy is comfortable with the light leash, I may play with him and occasionally pick up the lead during play. This will help him to associate being linked to me through the leash, as something fun and positive. Next, I use a heavier leash and so on.
In general, I start small, pair the leash and collar with positive experiences, and very slowly increase the challenge one step at a time.
Dog Walking Speed
Most dogs, especially larger dogs, will naturally walk faster than we do. In leash training, we want to get our dogs to reduce their natural walking speed so that their much slower two-legged companions can keep up.
An effective way to get a dog to slow down is to teach him the following –
The fastest way to get to where he wants to go, is by slowing down and walking with us.
When my dog starts to pull, and the leash gets taut, I no-mark (Ack, Ack) and stop walking. Initially, my puppy continued to pull and even tried to pull harder to get forward. However, I just calmly ignored him and stood still.
As soon as he stops pulling, I start moving forward. In this way, he learns the following lesson –
- Pull = We stop moving,
- Don’t Pull = Get to go where he wants to go.
For this method to work, it is important to be very consistent with our starts and stops. I do not let my dog pull sometimes, but not at other times. This will encourage our dog to pull even more because the next pull may cause us to give in and to move forward. I always make sure to stop as soon as the leash gets taut, and start again once the leash is loose.
In the beginning, I had to stop very often and did not get very far from my front door. But I kept at it and made sure that I consistently stopped every time there was any pulling. My puppy quickly learned that it is in his best interest to slow down and walk with me because if he does, he gets more freedom, he gets to choose his favorite smell spots, and he also gets to stop to smell the roses.
As with everything else, I set my dog up for success by starting small and taking things one step at a time. Initially, I would practice leash training inside the house. The house environment is more familiar to a puppy, it is safe, and low stimulus. In this way, we can both focus on walking together at a measured pace, without pulling.
Once he is comfortable with walking on-leash inside the house, then we move to the backyard and practice there. Each successful session will help to build his confidence, as well as teach him to associate leash training with being calm and having a fun outing.
Here is a list of other leash training methods, together with their pros and cons.
I do not walk my puppy in the neighborhood until after he has had all of his vaccination shots.
Young puppies are especially vulnerable when out on walks because they want to explore everything and still have developing immune systems. Therefore, they can easily pick up germs and parasites from contaminated water or poop from other dogs and wild animals.
I do early dog socialization by going to puppy class or puppy play sessions in daycare centers. I make sure that both places check for health and vaccination records, and are clean, well-run, and well supervised.
Leash Training – Greeting People & Dogs
Another challenging part of leash training is what to do when our puppy gets over-excited because he sees new people, new dogs, or a squirrel running up a tree. How excited a dog gets and how much he pulls will depend on the dog’s temperament and prey drive.
Dogs with high prey drive will frequently go rear-brain when they spot any nearby prey, especially if the prey is moving. Once this occurs, the dog starts reacting based on instinct, and is no longer able to listen to commands, or redirect onto food or toys. At this point, I can only move my dog away to a more quiet area, where he can calm down.
Therefore, the key is to be vigilant and take action *before* our dog switches to instinct mode. If we catch things early enough, we can teach our dog to stay calm and to use the right behaviors while greeting people and other dogs.
Remember that distance is our friend.
My Siberian Husky gets very excited when people give her any kind of attention, including just eye contact. Usually I just cross the street and move on. When this is not possible, I move into a driveway and engage her in doing simple commands. This creates space between my Sibe and the passing people and ensures that she does not invade other people’s space unless invited to.
Some other steps I take to deal with meeting people and other dogs –
- Slowly desensitize my puppy to people and other dogs.
- Be vigilant and engage my dog in alternate activities (e.g. obedience exercises) before he gets over-excited and goes read-brain,
- Always be calm and decisive, so that my dog learns to be calm and look to me for direction.
Leash Training Supplies
When people think of dog walking supplies, they usually think about the collar and lead. My favorite collar is the no-slip Premier martingale collar, which I use together with a nice leather leash.
Leather leashes may be a bit more expensive but they are easy on the hands, durable, and are secure even under heavy pulling. Make sure the metal clasp on the leash is high quality and well-built. Most nylon leashes I have gotten tend to have small clasps that break open whenever there is any serious pulling.
In addition to collar and leash, here are some other important leash training supplies –
- I make sure to bring enough water. A dog water bottle is great because it contains a bottle of water as well as a fitted bowl for easy drinking.
- I bring some treats or rewards with me so that I can practice obedience exercises during walks.
- I always have several poop bags available and scoop up after my dog. Leaving poop on the sidewalk and on other people’s lawns dirties the neighborhood, makes walking unpleasant, encourages dog poop eating, as well as gets people angry at all dogs and dog owners. Ultimately, it may even lower property prices. Therefore, it pays to take care of our neighborhood by picking up after our dog.
I have 6 week Dane puppy it not active and not walking properly puppy’s hip always falling on floor to one side and backside legs cannot lifting her hip actively slowly it is lifting up so what’s the problem please help me to rectify this problem
I would take him to see a vet ASAP.
I have a 4 month old Shiba Inu. Generally, she’s very well behaved on walks. I never have an issue with her pulling on the leash, usually, shes trailing behind and doesn’t want to speed up. Lately, shes been stopping to roll around in the grass/mud and doesn’t want to move. Why is she doing this? How can I push her to concentrate on walking?
Your post was very helpful in trying to understand my Shiba inu. But I still can’t get him to walk on the leash. He is 5months old and we live in NYC were traffic is always crazy. Whenever we go on walks I spend most of my time dragging him down the street because he is afraid of everything. He’s afraid of the cars, bus, trucks and chairs. He is always ready to run. I take him to the dog parks for 2plus hours thinking that would help with the leash pulling. Most of the time it makes it worse.
Please HELP ME.
I help my dogs with fear/anxiety issues by doing desensitization training. This is best done under the direction of a good professional trainer who understands conditioning and systematic desensitization principles.
Hi, I have a Siberian Husky puppy, and i want her to be leash trained so that when we go out on walks she won’t be crazy, but when she gets older i want to try dog sledding with her. so how do i leash train her, while also letting her know that it’s okay to pull when sledding?
Thanks
I have a 6 week old german sherpard every time I put him on the leash he bucks like a bull but if he is not on the leash he walks right beside me fine. How should I train him to walk on a leash
With my puppy, I start small and slowly build up her comfort level with both collar and leash. I do this through desensitization exercises, which I talk more about in the article above.
My puppy is a few months old and I bought a chain and leash and when I out them on her she freaks out. She will run into things trying to get away from them leash. Any suggestions as to what I could do to make this stop so I can take her places?
With my puppy, I start small, and in a safe and low stimulus environment, e.g. inside the house. In this way, she is more relaxed and confident, and I set her up for success. I start by using a thick, flat, cloth collar and a very light leash. First, I just get my puppy used to seeing and smelling the collar. I tie that to positive events and rewards, so she sees the collar as a good thing. Then I very slowly increase the challenge.
I talk more about how I desensitize my puppy to a collar and a leash in the article above.
Hello Shibashake,
My 3 y/o Westie used to be able to take long, peaceful walks, but… She hasn’t taken as many during the last few months.
As a result, she constantly stops, sits, and even lies down on the spot, no way to make her budge unless she gets to smell… Well… Everything. Every ten steps or so. It can take 20 minutes to walk barely 150 meters (she’s in great shape though, she can run half an hour around the pool for no reason).
Any ideas?
(P.S.: she’s slightly anxious and incredibly stubborn)
Why hasn’t she taken as many walks – was it because of the weather, health, something else? Have there been other changes in behavior? What is her daily routine like? Have there been changes to her daily routine? What is her body language like during walks – is she anxious or relaxed when she wants to stop? What does she do after she sits or lies down – is she alert and looking around? smelling around?
There can be many different reasons why a dog may not want to walk. Sometimes it can be due to a physical issue so that is what I try to rule out first. When was her last vet visit? Is her vision, hearing, etc. normal? Once I am sure it is not physical, I can start looking at other causes.
To do this, I observe my dog carefully, try to read his body language, and take note of any other changes in behavior, routine, and environment. For example, is my dog anxious or relaxed during walks, is he enjoying his breaks and smelling the wind, have there been changes in the environment or weather that is presenting more distractions, etc. After I identify the source of the behavior, then I can take steps to correct it.
She doesn’t walk much because we didn’t have as much time on our hands (she’s slowly getting better, though, unless the ground is wet – everything smells more). The daily routine did change, though it should get back to normal soon. Her behavior didn’t change much. When she decides to stop, it’s like she absolutely needed to look at THAT little thing (I don’t know if that could be described as anxious…). It’s definitely not physical (we go to the vet quite often).
I just don’t understand why she gets excited when she hears “go for a walk” but doesn’t actually “walk”.
In general, she’s always been anxious (smaller dogs tend to stress out more, I think).
Thanks for the quick answer 🙂
Hi again! I really appreciate that quick reply and am really impressed by it (most bloggers take ages to reply, if at all).
I have tried that 180 turning method yesterday and a short leash, and noticed that my dog is unaffected by it. Whether it’s this way or that way, he’s interested. His head will be downwards and sniffing away.
My shiba inu does very well in the house. Almost perfect every time. But the moment we take him outside, it’s a different story, all he thinks about is sniffing, exploring and eating everything off the floor. I brought him to the backyard but he’s still as excited as ever doing the same sniff routine. He’s veen to the backyard a lot of times and it’s still interesting to him.
Basically, once he’s outside the house it is difficult to get him to listen to anything I say or do. My pup really lives up to the stubborn shiba inu stereotype.
I have a 4 month old shiba inu and we recently took him out on a walk which was a pain. I tried your method whereby I stop when he starts to pull but he is RELENTLESS. He will pull and pull, wanting to sniff and lick everything. We didn’t bring him out much until he finished his vaccination but it has been a pain because he is extremely stubborn and won’t give up. Please help! I really want to go on walks with him but it’s just very tiring.
With my dogs I do the start-stop technique and the 180 turn around technique. I need to be very consistent, and I also shorten or lengthen the lead accordingly.
A shorter lead gives me more control and gives my dog less freedom. When I stop, I bring my dog in next to me, and he does not get the freedom to go sniff around. I only lengthen the lead when he is walking well, so he gets rewarded with more freedom.
I start leash training in a very low stimulus environment, e.g. my backyard. Once we are good with that, I go to a very quiet area and do leash training there and then very slowly build up the environmental challenge. In this way, I set my dog up for success by slowly building up my dog’s tolerance for new stimuli.
I start with shorter but more frequent walks. In this way, neither of us gets overly frustrated, but we still get in a lot of practice.
Getting my dog to release some of his energy before the walk can also help. For example, I may play with him some first. Then, I get him to calm down by doing some obedience commands. Next, I do leash training inside the house or in the backyard to get him used to walking next to me and following commands. Next, we do door manners. We only go out when he is calm. I do not let him rush out the door. I start him in a calm state, which helps during the walk.
Leash training my dogs took time, a lot of consistency, management of his environment, and patience.
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
Hi There,
First off thank you so much for all the tips and advice.
We have a Male Shiba Inu pup who is 11 weeks. He is the best although he is a Shiba. We have some issues, like digging, biting and licking everything, but we are managing that and have seen an improvement.
What we are really struggling with is is reluctance to walk on a leash, he has no problem with a collar, since day one never has, but as soon as you attach a leash, he starts freaking out, yelping, pulling and lying flat on the ground not willing to move, when you try to move him, he gives the very famous Shiba Scream and I am sure the neighbors think we torture him.
How do I fix this?
Looking forward to your reply.
Natasja
With my Husky, I first attach a very light leash on a flat collar and just let her drag it around. No aversive or training collars, and only under supervision. I supervise to make sure that the leash doesn’t catch on anything, but I don’t stare or hover.
This gets her used to a leash without limiting her freedom. I talk more about what I do in the “Putting on a Leash” section above.
http://shibashake.com/dog/train-your-puppy-to-walk-on-a-leash#leash
However, dog behavior is very context dependent and each situation and dog is different. Therefore, when in doubt, I consult with a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help