Walking on a leash is an essential skill that can be learned by puppies as early as eight weeks old. Some master leash training quickly, while others take a little longer. Either way, it’s important to remain consistent, positive – and above all, patient.
While it’s often thought that puppies instinctively know how to walk beside their owner on a leash, this isn’t the case. In fact, leash training can be confusing for a puppy. As they’re not used to the restriction of a collar, harness, or leash, they’ll need an adjustment period before they can be expected to calmly walk beside you without pulling on the leash.
Why Is Leash Training Important?
Leash training builds a puppy’s trust and boosts their confidence. It also allows dog owners to expose their puppies to new environments, creating positive behavior around training sessions by establishing important boundaries.
Puppies who haven’t been taught to walk on a leash often develop one of two habits:
- Anxiety: Some become anxious when taken for walks, as they’re fearful of their new environments, noises, and obstacles like unfamiliar people or other dogs.
- Aggression or Overexcitement: Others start to ‘act out’ by becoming aggressive and overexcited during walks, making it difficult for their owner to regain control.
When Should You Start Training Your Puppy To Walk On A Leash?
Puppies can learn simple commands from eight weeks old, including leash training. As soon as you’ve brought your puppy home and begun training, it’s safe to introduce a leash or harness. However, we strongly recommend fully vaccinating your puppy before venturing outside on a leash.
We’re not suggesting your puppy should be taken for long walks as soon as they’re vaccinated – quite the opposite. You’ll need to introduce exercise in short bursts, increasing slowly over time. This will allow your puppy to develop confidence while reducing the risk of injury.
It’s vital, though, for your puppy to get used to the idea of walking beside you, wearing a collar, and learning that you’re in charge right from the beginning. Teaching these skills is the best way to prevent them from forming undesirable behaviors.
Leash Training Essentials For Your Puppy
Where puppies are concerned, it pays to be prepared – and leash training is no different. Here is some leash training equipment to accelerate your puppy’s learning process:
- Leash: A standard flat leash to maintain control.
- Collar and harness: Properly fitted gear to ensure safety and comfort.
- Treats: High-value rewards for positive reinforcement.
- Barriers: Items including crates, pet pens, or playpens can help create a simple, distraction-free route when you’re training your puppy inside your home.
- Longline leash: A longer lead for when your puppy gains confidence.
- Patience: Combined with a lot of positive reinforcement.
The Step-By-Step Process For Puppy Leash Training
Teaching a puppy to walk calmly by your side means there’s no need for pulling on either end of the leash. Instead, your puppy will learn to walk beside you within the leash’s length, creating a much smoother, more enjoyable process for you both.
1. Introduce Your Puppy to Their New Leash/Harness
First, allow time for your puppy to get acquainted with their new collar, harness, and lead. It’s best to start indoors, as there’s less stimulation to distract your puppy.
Don’t rush. Give your puppy time to sniff around their new leash and harness while offering ample positive reinforcement. Once their interest wanes, fasten the harness and allow them ample time to get used to the feeling.
2. Teach Your Puppy a New Command
Once your puppy grows comfortable with the harness around their body, introduce a command (such as ‘come’) to encourage them to walk towards you while wearing it. As soon as they do, reward them with a treat and plenty of praise.
3. Encourage Your Puppy to Come to You
Continue moving around the room, beckoning your puppy to move towards you. Prepare to reward them as soon as they’ve done what you’ve asked. Repeat this process several times to make sure they fully understand before calling it quits for the day.
You may find this process slow, basic, and even a little frustrating, but don’t worry – there’s a good reason for taking a leisurely pace. Puppies have short attention spans and can easily lose interest during training. To avoid delaying your puppy’s development, it’s important to remain calm without losing patience.
4. Walk Your Puppy Around the Room on a Leash
Once your puppy has mastered wearing a harness, it’s time to introduce the leash. Gently attach your puppy’s leash to their collar or harness while continuing to offer plenty of positive reinforcement and treats.
It’s common for a puppy to pull away when first introduced to the leash. If this happens, don’t attempt to stop them by force. Instead, keep your puppy in eyesight as they drag the lead around the room, which helps them become accustomed to a loose leash. It’s important to give your puppy enough time to get used to their leash and feel comfortable with their new accessories.
When teaching your puppy to walk on a leash, the real trick is to avoid dragging or forcing them into walking beside you or going where you want to go. Instead, let them get used to the feeling of the leash. If they become overexcited and try to pull, wait for them to calm down before moving forward. They’ll soon learn that no pressure on the leash means ‘go’, while slight pressure means ‘stop’.
5. Take Your Training Outside
When you’ve mastered these steps, it’s time to start training your puppy outside. The outside world holds plenty of distractions for your puppy, so it’s important to train in a low-distraction area first, such as your backyard.
Practice walking forward just a few steps, asking for your puppy’s attention as you slowly advance. The training process will remain fairly straightforward, although you’ll have to grapple with a couple of other distractions as your puppy encounters the great outdoors.
Common Leash Training Problems & Their Solutions
A walk with your puppy can be enjoyable or a bit of a battle – sometimes both in the same walk! It’s your responsibility to foster a more relaxed, controlled walking style. Once you understand why your puppy is showing signs of undesirable behavior, you can redirect them to a more constructive behavior that allows you to walk more freely.
Puppy Pulling on the Leash
Pulling is a natural response for a puppy, as it allows them to reach their destination at their own pace. They are doing this not to display dominance, but simply because it works!
When out walking with your puppy, make sure you’re aware of your body position. If you’re idling a few steps behind them while allowing them to take the lead, they’ll begin feeling as though they’re ‘in charge’ and start tugging at the lead to pull you along. To prevent this, you can utilize the following methods:
- Play the Reward Game: One of the easiest and most effective ways to teach your puppy to walk on a leash beside you is to reward them each time they pay attention to you and perform your desired action (walking on a leash by your side, at your pace).
- Encourage Your Puppy to Follow You: Hold the leash, then move away from your puppy by taking several steps backward. This action encourages your puppy to follow you. As soon as they approach, reward them with a treat and plenty of encouragement.
- Stick to a Familiar Route: If you’re having trouble training your puppy, it’s a good idea to create a short neighborhood route that you walk repeatedly. A familiar walk reduces distractions for your puppy, who will find it considerably less stimulating to walk a familiar route than to explore a new place each time.
- Burn Off Extra Energy in Advance: Puppies have a lot of excess energy, which they need to expend somehow. If you take them for a walk without burning it off beforehand, they may pull extra hard on their leash. Including an additional exercise session or playtime before their walk will help combat this problem.
Important note: While leash pulling is often seen as a problem of older dogs, it’s still common among puppies – so don’t be alarmed if this happens.
Puppy Biting on the Leash
The easiest, most effective way to stop your puppy from biting their leash is to quickly redirect their behavior. Puppy teething may occur more frequently during leash training as they get used to the unnatural sensation of having their body restricted. Puppies often run around and wreak havoc until they’ve burnt off excess energy, when they abruptly decide to nap. A leash restricts this natural behavior, which may initially make your puppy seem more stubborn.
Redirection is one of the most important aspects of raising a puppy. While it can be used across various training sessions, it’s particularly useful during leash training:
- Don’t Pull on the Leash: As we mentioned earlier, tugging on your puppy’s leash reinforces their desire to bite and pull it, as it seems like a fun game of tug-of-war. Refrain from doing this, even though it’s tempting.
- Provide Your Puppy with a Toy: Shift their focus by replacing the bitten leash with their favorite toy. By doing this, you’ll redirect their chewing and biting behavior to a more appropriate object.
- Use Food to Reward and Redirect: Alternatively, once your puppy has let go of the leash, refocus their attention by enticing them with their favorite food. Once they know you’re carrying some tasty treats, they’ll be laser-focused on you, not the leash!
Puppy Acting Aggressively When on the Leash
Although leash aggression is more often associated with older dogs, it’s also important to train puppies to be calm from the outset to prevent this behavior from developing in the first place. Dogs often act aggressively on a leash because they feel restrained, frustrated, and uncomfortable in a social situation. A puppy who is feeling vulnerable and unprotected while on a leash may act out aggressively.
It’s important to understand that a leash-aggressive puppy isn’t ‘bad’ or ‘mean’. Instead, they are likely to be scared, which means punishment may worsen the behavior. You may wish to discuss leash aggression problems with your veterinarian, a veterinary behaviorist, or a trainer recommended by your veterinarian. In the meantime, avoid stressful situations and refrain from negative reinforcement.
The easiest way to deal with aggression is by recognizing the warning signs before a reaction occurs. Body language that may be displayed when your puppy is feeling fearful, stressed, or trapped includes:
- Lunging
- Posturing
- Direct eye contact
- Pricked ears
- Exposed teeth
If your puppy is displaying any of these behaviors, calmly remove them from the situation and redirect their attention with treats or a toy. Stay calm, as your puppy will pick up on and become distressed by your negative energy whenever you are anxious.
How To Stop Your Puppy Barking At Other Dogs On A Walk
If your puppy is stressed, they may begin barking at other dogs when out walking. If they are barking at another dog, try the following strategies:
- Stay Calm: Remember, your puppy isn’t always barking at other dogs for fun. They are often barking because they are nervous. If this is the case, make sure you’re not anxious about your puppy’s behavior. Stay calm and in control, without raising your voice excessively or rushing your puppy.
- Offer a Treat: As soon as you see another dog approaching, immediately give your puppy a treat before they have time to bark. This will encourage them to associate the sight of other dogs with positive rewards, making it easier for them to remain calm.
- Reduce Exposure: If your puppy is simply too excited or overwhelmed by other dogs to focus, it may be a case of ‘too much, too soon’. Try varying your route so they aren’t exposed to as many other dogs, or walk your puppy at less busy times of the day.
- Step Up the Pace Gradually: Once your puppy feels more confident walking on a leash, gradually increase their exposure to other dogs while ensuring you keep a safe distance so they don’t become overly excited.
How To Train Your Puppy To Walk Beside You
Walking your puppy when they’re straining at the leash or dragging their feet can be frustrating. For that reason, teaching your puppy to keep up with you on a walk is highly rewarding. An effective, unintrusive way of teaching your puppy to walk next to you is to use a clicker, reinforced by treats. This is best started inside your home, which provides a controlled and low-stress environment.
- Walk, Click, and Treat: Begin walking away from your puppy and wait for them to catch up to you. As soon as they are level with your side, click the clicker and give them a treat straight away. The reward must be instant so the connection between the clicker and the treat is crystal-clear.
- Repeat the Process: Begin walking forward again. As puppies are very energetic, they may run off ahead of you excitedly. If that happens, simply continue walking at your own pace and wait for them to return to your side – then repeat the clicker and treat sequence as soon as they stop trying to race ahead.
- Move Outside: Once you’ve mastered this inside your home, choose a short, well-known route nearby. Repeat the procedure above, walking back and forth between your home and a predetermined point. Don’t try a new route until your puppy is comfortable walking beside you on this small, familiar circuit.
- Expand the Walk: Once you’re confident that your puppy has understood the concept, gradually lengthen your walk around the block. Make sure they maintain the correct position before expanding your path further.
What If Your Puppy Doesn’t Want To Go For A Walk?
Even though puppies are usually incredibly eager to go for a walk, sometimes they simply won’t want to come along. If your puppy refuses to walk, there are several options you can try:
- Address Leash Dislike: It’s possible that your puppy doesn’t like the feeling of being led on the leash. If this happens, have a supply of treats handy. Take them for a little walk inside your home first, rewarding them when they willingly follow you. As they grow bolder, venture a little further into your backyard or a small grassy area nearby.
- Try a Guided ‘Mini Walk’: Try carrying your puppy a short distance away, such as to the other side of the street, and then walk back home together. Once that mental barrier is broken, your puppy is likely to quickly get a taste for walking.
- Keep Walks Positive: Make sure every walk with your puppy is the best experience it can be. If they have a wonderful time from the word go, they’ll be far more eager to repeat the experience. Avoid making the walks too long, do not rush them during toilet breaks, and let them safely explore and sniff their surroundings.
Remember, a walk is their special time – you’re just along for the ride! By taking this confident yet compassionate approach to leash training, you’ll be sure to have a well-mannered, walkable puppy on your hands in no time. Happy adventuring!
Nutritional Tip: Eukanuba has formulated a puppy food range with high levels of DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid), which has been shown to significantly improve focus and trainability. You can find out more about supporting your puppy’s development through proper nutrition via the official product guides.
References
- Eukanuba Puppy Training & Care Guidelines (2024). “A Guide To Teaching Your Puppy To Walk On A Leash.”
- Canine Behavioral Science Studies on DHA and Puppy Trainability (2024).