Leash Training a Puppy: Walking Relaxed Instead of Pulling

Because the world is up ahead. Dogs naturally walk faster than humans, and every metre of pull has so far brought him closer to the exciting smell, the other dog, the destination — pulling is simply the most successful strategy of his short life. Stubbornness, dominance or lack of respect have nothing to do with it.

That's why loose-leash walking is above all an accounting question: from today, pulling stops paying and a slack leash pays double. This rebooking takes weeks and demands more discipline from you than from the dog — every “I'll let him pull today, we're late” books backwards.

The second reason for pulling is plain arousal: an excited puppy cannot do a loose leash. If the first metres outside the front door are always the worst, training starts not on the street but with calm leashing-up indoors — and you only set off once calm has returned.

With two tools: the stop on tension and the reward zone at your leg. The stop is simple: the moment the leash tightens, you halt without comment — like a tree, no jerk, no speech. When the leash slackens because the puppy orients back to you, you walk on immediately. Walking on is the reward.

The reward zone turns prevention into an offer: whenever the puppy walks by your leg or glances up at you of his own accord, a marker (“yes!”) and a treat follow — delivered at your leg, not dangled in the air. The position beside you becomes the best place on the walk.

For fast progress, practise where success is likely: hallway first, then the yard, then the same quiet path. Changes of direction keep attention on you without becoming a permanent programme. And when you're in a hurry or the route is too exciting: switch consciously to “free-time equipment” — say, the harness with a long line for sniffing — and train loose-leash walking only when you can actually see it through. Clear channels confuse no one.

Shorter than most people think — and richer. The familiar rule of thumb, “five minutes per month of age, two to three times a day”, arose as a rough brake against overexertion; it has no precise scientific derivation. Take it as a starting value and read your dog: sitting down, trailing behind, leash-biting and wild overexcitement afterwards all say it was too much.

Content matters more than distance. A fifteen-minute amble with sniffing time, three new surfaces and a bench for world-watching is more valuable — and more tiring — for a twenty-week puppy than an hour of dull trotting alongside. Sniffing is brainwork; sleep follows.

Protect the skeleton under construction: stair marathons, jumps from the car boot, jogging at the bike and endless ball games don't belong in the growth phase. Your puppy's urge to move is not a reliable adviser — puppies overdo it enthusiastically. Providing the measure is your job.

For training: a well-fitting harness and a light two-metre leash you can let hang in a relaxed “J”. The harness protects the growing neck when learning errors happen and removes the pain component — loose-leash walking should grow from motivation, not discomfort.

Retractable leads are poison for leash training: they reward pulling systematically, because only pulling produces line. For sniffing outings, a long line on the harness is the better later choice — clearly separated from the short lead so the dog can tell the situations apart.

Leave everything that works through discomfort alone — tightening harnesses, slip collars, let alone prong collars. They suppress the symptom while the tool is on, and damage trust on the side. On a puppy they are doubly out of place.