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Walking your dog can easily become a nightmare if you don’t train them early on in the puppy stages. Therefore, it is essential to walk a puppy properly, early on, following some training guidelines. If you do not start the training process early, then you will end up with a dog that has bad habits like pulling the leash or not paying attention when your canine no longer feels like walking.
If you would like some tips on how to prevent your dog from pulling on the leash, read this article: How To Train Your Dog Not To Pull On The Leash
Taking care of your puppy and feeding them properly is important in raising them, but their education and training are important as well. In this article, I will do my best to show you how to walk your puppy.
Steps To Training Your Puppy To Walk:
1. Before The Walk
Before you hit the street with your pup, make sure your dog is fully vaccinated. It’s not like they will attract some crazy diseases just by stepping outside, but it’s best to be safe. When it comes to the collar and leash, they made be scared of them when you go to use them. To help with this, you can put a collar on your puppy when they’re hanging around the house. Then you can introduce the leash for short periods of time. You can even simulate walks around the house before going outside.
If your pup is pulling, tell them a firm ‘NO’ so they learn that they should not do that.
2. The First Walk
Keep in mind that this is totally new to him and it is normal to feel excited, so you must calm him down before leaving. Until you are completely calm and still, do not take him out to the street, but he will not learn to behave. This done, you must first go out the door to show your position as a leader, then him. Do not forget to bring treats to reward him and bags to collect the excrement if he does.It is advisable to use a fixed strap, not extensible, to better manage the puppy. Once outside, give him a treat so he knows that he always has to leave behind you. Then, start walking.
3. During The Walk
If you took into account the recommendations prior to the first walks, your puppy will walk quietly and not try to remove the leash. In case you get ahead, start skipping nervously or disobeying yourself, stop and say ‘NO’ so that you understand that you should not adopt that behavior. Give him a treat when he stops. A very effective trick to listen to you and feel every time you stop is to stop in front of him, with a treat in hand, wait for him to sit down, give it to him when he does and say ‘Very good!’ Then take a long step forward and repeat the process. Take two or three steps and do it again. Now take two or three more steps and repeat it, and so on for a piece until the puppy intuitively feels each time you stop.If what happens to you is that you are afraid and do not want to walk, do not force it. You should encourage him with kind words and sweets, loosen the strap and keep calm, otherwise, you will transmit your nerves and will not move.
4. How Long To walk a Puppy?
It is recommended that the first walks of your puppy do not last more than 10 minutes. Being so small it is normal to get tired quickly and stop when this happens, so do not worry if you do not want to walk anymore because you will probably be exhausted. As you grow, you should increase their exercise time.
5. Be Patient When Walking Your Puppy
Patience is key to teaching your puppy to walk as the first few times will be complicated.
It is essential that you maintain your position as a leader at all times and do not let it go ahead during the ride. Make sure you stop and say ‘NO’, and if necessary shorten the strap to reduce your range of movement.
If you practice the candy trick he will sit down and learn that he should not pass by.
Remember that you should take the first walks to start the process of socialization of your puppy so that you do not avoid being with other dogs. Always use positive conditioning so that your puppy associates the street with something good, do not fear and pay attention to it. Think that educating a dog to walk is not something that is achieved in a day, so it is important to be patient and start at home before the first walk.
