# Leash training my Lab puppy



## lcarl54 (Dec 3, 2011)

I trying to leash trian my 11 week old lab puppy but he often plants his feet and I have to almost drag him along. Any suggestion on what I can do to encourage him in this process? Am I expecting to much to soon? I don't want to cause long term resistance to the leash by forcing him too early. My long term goal is to train him to hunt with me but I am stuck here for now.


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## DukTruk (Dec 3, 2011)

Jerk the lead rope until the the dog moves toward you.  Start with small jerks and escalate them until the dog moves toward you.  This is the beginning of teaching the dog to respond to pressure.

11 weeks is not too young.


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## pawprint (Dec 3, 2011)

dogs natural response is to resist pressure. dragging or poking with a stick isnt the answer.

and 11 weeks...... youd be better off teaching him to walk beside you rewarding him without a leash. 

but people have their own opinions on what is right and what is wrong. just depends on what type person you are.


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## wilber85 (Dec 3, 2011)

11 weeks is not too young but dont get frustrated with the dog if he doesnt respond as quick as you would like him to.  Also, make the sessions short and often.  A dog learns twice as fast through repetition than through long drawn out training sessions.  You can also use a bridge like a clicker.  I find it works well for puppies.


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## SeanandBrice (Dec 4, 2011)

Have you tried tying the puppy out? I don't mean tie him out and leave for the day. Put the lead on and tie it to something and walk away. Get out of the dog's sight but where you can watch through a window or something. Let the dog pull the lead and realize it doesn't do what "he" wants the lead to do. It also conditions him to the pressure on the neck being optional. The loose lead is the indicator that he's getting that. When he relaxes the lead, go untie him. 

Training to walk on the lead requires you to have a specific goal for it. Do you want the dog to heel on the lead? Do you just want the dog to walk on a loose lead? or Do you want the dog to walk ahead on the lead? There's different training methods for each of these goals. 

I am a heel guy myself, so I'll share how I teach it. I'm not a pro, that's why my advice is free. lol. I would start with a short lead held directly above the collar, leaving just enough slack so that the dog can't lower his head to the ground but there is no pressure when he has his head up. Tug *UP* one time on the lead and start walking. When the dog starts to walk, stop tugging up. It's simple, dog walks=no pressure, dog doesn't walk=pressure. If he's been conditioned on the tie out, he should get that pretty quick. Do that for short distances over and over and reward him when he does it correctly. Stopping is the same idea "I stop, you stop, or you get pressure with an up tug." Once he gets that "you walk when I walk" you can work on where you want him to walk. If he still does the feet plant and head twisting, go back to the tie out step.

A big mistake is letting him put pressure on the lead because he wants to smell something. For example, he smells a frog in a patch of grass and wants to see what this new thing is. Your happy he's finally ok with walking on the lead so you let him pull to the smell. He just learned that pressure on the lead can equal a reward. Pressure should mean "that's not where the guy on the other end of this lead wants me to go" it never ends in something good. It's not a democracy, he has no say in the matter at all. Its training control, that's what leash training is. You aren't hurting his feelings. I've seen a lab pulling a kid like a sled on his belly by a leash. It may look funny, but it's not. It's traumatizing to the kid. That kid is now an adult who is terrified of dogs. Anyways, back on topic. 

Once he has the walk when I walk mentality, add turns. I start with turning in an arch and tighten up the turns as he shows that he gets the idea. Once he does, I turn quickly and he turns or gets the up tug that turns him for him. You can use different collars if he's stubborn but I'll bet at 11 weeks old he won't need them. If you use a prong collar, take him with you when you get it and have the stores *TRAINER* (not the stock boy) show you how to fit it and use it. When he gets the turns with no lead pressure it's time to go to a normal length lead. 

Carry a 4 foot stick (pvc is what I use) in the non-lead hand. When he gets ahead of you, thump the chest with the stick. It's not a strike, just a thump. If he lags behind, tap under his chin with the heel of your shoe. Again, over and over with starts and stops in a sraight line. When he has it, add turns. If he doesn't turn correctly, go back to turns with a short lead. I don't teach turns with anything but a short lead. I wouldn't ever jerk the dogs neck to the side with a lead. When he makes the turns on the short lead with no pressure on the lead, he's ready to do try it on the normal lead. 

A sure sign that he's really getting this lead training is that he is watching you to see where you are going next.  There's lots of differing opinions on training, but I hope some of this helps. The main thing I think will help you is tugging up instead of dragging.


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## Hairy Dawg (Dec 4, 2011)

As said before, 11 weeks isn't too young, but do yourself a favor and get some training material to follow. The programs will describe/show you in detail, exactly how to move the dog forward. Two great programs for getting a pup started are Sound Beginnings by Jackie Mertins dvd, and Evangram's Smartwork Puppy dvd. Both programs will teach you how to train your pup to the point where formal obedience will begin. 

To answer your question of how to start a puppy walking on a leash, start by taking a couple of steps in front of the pup and apply a slight upward pressure on the leash. The pup will walk forward, towards you to relieve the pressure of the leash. Don't pull forward, because the pup will tend to pull against the leash. The upward pressure will put just enough of an uncomfortable choking sensation on the pup's throat that he's gonna want to relieve the pressure. As the pup steps up next to you, you take another couple of steps forward with upward pressure, and before you know it, you're walking your pup.


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## triggerclarkmt (Feb 1, 2012)

We have it happen on every pup. just put the leash on him and let him drag it around and in a couple of days he want even know its there. then once hes good with that pick it up and walk him around with it.


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## SkyyDragon355 (Feb 1, 2012)

triggerclarkmt said:


> We have it happen on every pup. just put the leash on him and let him drag it around and in a couple of days he want even know its there. then once hes good with that pick it up and walk him around with it.



I agree with this. My pup started out not liking the leash but this is what I did. 

I also used treats to encourage walking.

Now if only she wouldn't go crazy when I try to get her to jump into the car or truck.


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## southernboy2147 (Feb 2, 2012)

with my pit bull i bought a chain leash and would pop him on the back with it when he done that. After about 5 or 6 times he learned what that meant. its also how i trained him to not pull when he got excited.


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## doe shooter (Feb 2, 2012)

I used a simple choker collar on my Lab and I started walking. It took a couple of times, but she soon learned if she wanted to keep up with her head, she better start walking.


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## kl01721 (Mar 12, 2012)

Marking this for later, for my 7 week old lab!


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## fishingtiger (Apr 1, 2012)

Pincher collar worked for me in about 5 minutes of training.


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## boz614 (Apr 3, 2012)

*A different approach . . .*

I have trained many dogs using the above mentioned approaches and had success, however I have never had the success I have had using methods used/taught by the Dutch trainer, Dick Staal.  Dogs don't do what we ask of them for two reasons really.  Either they don't understand and are confused about what we ask or the titration of the correction isn't enough for the dog.  We as humans often confuse the two and assume the dog just doesn't want to do it when often, the dog is confused by what we ask.  With his methods, the dogs learn what the commands mean, etc. with very little compulsion, thus stressing the dog less.  What you end up with is a dog that is clear headed on what you want done and really enjoys doing it.  He uses food to motivate the dog.  Take your dog's daily food rations and split them up into two servings (or three if you have the time).  Using the food, one or two pieces at a time, you can motivate the dog (off lead or just dragging the lead if you want).  Put the food in your pocket and get the dog's attention with it and begin your heel work.  Every so often (more often at first) you give the dog a piece of kibble.  What you will find is the dog begins looking up at you and heels in the correct position and will make the turns quicker with you.  I also use it to teach the sit, down, etc. by manipulating my hands in certain manners (ie. for the down, get the dog's attention by letting them smell the food in my hand, moving down and towards me until the dog is down, then praise and give the kibble; for the sit, moving my hand up until the dog moves into the sit position and doing the same, etc.).  I'm not saying the other ways don't work b/c I have had success, but what I am saying is the dog picks up on it faster.  Plus, when using the leash and only using compulsion training, what I find is that when you take the lead off to begin off lead work, the dog often is like, "screw you" whereas with this method, you have already taught the off lead first and the dog understands the commands.  Since you are feeding the dog as he works, he is even more motivated to work for you and each piece of food is a seperate opportunity to repeat the exercises.  So therefore, if you feed your dog 50 pieces of kibble a day, you have 25 trials you can do in the morning (about 10-15 minutes) and 25 in the evening.  Just that 30 minutes a day works wonders with this method.  I forgot to mention, you obviously need to pair the verbal command with what you want the dog to do for each trial so the dog learns to associate the command with the desired behavior.  This method is specifically tailored to pups, but I have also had success with older dogs.  Check out his website www.dickstaal.com.  He has videos of various dogs he has started as pups and worked up to the two year mark when he trials them for their KNPV PH1 title before they become police dogs in Holland.  He also uses similar methods to teach the dogs to locate articles and track and I will argue he has some of the best tracking dogs in the world, especially on hard surface.  I know I have rambled and probably confused you a bit b/c I am sure I have left something out or not explained it well, but if you have any questions, pm me.  He also has a book out and I think he is making it into an e-book b/c a lot of folks here in the states didn't want to wait for it to ship from The Netherlands.  I have been fortunate enough to train with him and it was an eye opening week!  At any rate- good luck!


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