How To Teach Your Puppy To Walk On A Leash!

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As a new puppy parent, you’ve probably dreamed of enjoying lovely calm walks with your puppy strolling through the neighborhood. But if you’ve tried to give this a go already, you’ve most likely realized it’s not as easy-going as you originally thought it would be! Walking is a great activity that allows your puppy to experience new smells and stimuli, provides them exercise, and helps build the bond between you. So how do you get your puppy to walk nicely on a leash? Here’s how!

Puppies naturally walk faster and have a curious drive -- it’s a great big and new world for them! Although you may be excited to take your puppy for a walk right away, puppies simply don’t have innate leash manners built-in. Teaching your puppy to walk on a leash requires training a few basic obedience commands, the right equipment, patience, and lots of practice!

Introducing the Harness and Leash

Before taking a step outside, gear up your puppy with the right equipment and give them some time to get used to it. With young puppies, size them for a snug-fitting harness that they can step into and fastens on their back. Measure their girth (use a tape measure around the widest part of their chest) to find the appropriate size that isn’t too loose where they can easily slip out and be too tight and uncomfortable.

Next, pick a leash that is either four or six feet in length. Attach the leash to your puppy’s harness and under your supervision, let them wear the harness and drag the leash around at home until they start to get used to having the harness and leash attached to them. You can even attach the leash to yourself and let your puppy follow you around the house. Doing this little exercise helps your puppy create the association that a harness and leash mean they get to walk along with you!

Pro tip: Worried about the leash getting caught on things in the house? Purchase an inexpensive nylon leash and cut the loop at the end so it’s open and doesn’t get caught as easily!

Practice “Heel” Inside and Outside

The “Heel” command refers to having your puppy walking beside you or at your heel. Teaching your puppy to walk in the Heel position with a loose leash can be easier if you've previously taught your puppy some basic commands already. Refer to our “How to Teach Your Puppy Good Manners!” blog for tips on getting your puppy to Sit and Stay!

Practice Heel inside your home first. This will encourage your puppy to stay focused on you since they are more used to their home environment rather than outside where there are lots of new sights, sounds, and smells! Ask your puppy to sit beside you on the left or right side, and stick to this side to walk them on as they're learning!

Remaining consistent with the side you pick for your pup to walk on, will help them learn their new walking routine! With your pup beside you on your preferred walk side, and their favorite treat in hand, lower it to their nose, and with your leg closest to them, take a small step forward as you say "Heel". As your pup follows your step, say "Good" and reward them with the treat! It takes small steps at first and if your pup starts to lunge ahead or jump around, simply reset them into a sitting position beside you using their food to help lure them, if needed, and start over.

After your puppy starts to successfully walk beside you inside the home, start to move the Heel exercise outside in your yard, driveway, or right in front of your home. Pick a familiar location so your puppy is likely to be less distracted. Continue the same Heel training routine, and slowly start to extend the length of their “walk” until they are consistently staying on your side.

It can take weeks to transition your puppy from walking indoors, to outside your home, until finally around your neighborhood, so take your time and don't rush the process! Your puppy needs time to build their muscle memory with Heel and looking to you for guidance as the distractions around them increase with the new locations. Make sure to have food on you at all times while your pup is learning (you can wean off later!) to help redirect them from distractions when needed. You may also need to use a higher value treat for outdoor walks if their normal food or treats aren't working. Think something protein-based that's extra stinky to grab their attention!

Get more tips on how to work on Heel at home in our short video here:

Managing Leash Pulling and Lunging

Common requests we get at The Puppy Academy from owners focus on how to stop their puppy from pulling and lunging on the leash during walks! If your puppy is exhibiting these behaviors, there are a few things you can do to help:

1. If you’ve already practiced the Heel routine with your puppy at home and outside and they are still pulling, there’s a chance your puppy is just very excited and distracted by what’s ahead. In this situation, try to maintain your pup’s attention on you with a super high-value treat reward! Go back to work in less distracting areas to build up their focus on you again, and when you do go back to higher-populated areas, work your puppy around those distractions at a distance first, then gradually get closer. Don't forget your high-value treats for this!

2. If your puppy isn’t paying attention to you, not listening, and lunging toward something (“Oh look another dog!”), try recalling them back to you while you use slight leash pressure to their side (don’t pull straight back as it encourages more pulling), and turn to walk in the opposite direction. To recall then back to you when your pup is already distracted will need some extra excitement and encouragement on your end. Whenever possible, recall your puppy back to you as soon as you anticipate an encounter happening where they’ll be too distracted to listen to you, in order to keep their focus.

3. Keep your pup on a short leash beside you as much as possible with a little bit of slack. This will help get your pup used to staying close to you in the Heel position, and help you maintain more control and be able to adjust quickly when needed on the walks! Hold a piece of their food in front of their nose to lure them as you walk in the beginning when teaching them how to maintain the Heel position of walking beside you, and not pulling ahead.

Need more help teaching your puppy to walk on a leash?

Heel training takes time to nail down and will require practice in various locations. Even if your puppy performs a perfect walk at home or outside, they may exhibit some pulling or lunging in a new place!

If you’re struggling with teaching your puppy to walk calmly on a loose leash beside you, our Online Puppy School can help! In it you’ll learn not only how to teach your puppy how to walk in Heel position, but how to stop pulling, control sniffing, and how to pass by other dogs without your pup going crazy!

Plus we’ll show you how to do Heel turnarounds to get your puppy to quickly change directions with you, and routines you can use to get your pup comfortable being in outdoor environments to make walks so much easier. Working on these puppy training routines will help your puppy learn to focus on you as their leader off of distractions, and strengthen the line of communication between the two of you!

Get your puppy started learning great leash manners today at The Puppy Academy Online School!

Have more questions about teaching your puppy to walk on a leash? Ask our trainers LIVE every Wednesday at 1 pm PT on our Instagram @thepuppyacademy during our Ask A Puppy Trainer Show! All replays are posted afterward, and you can catch up on our last ones on our YouTube channel or Podcast.

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