# At what age does leash walking get easier?



## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

Just wondering at what age I can expect leash walking to get easier? Some days with Fionn are really good, others, not so much. As a puppy does, he gets really distracted and wants to smell every blade of grass, or sit in the middle of the sidewalk, or stop to watch every person or car that passes by. I bring his kibble with me and feed him as we walk giving lots of praise and "good" when he's walking nicely beside me on a loose leash. I know he's still young (15 1/2 weeks) and is learning but I just want to know when they generally start to get it and walks can become a pleasant experience?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

no hurry. I've seen pups walking nicely at 8-12 weeks. Not sure what method you're using but remember to reward at the precise moment the leash is loose. Biggest mistake people make is letting them pull. If they pull, stop walking . There's all kinds of methods, but consistency is the key. Today's a day for me promoting friends. http://petcentraldogtraining.blogspot.com/2009/06/whos-walking-who.html


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## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks, lots of good info in the link.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Pups may walk nicely at 8-12 weeks, but my guess is it's the small minority, and of those, I'd be willing to bet a number of them "forget" for a while during adolescence.

My experience with Kodi, and having seen LOTS of people train LOTS of puppies under close supervision at our training center is that it just plain takes LOTS of patience and lots of time. With Kodi, it also depended on the situation, and still does to some extent. At school he got it pretty fast. (as long as there wasn't food on the floor!:biggrin1 next was on quiet streets, then busier streets. It took a LONG time (probably a year) before he could remain calm and walk nicely on the edge of the main street in our town, where big 18 wheelers often rumble through a few feet from the side walk. During all of that time, I would take him out with both a collar and a no-pull harness. If he was behaving himself, I kept the leash attached to the collar. If he started to pull, I attached it to the harness.

Kodi is pretty darned reliable about it now, but today, we found something new we need to work on. DH and I visited the college where he received one of his advanced degrees. We walked around a bit, then decided we needed to find the rest rooms. Not sure of the rules, we decided to take turns, and keep Kodi outside. While Kodi will normally walk happily with either one of us, he had a NUTTY over the idea of us separating in a strange place. Dave (MY Dave) went first, and I was able to get Kodi listening again, and I walked him around the little pond there. Dave hasn't had as much practice as me, and Kodi was just going to drag him around while I was inside. So I finally just parked the two of them on a bench in the shade!

I know that obedience style heeling is more demanding than loose leash walking, but every obedience person I know will tell you that for MOST dogs, heeling is the hardest thing to teach. (there are a few who seem to be born heeling!)


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## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

One year....oh boy, I guess I do need to be patient!! It just looks so easy when you see people out on lovely walks with their dogs! Another question... I live in a quiet subdivision. Fionn, being the cute puppy that he is, has become somewhat of a celebrity around here. Everybody LOVES him! This means when we are out walking he wants to run toward everyone he sees (people and dogs) and he gets very excited. I try and hold back the leash to prevent him from pulling, but it's not always easy. I know I need to try and keep him focused but when it's a beautiful summer day/evening and we run into a neighbour it's hard to just keep walking - especially when some of his biggest fans are elderly people who are just delighted to see and pet a happy puppy. Any suggestions on how to handle greetings at this stage and under these cirumstances?

Again, many thanks,
Jan


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Jan, follow the guidelines in the article. If you let him pull , you are teaching him to pull. This is where the consistency comes in. Lot of patience at first especially.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Pooch said:


> One year....oh boy, I guess I do need to be patient!! It just looks so easy when you see people out on lovely walks with their dogs! Another question... I live in a quiet subdivision. Fionn, being the cute puppy that he is, has become somewhat of a celebrity around here. Everybody LOVES him! This means when we are out walking he wants to run toward everyone he sees (people and dogs) and he gets very excited. I try and hold back the leash to prevent him from pulling, but it's not always easy. I know I need to try and keep him focused but when it's a beautiful summer day/evening and we run into a neighbour it's hard to just keep walking - especially when some of his biggest fans are elderly people who are just delighted to see and pet a happy puppy. Any suggestions on how to handle greetings at this stage and under these cirumstances?
> 
> Again, many thanks,
> Jan


When Kodi was that age, I would keep his attention on me, rewarding good attention with tiny treats, until the person came right up to us. Then I'd ask the person if they'd mind helping me train my puppy. I'd hand them a treat, and have them tell him to sit, then they could give him the treat and pat him all they wanted. All that attention might make it a little harder to focus on walking right then, but it's great socialization!


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## wynne (Apr 30, 2011)

ound: have to laugh. You described Maya to a "T" ! She has taken classes at Petsmart and we are no closer. God forbid a squirrel comes along. Of course she has to chase in dragging me behind her.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

wynne said:


> ound: have to laugh. You described Maya to a "T" ! She has taken classes at Petsmart and we are no closer. God forbid a squirrel comes along. Of course she has to chase in dragging me behind her.


Unfortunately, Petsmart classes won't get you far. Kodi has been in classes at least twice a week for 2 years now. Granted, we are doing competition stuff too, but Kodi wasn't trained to a point where _I_ would have been happy with him as a pet until he was about a year old. Most of the Petsmart classes I've seen are puppy K and a very limited "graduate" class lasting 6-8 weeks. The trouble is that unless you already know what you are doing, (and sometimes even if you do) you can be practicing something wrong, over and over after you get done with your 6 to, at most, 16 weeks of classes. Having a good instructor watching what you are doing and how you are doing it is invaluable.

IMO, that first YEAR of training was invaluable. People who are experienced dog people can do a lot of it without the classes, but they still need classes to expose their young dogs REGULARLY to the presence of all types of other dogs and people working around them. For me, where Kodi was my first dog, (though I have a lot of experience training other animals) I think our class time was (and still is!) essential.

We have lots of breeders who come to classes with their young dogs, just for that exposure. These are NOT going to be dog sport dogs, but breeding/conformation dogs. They just need to have the same good manners and skills as any good house pet. But these experienced dog people still bring them in!


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## surfspc (Jul 10, 2011)

It took my dog Kosta about 12 weeks to start letting me walk him on a leash but he also had a lot of energy. I think its best to just take him out for a few minutes everyday so he can get use to it.


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

Cey is about 6 1/2 months old and it took us MONTHS to get him to walk nicely with us - and, he still only does it reliably when it's relatively calm (no crowds or dogs around). However, he started out by being just AWFUL to walk with - he would pull like CRAZY; I would correct him (very gently!), and then he would either ignore me and keep pulling, or he would sit and sulk and refuse to walk, and, that went on for quite literally months. Or he would spend too much time sniffing and I would try to get him to move, gently again of course, and then he would sulk and refuse to walk lol. He would literally plop down and refuse to walk, or drag behind the leash with his tail between his legs if and when he recognized my correction, no matter how slow I walked - I felt SO bad for him! It was like that _almost every walk_ until he was at least 3 1/2 or 4 months old, at the earliest... just like potty training, he was just too young to 'get' it, really - but also just like potty training, the times I spent training him to walk during those months were not at *all* wasted - quite the opposite. Now, he walks completely loose-leash with me, as long as there aren't crazy crowds or dogs close, and even then, on occasion, he will walk loose-leash, without hardly paying them attention. If there's not crowds, I can still count on him to walk with me even if a person or dog comes near, as long as I have let him have his little sniff/piss times throughout the walk 

One thing that other people may not agree with me about, or may have had different experiences with their dogs with (but that I still feel strongly about), is that it is absolutely _vital _to compromise, the same way as if you have a kid. You can't expect them to obey you unquestioningly at anything, unless you are giving them something back (and they know that you are going to give them something back). I have never hesitated to correct Cey when he pulls, or when he is dawdling longer than I want him to - but on the other hand, I have ALWAYS let him stop and sniff and piss every so often on our walks. And, it has paid off in spades - by now, he KNOWS that I will let him have his sniff/piss time occasionally throughout the walk, or his loving minute with a stranger that wants to pet him, or his sniff-butt time with another dog, so, the rest of the time, he just trusts me, and follows me without pulling and actually walks beautifully beside me with the leash loose


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree completely that part of "walk time" should be time for the dog just to be a dog!


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## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

These past few days have been really good walking Fionn. He still stops dead in his tracks if he sees a person or a dog or cat but I seem to be able to coax him along a little easier than before. I continue to feed him his kibble while we walk, giving lots of praise when the leash is loose and giving it to him when he is walking closely next to my heel to help reinforce that's where he needs to walk. The only time he pulls is when we're getting close to my house - he wants to run toward home but then he never wants to go inside!


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

I had to use highly-desirable treats, tiny small pieces of hot dog, every 2 or three of his little steps I said GoodBoy! He seemed happy and proud that he was doing something fun and getting rewarded for it.

Eventually the treats become spaced longer and he eventually just walked on the leash.


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## surfspc (Jul 10, 2011)

krandall said:


> I agree completely that part of "walk time" should be time for the dog just to be a dog!


Totally, dogs are in fact animals and a leash is definitely not natural for them. It takes time


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

Funny thing: Ceylon just absolutely HATES to be wet lol. We walked to the gas station last night and it started raining on the way there. Oh man, he did NOT want to leave the shelter of the gas station! Then when we got home, he literally flipped out - he does this funny run-around-the-room-roll-on-everything-jump-up-and-run-again thing (making funny noises as well!) whenever he is wet, trying to dry himself off I suppose. One of these times, I will have to get it on camera - he's usually a pretty mellow guy at home, so it's pretty hilarious to watch (though I quickly take pity on him every time and dry him off lol)!


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## Havanese0330 (Jun 19, 2011)

I take Wrigley out on his leash when he has to go out, so he is on it a lot during the day. I try taking him for a short walk around the cul-de-sac or just down the block, but he won't leave our yard or driveway! He is such a homebody. I have tried using his treats (his kibble), with little results. I may have to result to more tasty stuff, like cheese.


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## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

frustration walking on a leash.... I hear you! I learned that there are different types of walks! Sometimes Atticus just really needs to sniff and watch and explore, but sometimes we also need to get from point A to B! I carry treats and a squeaky ball and have several leash options,for different times, drag line,walking leash, flexi. It helps if you are really going on a "walk" to go to the same place for a while. I was taking him a different place every time and he just wouldn't walk. I finally realized that he was pretty unsure of himself and was much better after a few walks on the same path. We are branching out now, good luck! Jody


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Havanese0330 said:


> I take Wrigley out on his leash when he has to go out, so he is on it a lot during the day. I try taking him for a short walk around the cul-de-sac or just down the block, but he won't leave our yard or driveway! He is such a homebody. I have tried using his treats (his kibble), with little results. I may have to result to more tasty stuff, like cheese.


Kibble is a pretty low value "treat" for most dogs. They know you'll just give it to them for dinner anyway!:biggrin1:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I posted this in another thread recently too, but this is a great video on starting loose leash walking:


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