# Walking a Havanese Puppy



## tumble2113 (Apr 14, 2010)

I was just wondering how people handle teaching their Havanese to walk on a lead.
We have a 4 month old Havanese who is a lot of fun, she runs around the back yard (Fenced in) and we can take her out on a leash (She has a harness) and will play with the kids while wearing it but walking is a challenge.

She is kind of like dragging a bunny. I am not sure if it is a control thing, or the size (she is the smallest dog we have had).

But I keep hearing how you need to walk your dog, and just wonder how others are handling it.


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Practice walking with the leash in your yard.


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## susieg (Aug 28, 2009)

Enroll in a puppy training class. Some Petcos even have free seminars on different subjects. The Petco in my neighborhood offers free seminars on Loose Leash Walking.

I used the "touch" command when Lola was young to get her to walk by my side.


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

You might try luring her at first. Keep the treat just out of reach, once she is traveling with you give her the treat while moving. A little tug on the leash and a “good girl” will go a very long way to get her moving. Never give nagging tugs, or pulling. At 4 months it is time for her to be leash trained.


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## tumble2113 (Apr 14, 2010)

Thanks, I think we can get it ironed out. But with in four months most people have started taking their Havanese for walks?I am trying to manage expectations


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

tumble2113 said:


> Thanks, I think we can get it ironed out. But with in four months most people have started taking their Havanese for walks?I am trying to manage expectations


Not long walks but enough to get her use to the concept and it's a way for her to get exercise.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Get someone who's good at it to show you how. It only takes a little while with an experienced hand on the leash. It's one of those things that is much harder to learn how to do by reading about it, than having someone show you how with your own dog. It's no hurry either. They can learn how quickly at any age.

Pam taught a 15 year old Jack Russell, who had pulled on the leash all her life, how to walk calmly on the leash in about 50 feet. That was followed by the next 1/4 mile teaching her owner how to do her part. Now they go for long walks twice a day, calmly and correctly.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I use the concept if they are pulling, I stop and when the leash is loose, then I start back up again. This can be a long learn process. Walk one dog at a time if you are trying to teach this concept. 

With all the pulling the dogs do, it is good to have a harness on them. 

You can teach many techniques inside the house, make it short sessions and treat!


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## 1plus2havs (Jan 29, 2010)

I had some puppy class at petco with Liam, make sure that your puppy get used to a leash first. I had him enrolled at 4 months and he did great. I'm no expert but they taught me to let my dog sit first at your side, let her relax first then say walk and start walking. If she tries to walk ahead of you stop walking and call her back to your side. If she dont come back step back twice, you'll see that she will come to you. Another way is if she tries to pull you try to change direction. You will need patience but it is worth it. Make it a short walk at first. goodluck...


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

tumble2113 said:


> Thanks, I think we can get it ironed out. But with in four months most people have started taking their Havanese for walks?I am trying to manage expectations


It depends on the dog. At 4 months, I was taking Roscoe for hour walks every day. He's now 7.5 months and still tugs a little bit at the beginning of the walk, but he is pretty good about heeling on a loose lead.

I really recommend training classes. Unfortunately, the trainer I really wanted to work with hasn't had a class near our area until now (starts this weekend), so I had to do most of the starting work myself. I've trained several other dogs in my life, so this wasn't a problem for me in most areas. However, I'm not a professional and there are certainly some things that she is going to be a huge help with!

Where are you located? Maybe there is a member in your area who can recommend a good trainer for you!


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

my guy is 22 weeks and my first puppy, not my first dog.

he was scared of the leash. scared of the collar. scared of his walks in general. couldn't walk in a straight line.

now he pulls like a freight train. loves his walks now. marks like a bad boy too.

not sure what you pup's particular issue is so here was my journey.

leash: let him drag it around the house and yard to get used to it.

walking along side you: like others have said, lure with really highly prized tidbit... be sure to give it the pup while in motion, moving forward, and try to give the treat right when the pup is right by your side like a heel position.

pulling: like someone else said, stop when the pup is pulling, and then resume with a loose lead is established. another is walk in the opposite direction.

my pup doesn't seem to remember to not pull. I think he thinks he really can pull me. anyway, a trainer told me that they though that dogs pull not out of dominance but b/c we aren't walking fast enough. sometimes.

anyway, I walk pretty briskly, so pup can't pull. but he does respond to a correction, and off leash he stays pretty close, he will stop and wait for me and my other dog to 'catch up' to him.

an excerise a trainer did in puppy clase was have the puppy weave thru pylons on leash, while being lured by food.

good luck.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Maybe check out some youtube videos about walking on a loose lead, too. You can use a food lure to get your dog to follow you. Hold the lead in your right hand, across your body and have the dog on your left. Hold a treat in your left hand right above puppy's nose and say "let's go" and walk a few steps. As long as she follows you and doesn't start pulling or jumping up for the treat, stop and reward her. Keep doing this, but slowly extend the length of the walk


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

Is your puppy pulling or dragging behind? In our household, Rascal is the puller (we're still working on this and he's just over a year old), and Pixie is the dragger. When she was really little, we called her the Swiffer, because you could drag her around like a mop and she just would not use her legs. It was quite funny. Puppy classes helped us deal with this. She is much better now, but can still act like a stubborn mule if she feels like it! It's amazing how much drag a little 14-lb. dog can have.


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## Nata (May 15, 2010)

My puppy class teacher advised to get a 5 meter leash for training... and of course we have used it in all our walks, ehh. Now my 6 months old puppy will walk quite nicely on that leash, but oh my if I take the short 1,5 meter leash! She pulls and can't walk nicely, so there is some training to do. Also we live on countryside and she gets really excited when we go walk on town, she pulls and wants to go everywhere and sniff every bush and corner. LOL So that is another task for us.


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## Sirius (May 5, 2010)

*Walking without leash*

Our puppy Sirius is about 16 weeks old. I just started walking him without a leash around our cul-de-sac (I would not recommend it on busy streets!). He started following me naturally. Occasionally he would wander but as soon as he finds out I am walking away, he will come running to me. After 2 weeks of that, I got a body harness and attached a leash. If he starts pulling or stops, I would drop the leash and start walking again. Sometimes he picks up the leash in his mouth and comes running back to me. This doesn't work in the backyard as the puppies are more confident and will stay behind.

One other thing, I can think of is "Gentle Leader" harness.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Sirius said:


> Our puppy Sirius is about 16 weeks old. I just started walking him without a leash around our cul-de-sac (I would not recommend it on busy streets!). He started following me naturally. Occasionally he would wander but as soon as he finds out I am walking away, he will come running to me. After 2 weeks of that, I got a body harness and attached a leash. If he starts pulling or stops, I would drop the leash and start walking again. Sometimes he picks up the leash in his mouth and comes running back to me. This doesn't work in the backyard as the puppies are more confident and will stay behind.
> 
> One other thing, I can think of is "Gentle Leader" harness.


You're on to something there. First start indoors off leash . There are many methods. But one rule of thumb ,is that if you alow them to pull, you are reinforcing it. Collars are not that important. Gentle leaders help somewhat , but if you really want to teach good loose leash walking try something like this ... http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/pulling-leash


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

Thanks for the article. I had forgotten that this was the technique I used for my big dogs, it's been so long. Neither of them pulled that much, not like my hav pup, geez! I will try it tomorrow in the morning walk.


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## SnickersDad (Apr 9, 2010)

Hi everyone -
Well I'm late to this party, but have a comment and a question or two too...
Snickers (now 17 weeks old) LOVES to walk we go out twice a day and are usually gone for at least 30 minutes and more often than not closer to 45 minutes. Our walking isn't something that most dog owners would call graceful, as Snicks will stop and smell the bushes, will often decide that one of the neighbors yards is the perfect place to make a poo deposit, (rarely pees), and I find myself pulling her to get her to "move on".

So, I'm wondering -- I don't particularly care whether she walks at my heel, 5 feet ahead of me or 5 feet behind me, as long as she's walking and enjoying the time out and the exercise. Why is loose leash walking considered to be "The right way" for the puppy to walk?

I don't like her pulling so much and do employ the stop and wait for the leash to become loose before continuing on, and have tried reversing directions a time or two - but she does indeed still pull, specially when she's on the last block before home.

Cheers!


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## 1plus2havs (Jan 29, 2010)

SnickersDad said:


> Hi everyone -
> 
> So, I'm wondering -- I don't particularly care whether she walks at my heel, 5 feet ahead of me or 5 feet behind me, as long as she's walking and enjoying the time out and the exercise. Why is loose leash walking considered to be "The right way" for the puppy to walk?
> 
> ...


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