German Shepherd Puppy Training

German Shepherd Puppy Training - Teaching Leash Manners

You can start getting your puppy used to having a leash attached by using a light nylon leash with the handle cut out to prevent tangling and letting them drag it around.

Leash manners are important. There is no getting around that. Outside of teaching your puppy to come when called leash manners are the second most important thing you will teach your puppy.

As you know puppies are not born with leashes so your first task is to get your puppy used to having a leash attached. You can start by using a 10 foot nylon leash with the handle cut out to preven it from tangling on anything. Let your puppy drag the leash around inside and outside for a while. Of course you should always supervise your puppy so they don't get choked or hung on anything.

Many people want to start walking their puppies only to find they fight, pull away, or simply refuse to walk. Young puppies should not be walking but rather you can allow them to drag the 10 foot nylon leash around or you can hold the end of it while you let them explore the yard.

Your goal is not to teach them how to heel, your goal is to get them to forget they are tethered to a leash. Allowing them to drag the 10 foot leash will help accomplish this.

Going for Your First Walk

When it is time to go for your first walk hook your puppy to a 10-15 foot long line (we do not recommend retractable leashes) and start walking. Allow your puppy to sniff around (only if they are upto date on their shots) and explore their area. Take them to places like bushes and trees and let them smell until their little heart is content.

Again you are not trying to go for a 10 mile hike here. Your goal at this stage of training is to not allow your puppy to pull on the leash at all. Once your puppy pulls just one time they will have learned that pulling is a good thing and will start to do it more often.

If you never allow them to pull they will never learn that pulling gets results (forward progress). This will make training on shorter leashes much easier.

As your puppy gets older you can go for longer walks but again your goal is to allow them to sniff and smell as much as they want and to avoid allowing them pull on the leash.

Formal Leash Training

If you are wanting to do competitive obedience around 5-6 months of age is when you will start your puppies formal leash training. If you are not interested in competitive obedience then you should avoid trying to teach your dog "heeling" or any strict leash training. Heeling and other exercises are for competitive obedience only because these exercises are stressful on the dog.

If you want to teach your dog to walk on a loose leash on your left side that is great, however do not confuse formal heeling with loose leash walking. As we've already mentioned formal heeling is a stressful exercise and should only be taught to the competitive working dog.

In the end whatever you are training for your goal is to never allow your dog to pull on the leash. Once they do they will start pulling more often and you will have to go back in the training process and correct these issues.

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