Leash Training 101
- Whitney Cunningham
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
When we’re teaching puppies anything new, we want to make it fun and exciting—most dogs respond best to high-value treats. I love Fresh Pet refrigerated food for this specifically but pepperoni, cheese, anything high value works just as well.
In this video, you’ll see she clicks and treats the dog frequently. The dog takes a step towards the human, click and treat. The dog pauses, then continues walking, click and treat. We want to train the puppy to follow you, and we do that by encouraging them with positive reinforcement.
Their thought process is simple: when I stay close to the human or give in to pressure, I hear a click, and that means a treat.
If your puppy stops while on the leash, that’s fine; just stop with them. Call them to you, and the moment they take a step in your direction, you want to click and treat. If the puppy jerks back and pulls—LET THEM. Don’t pull, don’t give in, you don’t move or change leash pressure at all. You are not the one who gives in to pressure—they are. If it takes five minutes for them to stop twisting and pulling, wait them out. The moment they take a step toward you and give in to the pressure, you’ll click and treat.
Puppies don’t know what to do with leash pressure yet; at this point, we’re encouraging them to follow you. If they create pressure, you are now an immovable force so they can figure out how this works.
This strategy is what you’ll use to teach anything and even correct behaviors in the future. Dogs aren’t vindictive, they aren’t spiteful; they are opportunistic creatures who must learn what is and is not acceptable and will repeat reinforced behaviors. Oftentimes, we unknowingly send mixed signals because we don’t know we’re accidentally reinforcing the “bad” behavior. This is where a professional trainer is invaluable, but I’m always here to help, too.
PS—do not teach leash training with a harness. You must use a collar of some sort.
PS—do not teach leash training with a harness. You must use a collar of some sort.
Comments