One of the most common training issues – across dogs of all ages, breeds, and sizes – is leash pulling! Everyone wants to be able to walk their dog – for fun, for exercise, or just to get somewhere safely-without getting dragged off their feet or dislocating a shoulder.
Leash walking is not a natural behavior in itself, but there are some hard-wired puppy behaviors in early development that if properly reinforced, actually help make leash training easier. The sooner you start, the better: it is definitely easier to start right away with a baby puppy and build good habits than to fix bad habits later on with a full grown dog!
This webinar will look at the ways that we can build leash skills in baby puppies – starting from the day you first bring them home and splitting the skills into baby brain sized bits – so that you can you can get off on the right foot and build good habits before bad ones get a leash pulling gets a chance to become habitual! We’ll look at the factors that make leash training challenging and the things that handlers do that accidentally make this worse, so that you can prevent those from becoming problems for your new puppy. We’ll look at games that you can play to make the learning fun, how to determine the location, duration, and frequency of leash training sessions to maximize success AND how to manage exercise needs and leash walking before your puppy has fully established skills so that you aren’t just setting yourself back! Training gear that is helpful is covered, as well as how and when to use it. Finally, we’ll talk about having reasonable expectations for good leash behavior, and how those expectations play into your ability to preserve good habits through adolescence and beyond.
The dream of a dog who walks nicely on leash is possible and it’s never too early to get started!
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