Ok dont have puppy yet, just prepairing myself mentally and physically for the little fur ball that is going to make me wanna pull my hair and make me wanna love him so much forever!!!! But i know when i pick my puppy up it will be this first time he is on a leash.. My breeder said she will try but not sure if she will get to it.. But im planning on him freaking out and not liking it.. Is there a special tecnique i can do to make him feel comfortable and get him used to it? Or any tips on how i can make this a wasy transition for him aswell as for me?

I know Callie hated her leash at first. She refused to walk on it. What I did was stand as far away as I could and offered treats, letting her know it was okay.

That being said, she wasn't even introduced to her leash until a few days after I got her. Maybe as much as a week. I didn't need one. Once she had her leash though, we went outside, I let it drag a bit, cooed and cheered until she'd walk over to me, handed out the treats when she refused to move a muscle. Then she just got over it.

I use a very light weight leash and collar or harness (pros and cons to both, and I'm sure others will chime in). Then I let the puppy walk me around on a loose lead while trying to keep the leash out of puppy's mouth. Once the pup seems used to walking me around, then I start encouraging her to follow me around (NOT pulling on the leash - just stepping away and trying to seem encouraging with my tone of voice and gestures.) I use lots of positive reinforcement. I don't start training for real (heel on left side, loose lead in spite of distractions, etc.) until closer to 4 months.

Have you tried youtubing any of this stuff? They have great video's that show you step by step

Hayden_69 wrote:

Have you tried youtubing any of this stuff? They have great video's that show you step by step

No, good idea!!!

There's not a huge need for a leash on a puppy initially, as he/she shouldn't be outside of your immediate yard until fully vaccinated & should be carried when he/she is, trust me, we went through parvo with our rescue puppy this past spring. 8 days at the vet 5 of which were in the ER, blood transfusions, feeding tubes & $5K later we brought home a weak 11 week old pup. That being said a lightweight & cheap, as it'll likely be chewed on, leash placed either on the collar or harness to be dragged around is a good start. Our puppy, Kona, wouldn't even move with a leash on initially so we'd put it on her while she was just laying around the house & eventually worked up to her dragging it around the house & yard before we ever attempted to "walk" her on it. We still use the leash on her in the yard if it's not play time as she's rather stubborn when it comes to the "go home" command & likes to play catch me if you can, which is great fun for the kids, not so much for me at bedtime.

Drea this post is pretty old and Eric already has a pup Koda by this point, but I'm sure the advice will be good for anyone who searches this thread

Edit - but what about people in apartments? I live in an apartment and wouldn't have trusted my pup outside without a leash even when she was 8 weeks old, and I think its good to get them use to leashes while their young. I put a leash on Yuki right at 8 weeks old and she never fought me about it.