walking with puppy??

[Julie Savolt]

How do I get my 12 week old puppy to walk better on a leash? He stops and sits before getting to the driveway next door. He'll jump on every moving leaf, pick up sticks and crab apples and stops when cars go by. Any advice?

[Laura & Chewie]

Sounds like a typical puppy...LOL. Chewie is 18 weeks and also very curious to sample every little thing he can find...and believe me he finds them! I wish he would stop when cars went by...he would rather try to chase after the cars. Sometimes he walks beautifully, but often times he pulls...he's in a big hurry. He also knows where all his doggy "friends" live and tries to direct me to each house. I think I need to get him one of those harnesses, so I don't feel the collar is choking him.

[Julie Savolt]

Funny, Barley knows where his friends live also. He actually will go right up the walk to the house. I think it's sweet! Maybe we should try a harness as well. Thanks

[renae]

I have a similar issue with Murphy (15 wks tomorrow!). He either walks really well or pulls like crazy and sometimes will all out stop and lay down! I can tell on the first step what kind of walk it's going to be. On this note, does anyone know what a good walk (time wise) is good for a puppy? I'm lucky if we get a decent 15 minutes in but I never feel like that's long enough. Especially since last night he was up at 1:00 and again at 5:00!

[Julie Savolt]

I try to take Barley on 3 shorter walks a day. He seems to like early morning and evening but hates the middle of the day when its hot and the sun is out. He won't even play then. His last walk I try to do around 9:00pm to tire him out for the night. He sleeps from about 10:00pm to 6:30am. We feel very lucky! I think if you try a good play time before bed or a walk it could tire him out.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri was like this and still is when she is excited (23 weeks old). Our trainer told us to just stop and make her sit, then praise, then "okay, good girl, Let's go". That is working better now. Also, Peri does much better if you put a stick in her mouth. Guess that's the retriever coming out...makes her feel like she has a job and she prances right along...

[Julie Savolt]

Thanks... Barley will now take a stick for a bit but forgets he has it when he thinks he has found something better. I've been just trying to give him the stick back. Thanks for the tip!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Oh yeah, typical puppy!!! If you want to try a harness try the Easy Walker. That's what our trainer rec for Beginner training classes. It attaches in the front instead of on their back. I used it on Lucca until recently , now that he is walking better (kind of).
Short walks are better. If we went more than 20 minutes (when he was younger) Lucca would plop down and not budge unless I coaxed him with treats. He chased everything that moved, leaf, paper, etc. and still does!! His nose is always down and smells constantly, that's the retriever in them!!! Walking is getting better but still trying because they are puppies (even at a year old) and are constantly exploring.
Here's an example: The other day I walked with my neighbor who has a 3 yo King Charles/Cocker mix. Their dog walks very prim and proper. Lucca was all over the place sniffing and smelling. This was in the morning after all the sprinklers were on in the yards we walk by which means the run-off water flows down the street. Well...guess who was running in the water chasing it down the street. Walking for Lucca is not just to relieve himself, it's ALWAYS an adventure. Gotta love these doodles!!!!

But, try the Easy Walker. It really works great.

[Julie Savolt]

Thanks for the tip onthe Easy Walker. I'm going to pick one up and I'll let you know how it goes. I think it will give me more control so he wont be picking up all the fall droppings on the sidewalk! Barley chases everything on a walk to. He loves to "attack" the weeds that have gone to seed, moths in the grass at night and any leaf that may blow in front of him. Gotta love them!

[Libby & Bentley]

Bentley does the exact same thing...some days he walks wonderfully..most days he pounces on leaves and sticks. I may just havta buy one of these easy walk harnesses from petsmart. Treats don't work for us, Bentley would much rather chew on his beloved leaves (ugh).

[Adina P]

Absolutely a typical YOUNG puppy. I honestly would erase the image of what 'a walk with a dog' looks like and either let him enjoy it on a harness with NO expectations ... OR ... spend very LITTLE time walking and use that time for training polite leash manners and staying near you. But you can't expect to have a destination or set schedule like 'I will walk for 15 min' or 'We will walk to the post office' because at 12 weeks it's a VERY VERY VERY RARE pup that just walks casually at your side. Their attention spans are so short and they are soooo easily distracted that it's a futile attempt to hope for a nice regular walk.

Take 5 min to teach him to stick near you with treats and call it a day...repeat several times in the day...OR just put on a harness and let him do whatever and enjoy his exploration... :)