Episode #179 Leash Walking: How do I know my puppy is ready for the sidewalk?

Today, we will explore the topic of loose leash walking and how to transition your dog from working in a confined space to going on destination walks. Loose leash walking is an essential skill that all dogs should learn, as it allows them to walk calmly beside their handlers without pulling or tugging on the leash. 

When it comes to transitioning from working in a confined area to walking on the sidewalk, it's important to assess your dog's readiness. Some signs that your dog may be ready to walk on the sidewalk include their ability to walk calmly on a leash in a confined area, their willingness to follow your cues, and their length of attention span. Patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement are key to successfully transitioning your dog to this new environment. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Puppy Training Podcast, episode 179, loose Leash Walking. When do I know my puppy's ready for the sidewalk? This podcast is designed to help you on your journey of becoming best friends through love and learning, as you train your own dog from home, and I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the Puppy Training Podcast and I'm your host, amy Jensen. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I am so glad you're here. I love talking dogs, specifically training them to live inside our homes as part of our family, and to do that, I love to talk to you guys, because you are the ones doing the training and I really enjoy coaching you through that process. So thanks for being here.

Speaker 1: 0:46

Today we are diving into the topic of loose leash walking and transitioning from working in an area to going on what we call destination walks with your dog. When do I know my pup is ready for the sidewalk? That is the question, so let's jump into it. There's a process that we follow. Whether I'm training a brand new puppy or if I'm training a new dog maybe somebody I haven't worked with before, and any age dog, there's a process. So let me outline that for you in this podcast today. Just get you started on the right path pathway. There's going to be lots of puns today, I can tell. But the first place we start is with following. So if you follow, oh, there it is again, sorry guys. If you follow our program, uh, you'll know that this is the first step to loose leash walking.

Speaker 1: 1:35

We want our dogs to follow us, not the sidewalk, trail or pathway. Right, if I take my dog out on a sidewalk for a walk, they're naturally going to follow the sidewalk. Or if I take them on a trail up here in the mountains where I live, they're naturally going to follow the trail. Yeah, they go off the trail and come back on the trail, but they always come back to the trail. So they're trying to follow that and I want them to learn. Actually, you follow me or we work together.

Speaker 1: 2:00

So it makes sense that when we're teaching the dog to walk on a loose leash, that it's important to start without the sidewalk trail or pathway. I don't want there to be a clear pathway. I want it to be an area where I can circle to the right or circle to the left or make some U-turns. There's nothing in particular that the puppy's following other than me. That will again set your dog up for success. Uh, just by creating that environment where they can learn to follow me and there's nothing else really to follow. So we call it follow first.

Speaker 1: 2:30

Now I want you to practice the follow first part of it in an area with minimal distractions. So with a new dog, I like to start inside my home. I even choose to do it when my kids are at school and it's quiet, right. So if you can find a time that's minimal distractions, then it's going to be a little easier and we just start to get the dog to follow me. So I'll take a couple of steps this way and reward my dog when they're next to my leg, and then I'll take a couple of steps that way and we'll keep rewarding.

Speaker 1: 2:58

So anytime my dog lines up with my left leg. I say left because that's the side I choose to work on it. There's not like a law that you have to walk your dog on a certain side of you, unless you're going to do like an obedience trial or something. So pick a side, start with the one side, and then I actually train my dogs to walk on both sides. But that's another day, another story. So today let's just focus on the basics, but pick a side. They're on my left side as I'm starting to walk. When they're next to me, I reward them. So I pay in what's called my kitchen area, meaning next to my leg. Anytime they choose to be right there, they get paid. So they start to figure out oh, when I follow Amy and I'm right here next to her, she will pay me. This is worth it. So then they choose to repeat that and I'll work in this quiet area again doing right turns, left turns, u-turns. I'll stop and lure my dog into sits so that that sit becomes automatic when I stop. They're learning to respond to me. They're learning to pace with me. If I can pick up my pace and then slow down my pace, they're again learning to follow what I'm doing. So as soon as they are focused on you inside your house meaning they'll stop when you stop and, uh, there's minimal pulling going on they're really just kind of paying attention to your pace and your direction Then we'll try to go to a little harder of an area.

Speaker 1: 4:19

So my next place I would train this would be the rest of my house. I would go in and out of every bedroom, every room around furniture right, maybe when my family's home. That would be another level of distraction. And then I would take it out to my backyard and I'll pick an area in my backyard and again we'll circle to the right and circle to the left and do lots of U-turns and those kinds of things. Will my puppy follow me when I'm out in my yard?

Speaker 1: 4:48

Right now, when, anytime you go to a new area, it's important to let our dogs acclimate. What does that mean? It just means they're going to be very excited and stimulated by the new environment. So let them sniff, let them check it out. If I've kind of mapped out in my mind, you know, a 50 foot by 50 foot area of my backyard to work in, I'm going to let my puppy sniff that area out and really check it out. I promise you, after several minutes of acclimation they will be like uh, what are we doing? And they'll give you some attention. And once they're able to give you the attention, then we can start this following practice in that new area. So just keep that in mind.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Anytime you go somewhere new it's important to let them acclimate. But once they're starting to pay attention to what you're doing, then in this new area absolutely circles, lots of them, figure eights, big circles, little circles, but basically turning to the right, turning to the left, doing some U-turns, stopping, you know, helping them choose that automatic sit when we stop and seeing how that they're they're doing with that. I'll probably do this honestly with a young puppy that has a short attention span, maybe two to three minutes max and then I have what's called recess. I pull out a tug toy, a squeaky toy, a ball they like to chase, whatever your puppy loves, and we have recess, we play, we have a really good time for a couple of minutes. It's just a really nice brain break for your dogs.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Loose leash walking is something that is a little harder for our dogs to be able to do, especially at a young age when their attention spans are so short. We want to keep these sessions minimal so that the dog is able to be successful, but then they get a break before they are unsuccessful, if you will. So another question to ask would be when I'm out doing these leash walking trainings, will my dog respond to a leave it cue? So let's say I'm out in the backyard practicing some leash walking and a cat walks by. Can my puppy see that cat and I say, leave it and they are able to give me the attention back, versus keeping the attention on the cat that they just saw.

Speaker 1: 6:47

I want to make sure that I'm practicing that while I'm in these areas, practicing the following first type of leash walking. Another question I would answer would be is my puppy fully vaccinated? So I'm not going to parks or public places until my puppy is fully vaccinated? Well, let me back up. I am going to parks and places in public, but I'm carrying my puppy Once they're fully vaccinated, then their paws can be on the ground and we can do more formal leash training. That's when we go to the park and do follow first. So make sure your pup's safe and healthy and fully vaccinated before you venture too far from home. But it's okay because of the follow first plan you're going to spend those first few weeks inside your home and then in your backyard or in spaces that are private and not public so that your puppy is safe. So that gives you time to practice the follow first and then you are ready to go to the park once they are fully vaccinated. As you start to venture out, you can increase the time that we're doing the leash walking.

Speaker 1: 7:46

Their attention span is growing as they mature and get older, so it all just comes together. Uh, there's just no rush to get out there and to walk your dog around the block. There's just not right. So we exercise our puppies in other ways. They're getting play. The block there's just not right. So we exercise our puppies in other ways, they're getting play. That's really the best way to let your puppy get energy out is just games, training sessions, mental exercises through food, puzzle toys or just tug fetch, those kinds of things running around where if they're tired they can stop and relax and if they have energy they can get up and run around.

Speaker 1: 8:17

So I see a pretty commonly people just get a puppy and they're like oh, I'm supposed to walk the dog, so they put it on a leash, they try to walk it around the city block. Halfway around the block the puppy's pulling on the leash and biting at their ankles and is having a really hard time focusing. All very natural and normal, and nothing is really wrong here, other than the puppy is so young and doesn't have any leash walking skills yet to be able to do what I would call a level 10 leash walk walk around a city block. There are so many distractions and things present that make it really difficult for a young puppy to know what to do and how to focus on you without giving them these incremental building blocks along the way. And then, yes, one day your puppy will be ready for the sidewalk. But recognize that that you know they're young, their attention spans are short and they don't even know really what a leash is yet.

Speaker 1: 9:05

So spend that time inside your home training that follow first circling, lots of circles, lots of U-turns, lots of figure eights. Practicing the leave it cues, practicing getting them to focus on you amidst distractions, you know. Start to add those distractions into the practice sessions and then, yes, you and your puppy can venture out onto a sidewalk and go on what we call more of a destination walk. But don't overlook the fact that they need to be taught how to do that successfully first, and it comes in little bite-sized pieces. Follow first is where I start.

Speaker 1: 9:40

One last note on leash walking. If you want to go out on a nice relaxing walk let's say you and a friend want to go on a walk Don't bring your dog along If the dog does not yet have the leash skills to be successful. It's still going to be a lot of work. So go on that relaxing walk with a friend, then come back and do some leash training with your puppy and then eventually, yes, that puppy can come along with you and your friend on your nice relaxing walk. But it's going to be a little while. We need some time for that puppy to mature and to learn the necessary building blocks to a successful leash walk.

Speaker 1: 10:12

I should say destination leash walk, right when we're on a pathway or on a sidewalk, on a trail and they still know to follow you. So don't skip over on this first part of leash training. That follow first is really important to set your dog up for success with leash walking in the future, and the more time you spend in these areas, the better off you and your dog will be, the faster they'll be able to get on to that sidewalk and still follow you instead of the sidewalk or the pathway or the trail, whatever it may be. All right, you guys can do this. Let me know how it goes. Have a good rest of your week, happy training. If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other puppy training question, visit my site, baxter and Bellacom, to contact me.