Post by Admin on Mar 17, 2015 16:37:58 GMT
How to get a dog or puppy used to a lead.
Many dogs and puppies are frightened of a lead when they first see one, it isn’t difficult to get them used to it but does take time and patience, not as long as it may look when you read this though.
If your dog or puppy is frightened of a lead it is better to tie a short, thin ribbon to his collar to start with, leave it on for about an hour and if he is happy and ignores it change it for a longer one. You need to keep doing this with the narrow ribbon until you have approximately 4ft tied to the collar and your puppy or dog is dragging it round and is happy.
When the ribbon is long and you want your dog to follow you pick up the end and call your dog/puppy to follow you, DON’T let the ribbon get tight, it must stay loose all the time, drop it if it looks like it is going to go tight.
When your dog/puppy is happy with the thin ribbon do it all over again with a wider ribbon, this may seem like overkill but by taking your time now and making sure your dog/puppy is happy be easier as he progresses.
Hopefully you will have several old leads so you can shorten one to clip onto your dog/pup’s collar to get him used to the heavier weight. Let him take his time getting used to it and then you can clip a longer one on, do the same as for the ribbons until he is dragging a normal lead round the house and is happy.
If you have been encouraging him to follow you while holding the end of the ribbon/lead it will make it easier when you first take him outside into the big, bad world.
For your dog/puppy’s safety do not leave either the ribbon or lead on when you go out of the house, it could get caught up and he can’t move. They should only be used when you are there with him.