Walking The puppy

[HoW.Corgi]

about how old is the puppy ready to walk around the neighborhood? After he stops biting on the leash? Or after he has a soft mouth???

[pikachu]

First of all, your puppy has to complete all the necessary vaccinations, then get him used to putting on a collar around his neck, try walking him with a leash indoor, you may want to teach him baisc commands like sit, stay, down & come. So that you can proceed to training him on all these commands outdoor, then you will have better control over him while walking your puppy.

So far, my 4 mths old puppy has known all these commands indoor, will need to train him to response correctly on these commands outdoor soon. Think it will be an entirely different experience.

[Michael Romanos]

I have always walked a puppy with a leash pretty soon after they arrived at my home. - it depends on their age at the time of arrival. With a seven to eight week old pup, I would wait a week or two. With Taylor, I put on his leash as soon as he arrived at the airport and was set on the ground - he was aged 13 weeks on arrival day. It sometimes requires several weeks of leash walking before a pup is walking to heel or at least not pulling hard at times. Leash training and getting a pup use to a leash need not be anymore than 'safe' walks when occurring prior to puppy vaccination/s which impact on where a puppy can go or associate with.
Certainly if conformation show people in NZ want to show their puppies as close to three months as possible, the puppy adapting to a leash and experiencing the 'language' of the leash is important from very eary stages.

[Dillydoodle]

Deleted my post

[TheGoldenCorgi]

I've noticed that my nearly 13 week old Corgi is doing the same.

He will walk but sniff here and there as he walks. If I go about 4-5 feet away and tug the leash and click he will come. But sometimes it doesnt walk to heel and wanders from side to side making it scary for me to walk fast because I don't want to step on him.

He also bites the leash alot before taking him out. Any advice?

[Michael Romanos]

There is dog walking and there is taking a dog with you for a walk.

The first should allow a dog a lot of leeway to be able to use his/her scent capabilities and utilise their mental abilities to recognise different smells and to be able to conjure up 'pictures' in their minds of the scents and who/whay left them there. It is said that a dog expends more energy in using (when allowed) their scent capabilities than they do physically walking/trotting. All this can be done within reason - but not to pull away the dog at every smell they want to investigate. He also wishes to leave his mark at various strategic places - especially in retracing over regular routes. This I call my Corgi's time for giving him attention on his walk/run.

The second is the more controlled walk because the handler is trying to get somewhere quickly and will therefore give only cursory allowance to the dog.

If a dog grabs at his/her leash, the way forward is the same as for most other training aspects- praise/reward for correct behaviour after clearly receiving instructions by voice and by gestering what is not acceptable. The same with heeling. I strongly recommend that everyone trains a dog to heel equally on left or right.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by TheGoldenCorgi

I've noticed that my nearly 13 week old Corgi is doing the same.

He will walk but sniff here and there as he walks. If I go about 4-5 feet away and tug the leash and click he will come. But sometimes it doesnt walk to heel and wanders from side to side making it scary for me to walk fast because I don't want to step on him.

YOU have to be more intresting than anything else around him. Talk to him, walk at a brisk pace (so he's trotting but not running).

IMO, a walk should not mean heeling. I let my dogs walk out in front of me or beside me but I don't make them heel on a walk. And at his age he is too young to be heeing for a whole walk. He is a baby and has a short attention span.

Also on walks, I do allow for some sniffing. Shoot, it's a walk and that's how dogs get to know what's around them. However, make sure he's had his shots before taking him on walks.

With time he will learn to walk beside you or out in front far enough to be safe.

He also bites the leash alot before taking him out. Any advice?

That's typical of puppies, just correct him, tell him "leave it" and take it out of his mouth. Maybe spray the leash where he can reach it with Bitter Apple.

Peggy