Lead Training

Training

There are certain rules that your dog needs to master in his everyday living with humans. Ideally, you should start training him as early as possible. Be patient but consistent. Do not ask too much of your dog during a workout. It is much better to practice several times a day than in a single, lengthy session. During breaks from training, you should allow your dog to do whatever he fancies, whether that be sniffing around, running, swimming or just sleeping. When you begin training your dog, make sure that you give clear signals so that your dog can differentiate between different commands and always knows what you expect of him. Where possible, combine audible signals with visual ones. By the time that your dog gets older and his hearing starts to fail, he will thank you for it! When you begin introducing something new to your dog, you should ensure that you carry out the training in quiet surroundings until he knows precisely what you want. Condition him in a positive way and reward him for performing an action correctly. Once he has mastered the new command, gradually increase the number of distractions. Be consistent and insist that your command be performed correctly. Most importantly, do not forget to praise him afterwards!

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Training

Your young puppy is extremely active and needs to eat several small portions of food a day. However, with food comes the need for your puppy to do his business. As a rule, your puppy will not dirty his own bed, but you must teach him that this applies not only to his basket, but also to your home. Observe your puppy closely. If he whines, turns in circles or seeks a place to do his business, pick him up and carry him outside. Praise him only once he has relieved himself there.

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Training

Irrespective of whether you live in the town or in the countryside, you should start socialising your dog with other dogs and humans at the earliest possible opportunity. The earlier that he learns how to deal with other living things, the better. What could provide a more suitable opportunity, apart from puppy socialisation classes at your local dog obedience school, than the daily walk? Even if you have the possibility of allowing your dog to run freely, you should still teach him how to walk on the lead correctly. Ideally, first get him used to wearing a collar around the house. At first, this can seem very strange to your young puppy. If he should try to remove the collar by clawing at it and twisting his body out of it, distract him, for example, by playing with him. Once he has got used to wearing the collar, you should start training him using a long, lightweight lead. Even at this early stage, do not allow him to snap at the lead and chew on it (tell him “Leave!”); instead, try to distract him. If your dog pulls on the lead to investigate something that has caught his eye, simply stand still and proceed only once he has stopped pulling. You will find that your dog gradually gets used to the lead and you will be able to take him for walks without any problem whatsoever.

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