All the things I wish I knew before I got my first ever puppy!
1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COLLAR & TAG
This a legal requirement in the UK and ignoring this law could result in fine up to £5,000, and trust me, unless you buy something diamond studded, a collar and tag are definitely cheaper!
For other dog laws in the UK check out the article below
2. GET YOUR PUPPY USED TO A COLLAR FROM DAY 1
The chances are that your pup is not going to enjoy having it's collar on at first. Cooper nearly scratched his head off trying to get his off!
Although you don't legally have to have them on your puppy at home, it's a good place to get them used to them, walking outside is going to be daunting enough as it is for your puppy, so adding the stress of throwing a collar on them is not going to help with their walking.
We started Cooper on a small low profile collar. At first we put it on him for an hour, then we gradually upped it until eventually he was oblivious to it.
3. PUT THE HOURS IN AT HOME
You're probably going to have your puppy for between 2-4 weeks before they're going to be allowed out post vaccinations. Use this time wisely and you'll reap the benefits when it comes to finally taking your puppy outside.
Aside from the obvious thing of putting your dog on his/her lead and walking them around on it, also try playing them sounds and noises that they'll hear out and about on their walks.
The area around us is awash with people in high performance cars and when we first took Cooper out he was terrified of them. A trainer recommended us to play the noise of cars in the background while he was eating as he would essentially be distracted by food but at the same time subconsciously he would get used to the sound- It worked a treat!
4. HOLD A TREAT BY YOUR SIDE AND GET THEM TO FOLLOW IT SO THEY GET USED TO WALKING AT YOUR HEEL.
Going back to the pack animal mentality of a dog, the leader of the pack is always at the front, so if you let your dog out in front of you, in their mind, they are in control.
Choose a side for your dog to walk on and STICK TO IT. Repetition is key! If you choose to have your dog on the left hand side of you, you want to hold the lead in your right hand, and with your left hand, hold a treat on the nose of your dog for them to follow. (If you have a smaller breed, putting cream cheese or some kind of treat on a stick or a wooden spoon will save your back!)
The idea is that they walk to your heel. When they are in the position you want, choose a word to go with the action, i.e. Heel or Close. Eventually your dog should learn that if you say that word, they need to be in that position.
5. IF THEY'RE PULLING...STOP!
It may seem a relief at first when, after 20 minutes of trying to encourage your puppy to walk, they suddenly bolt off and pull, but what may be a relief at puppy size will not be a relief when they're adult sized and dragging you along behind them!
This is a real patience test, because for a dog that pulls this could turn a 10 minute walk into a 30 minute walk, but it works and is simple. As soon as your dog pulls, you stop and ideally get the dog to sit. If your dog is pulling the chances are they want to get somewhere, and if you keep disturbing them by getting them to sit, they will hopefully eventually relate the fact that pulling = going no where, and walking nicely = getting to places.
6. HAVE THEM ON A SHORT LEASH- NOT A FLEXI LEAD.
For the park flexi leads are great, you can let your puppy run around with freedom, but still have ultimate control over them. When you're walking near roads or on the streets, flexi leads aren't so great.
Aside from it been a lot more difficult to handle a flexi lead while doing lead training, you can't get half as much control, and when you're potentially near a road and/or the public, you're going to want as much control as you can get.
It's amazing how quick pup's can be when they want to, Cooper can be on the most focussed walk going, but if he see's a leaf blow in the road, BAM, he's making a dash for it. On a short lead it's fine, there's only so far he can go, but I really wouldn't fancy testing my reaction times on a flexi lead!
7. IF THEY ARE WALKING IN THE RIGHT PLACE, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THEM LOTS OF PRAISE SO THAT THEY KNOW THEY’RE BEEN GOOD AND DOING THE RIGHT THING.
The main thing that EVERY trainer has drummed into us is, if you're dog is doing something right- let them know! Whether it be with treats or verbal praise, if your dog learns that they're doing something right, they'll do it more often.
8. GET THEM TO SIT AT EVERY ROAD, EVEN IF IT’S CLEAR TO CROSS.
Teaching a dog how to cross the road is no easy feat, but if you can train them to sit at the kerb and wait for a command to move, hopefully it will reduce the chances of your dog dashing out into the road.
We've been doing it with Cooper from day 1 and it is slowly paying off. Although it is worth varying how you cross, i.e. stopping mid road to cross over, as well as stopping at any side roads.
9. TRY AND MAKE IT FUN FOR YOUR PUPPY AND ENCOURAGE THEM.
If you and the walk aren't the most interesting thing, your pup will find something else that is, whether that's twigs, the road or other people.
Try and keep your dog's attention, which I know sometimes is easier said than done. Whether you use food or sounds, just try and hold your pups attention. We went from treats as we went round, to a treat at each corner, to nothing. But with that 'nothing' comes a lot of silly noises and meanless chatter with him to keep his attention on me!
10. NEVER FORGET POO BAGS.
Please, please, please don't be one of the inconsiderate morons that leave their dogs poo all over the pavement- or even worse, the kind that puts the poo in the bag, then throws the bag on the floor! (That I still don't understand, you've done the hard part already picking it up, just take it home?!?)
