Puppy weeing in crate

[MeganLewis]

My 13 week old puppy has started to wee in his crate when he wakes up. He used to cry out for us to take him for a wee . 
Now , he wees and then cries for us .

how do I deal with this ? Please help !

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

Is this happening at night and he pees when he wakes up early? or is this happening anytime he is crated during the day?

What is his crate lined up with? Towels? Mat? Blanket?

What breed is he?

Are you making sure he is going potty before closing him in the crate?

What size is the crate? Does he have room to stand, turn around and lie down yet snug enough for him to not  pee in one corner and sleep comfortably in the other corner?

Is the crate nearby you so that you can hear him move around to alert you he needs to be taken out?

Has he -by any chance- been scolded for whining in the crate or having accidents?

Any recent changes?

Thank you for the extra details.

[MeganLewis]

Thank you for your reply .

It is only occurring when he wakes in the morning after his night sleep. 
His crate is in the living room and our rooms are upstairs . I have a monitor in the room so I can hear him though.  He used to cry upon waking and I would hear him and come down straight away to let him out. The past few days he has woken and done a wee and then cried for us . He goes outside to wee at 11pm and then usually wakes around 6.30am. Should I wake him up at 6.15am to go outside and wee ? Or is this just going to start making him wake up earlier ? He is a Brittany and the crate is quite large with the bedding covering the whole surface of the crate . He is weeing on the bedding .  I am thinking I should reduce the crate in size ? But I don’t have a divider ? 
I appreciate your feedback !

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful!

Accidents in the crate are not unusual in young puppies, but we want to minimize the amount of accidents happening in the crate as this can become habit-forming. Yes, If you wake up to a puppy who has peed in the crate in the early morning, mark the time you suspect the accident may have happened and aim to set your alarm clock at least half hour prior, in hopes of preventing it, by taking your puppy out. If it doesn't work, set it up an hour earlier or more until you can prevent it from happening. With Daylight Savings Time around the corner, this can give you an advantage. 

The purpose of a crate for potty training is making it difficult for the puppy to pee in one corner and sleep comfortably in the opposite, so a snugger crate may help the pup whine/bark/scratch the crate because most puppies instinctively don't like to lie on their pee. You can find crate dividers on Amazon, but temporarily, some puppy owners have made their own dividers with cardboard (some pups though will chew this or knock it down so a warning is needed) or they may use plywood for something more sturdy. 

Some pups also benefit from temporary using non-absorbent bedding so they end up feeling wet, versus bedding that is highly absorbent and doesn't impact them. It can also help to remove access to water for a couple of hours prior to bedtime if your pup is 100 percent healthy-always best to ask the vet. 

It would be also important ruling out any possible medical problems especially if this is a new problem. Although more common in female puppies, males pups can too develop urinary incontinence due to urinary tract infections so they may be more prone to having accidents. 

Other tips/ideas that come to mind:

-Make sure that when your puppy is crated he is "empty." In other words, he has peed and pooped before being closed in.

-Clean the accidents in the crate with an enzyme-based product that helps remove traces of any residual smells.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne

[MeganLewis]

Hi Adrienne, 

thank you so much for your reply . I am really enjoying your training program and I am so impressed with your tips .

Last night I managed to find an extra piece of metal sheeting and halved the size of our puppy ‘s crate but he still pee’d upon waking. 
He fully emptied his bladder at 10.45am and woke at 6.45am . He  pee’d straight away upon waking and did not whine for us to come. 
We went to him as soon as he whined but he had already pee’d .

I will set my alarm to 6am tomorrow and start his day a little earlier, in the hope to stop him peeing in the crate and forming a habit .

My only question with this method is how will he learn to cry out for us if we are waking him in the morning every day ? 
Thanks again, Megan 

Ps. I have added photos to show you his crate and if you think I need to swap anything ?  Size , bedding ? 

[Adrienne]

My only question with this method is how will he learn to cry out for us if we are waking him in the morning every day ? 

Good question. In this case, it's a matter or priorities. Right now, the biggest priority is to stop him from peeing in the crate. Peeing in the crate is highly-self reinforcing, because when a pup pees in the crate, it feels good, so they'll want to repeat this behavior-so it becomes quite habit forming as the crate starts becoming a toilet area more than a bedroom.

Peeing in the crate overrides the natural instinct puppies should have not to soil where they sleep, eat or play. Without this instinct, crate training has little purpose as its main purpose is teaching pups to "hold it" until they can be taken out. 

Our hopes at this point is that we can start establishing a new habit of exclusively going potty outside and making the outside his favorite potty area by praising and rewarding for going out. We want him to forget about peeing in the crate, erasing it from his mind, by taking him out before he has the chance to pee in it. Once we have made going outside the favorite, preferred area and he associates the crate as his bedroom again, then we can expect him to want to be taken outside to potty, so we hope that he'll start whining/pawing/barking again to be let out. 

I think the crate can be made just a little further snugger by moving the divider to be straight rather than oblique, although it's hard to tell because I don't know how long your puppy is when standing. Is this puppy a brittany or some other type of spaniel?

Also, after you woke up this morning after he has slept with the divider in place, where did you find the pee? Did he pee in the opposite corner, or right where he was sleeping? This would be important to know. 

Other things that come to mind since you said that he previously was alerting to potty and now suddenly no more:

-Make sure he fully empties his bladder at night. Some puppies need to empty more than once, like they'll pee a little here and there several times. 

-As mentioned, consider possible medical issues (you should see accidents during the day too though)

-I know this sounds crazy, but just in case, ensure your baby monitor is working

-If feasible, it can help having a monitor that you can watch and see when these accidents happens exactly. This can be insightful, as some puppies pee when they hear us approaching from happy excitement. So perhaps the accident happens when your puppy hears you coming down the stairs. You should see this type of peeing though also during the day. Here is a read on excitement/submissive urination: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/submissive-urination/

 

 

 

[MeganLewis]

Thank you Adrienne for your advice .

It’s worked ! Setting my alarm for 6am and watching him on the video  monitor has stopped him weeing in the crate when he wakes in the morning . 
He was still asleep today at 6am so I just waited for him to wake . Instead of going straight to him I made noises in the kitchen so he could hear me , all whilst watching him on monitor . I wanted to see if he would whine or bark to alert me that he was awake and needing to go to the toilet, which is what he had stopped doing . After hearing my noises he started scratching at the crate . It made me so happy and I am hoping he goes back to doing this ! 
We have daylight savings in Australia in 3 weeks where we switch the clocks back 1 hour . 
what is your best advice on preparing a dog for the time change as I don’t want him starting his day at 5am, especially as I have just sorted him sleeping past 6am and holding his bladder! 
I would appreciate your insightful feedback please .

kind regards ,

megan 
 

[Adrienne]

Glad to hear things are going back to norm. 

Dogs love routines, so they struggle a bit with daylight savings time (don't we do too?), but there are steps we can take to make the change less abrupt. 

For instance, we can adjust our dog's schedule gradually in 10-15 minute increments starting a week prior to the time change. Simply wake up each morning earlier and earlier and do the same for bedtime. Playing with your dog and then allowing some downtime before bedtime should allow him to relax and be able to go to sleep an hour prior to make up for the earlier Monday morning awakening on Daylight Savings Time. Going to bed a little earlier that Sunday night can benefit both you and your dog so you're both more likely to wake up refreshed.

[MeganLewis]

Thank you, so our puppy normally falls asleep for the evening around 8pm and wakes at 6.30am. I take him out to wee at 11pm and then into his crate for the night .
the clocks are going back 1 hour . What do you suggest I do ? Is it , put him to bed 1 hour later at 9pm , in the hope that he doesn’t wake at 5.30am for a wee ? 

If he does wake at 5.30am for a wee , do I then just start the day then and try to stretch him out gradually to 6.30am over the course of the week ? 
 

thanks ,

megan 

[Adrienne]

Basically, you have two options: getting him used to the new schedule as mentioned above which requires gradual adjustments ideally starting a week prior or sticking to the schedule your puppy always had (in other words, ignoring the new time change completely).

 

[MeganLewis]

Thank you so much for the advice . 
Just when we think we have things sorted with our Brittany puppy,  he has decided to poo in his crate overnight for two nights in a row ! 

He is now 16 weeks old and never has accidents inside whilst roaming around the house . He will always go to the back door whilst awake to toilet .

We take him out around midnight to do a wee before we go to bed and then he sleeps through to 6.30am. 

I set my alarm for 6.15am to make sure I am awake before he wakes up (I can see him on the baby monitor ) and he is always asleep . When I go down stairs to him he goes straight outside to wee but has already done the poo in the middle of the night !!

I would love some advice please on how to stop this habit from forming, as he must have rolled in the poo last night whilst asleep and it was all over his head ! 
It’s not particularly pleasant to wake up to !

I am ensuring that I am spraying the whole crate and bedding down (once cleaned and washed ) with a good quality enzyme based spray to ensure he cannot smell any trace of poo. 
 

I think you will remember that he doesn’t really bark or scratch on his crate to alert us that he needs to wee in the morning  , which is why we wake up beforehand to catch him in the act . 
unfortunately , this is also happening now with a poo! He is doing a poo silently in the middle of the night without waking us up to let him out . 
 

I hope you can offer some solutions or advice please .

 

thanks ,

megan 
 

[Adrienne]

Oh no! If this is a fairly new behavior, makes me wonder whether he could have had an upset tummy lately. Were the stools well formed, or more on the soft side? Is he pooping more during the day? I don't mind TMI for these things.

Were there any recent changes in his diet? New treats? New food? Could he have eaten something our of the norm? Has he been dewormed? Any new stress?

Are you making sure he has pooped before being crated at night? 

Is he still peeing in the crate?

Just wondering.. by any chance, does he come from a pet store?

If this pooping is something new, I think it would help to discuss with the vet as there can be underlying medical causes that may cause an increased sense of urgency that may override a pup's instinct of not soiling where he sleeps.

[MeganLewis]

Hi Adrienne ,

you were right ! All day yesterday his poo was on the runny diarrhoea side.

we put him out the back to sleep and he had diarrhoea overnight . Much easier to hose down the garden than his crate and bedding . 
I had given him some new chew bones so they have possibly upset his stomach . 
In response to your question , no, he didn’t come from a pet store. We bought him from a reputable breeder . 
I think you were absolutely correct in predicting that his tummy was sore and I will continue to sleep him out the back until we see his poo becoming more solid .

I will also just keep him on his kibble and treats that I know and have used.

I am wondering as he slept well outside and didn’t cry / bark/ scratch at the door, is there any benefit in keeping him crated? 

Or , could we do a combination of both so that he keeps up the crating to make staying at others homes more familiar if we go away and then has a few nights sleeping in his kennel outside overnight . 

I appreciate all of your amazing advice and support and you are always exactly in tune with what is going on with our puppy!

thanks ,

Megan Lewis 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the advice . 
Just when we think we have things sorted with our Brittany puppy,  he has decided to poo in his crate overnight for two nights in a row ! 

He is now 16 weeks old and never has accidents inside whilst roaming around the house . He will always go to the back door whilst awake to toilet .

We take him out around midnight to do a wee before we go to bed and then he sleeps through to 6.30am. 

I set my alarm for 6.15am to make sure I am awake before he wakes up (I can see him on the baby monitor ) and he is always asleep . When I go down stairs to him he goes straight outside to wee but has already done the poo in the middle of the night !!

I would love some advice please on how to stop this habit from forming, as he must have rolled in the poo last night whilst asleep and it was all over his head ! 
It’s not particularly pleasant to wake up to !

I am ensuring that I am spraying the whole crate and bedding down (once cleaned and washed ) with a good quality enzyme based spray to ensure he cannot smell any trace of poo. 
 

I think you will remember that he doesn’t really bark or scratch on his crate to alert us that he needs to wee in the morning  , which is why we wake up beforehand to catch him in the act . 
unfortunately , this is also happening now with a poo! He is doing a poo silently in the middle of the night without waking us up to let him out . 
 

I hope you can offer some solutions or advice please .

 

thanks ,

megan 
 

[Adrienne]

Although annoying (and sometimes worrisome!) when pups get diarrhea, it's a good thing that an upset tummy was the cause as once his stools go back to normal, he should be back on track with holding his poop at night. Just in case, it does turn into a habit, you may find it helpful feeding food no less than 6 hours before your puppy is being crated for the night. For example, if your dog is crated for the night at midnight, plan to feed no later than 6pm. The later a puppy is fed, the more likely he's going to defecate overnight (of course, this won't work when a puppy has diarrhea requiring multiple trips at many hours). 

Also, training him to go potty on command can turn helpful to ensure he is empty (peed and pooped) before being crated. Here is the guide to train it. It takes some time to master, but if we're going out with the puppy to praise reward for going outdoors anyhow, it's worth training it in the long run: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

When young pups have diarrhea, it's important ensuring they are drinking enough and monitoring their stools in case there's blood and they don't solidify. Some pups need to see the vet if the diarrhea doesn't resolve and/or they start getting lethargic or show other signs such as loss of appetite and vomiting. 

The benefits of crating are various. 

-It's used for potty training to enforce a pup's "denning instinct." Ideally, good breeders will introduce puppies to the ABCs of potty training from an early age (as early as 3 to 4 weeks of age) They do this by inculcating in their young puppies the idea that eating, drinking, playing and sleeping areas are not meant to be soiled.

To accomplish this, they raise mother dog and her puppies in a den-like enclosure with an area dedicated for eating, drinking, playing and sleeping and an area purposely made for elimination located at the opposite side. This area dedicated for elimination often has a special substrate that helps puppies associate walking over it with elimination. This area may be covered with pee-pads, newspaper, sand, straw etc.

On top of this, good breeders will introduce puppies from an early age to a crate, getting them used to being in there and helping them learn that the crate is a place to eat, chew, chill, rest and eventually sleep rather than soil. The crate therefore should become more of a bedroom than a bathroom. Puppies who miss out these important life lesson (like puppy mill/pet store pups) may be more difficult to potty train.

-Another benefit to crating is that it provides a safe place to keep a young puppy who may otherwise get in trouble when left alone. Puppies tend to want to chew and even ingest things around the home which can lead to intestinal blockages and destructive behaviors (like chewing table legs, plants, etc)

-Crating can also be used when pups get cranky and need to nap. Young puppies often get overstimulated and don't know how to self-sooth. Placing them in the crate with something to chew (like a stuffed Kong) can help them calm down and get the sleep they need.

-As you mention, another advantage is that dogs used to being crated fair better when owners must board their dogs, take them to places, have them travel (crated in car, plane) and when they are hospitalized (like when at the vet to be neutered/spayed) or groomed (groomers often used cages). 

As puppies grow, and learn to hold their pee/poop better and are less destructive around the house (and have proven it even despite the owner not being around), the use of the crate can be decreased, and some dog owners even stop using the crate altogether (replacing it with a dog bed), although it may be beneficial to keep using it (even if left with the door open for the dog to auto-crate himself) just to keep him used to it. 

Sure, there are puppy owners who don't use a crate at all (they use an exercise pen with a bed, food bowl, water bowl on one side and pee pads or dog litter box on the opposite side, but this is mostly used with small breed dogs living in apartments, although it turns handy as well for when puppies need to be crated for longer than they can hold it. However, with a puppy destined to potty only in the yard, this can cause an extra hurdle as the puppy learns to potty in the home and it can generate confusion, although I have had pups learn both ways. 

With keeping a young puppy outside-like in a yard, there are risks that they may get in some type of trouble (ingesting plants, chewing things, ingesting things that may lead to blockages) on top of possible regression in potty training as they go potty when they feel like it (rather than learning to hold it). Many puppies also get bored and may eventually start rehearsing problematic behaviors such as digging, barking at noises and scratching at doors to be let back in. 

[MeganLewis]

Hi Adrienne , our puppy is back on track and the diarrhoea has stopped . Phew .

I have another quick question for you as I really value your advice !

We have come to our holiday house today for the Easter holidays and brought our puppy along for the first time.

I am trying to keep to his usual routine and have brought his familiar bedding , crate , travel kennel , etc.

he was falling asleep indoors and normally I put him outside in our garden for his day sleeps and he never cries / barks . 
 

at our holiday house when I put him out the bark he immediately started to yelp high pitched yelps . I think it is best to ignore him as I know he has water , shelter and is tired and in need of sleep . He is also scratching on the back door . 
he doesn’t do any of this at our normal house . 
I think if I go to him then he will learn that I come when he yelps.

I guess I need to just give him a few days of becoming familiar down here . 
I spent time with him outside when we arrived to make him feel comfortable and settled . 
 

please offer any advice that may help , 

megan 

[Adrienne]

This sounds more like anxiety and it's likely due to the fact that he's in a new place and the place hasn't established yet a sense of familiarity. Moving is unsettling to dogs and they may get clingy as they want to ensure that they aren't left alone in an unfamiliar place. I think that, in the case of whining and scratching due to anxiety of being in a new place, it can help them knowing that we acknowledge them and are there for them. 

It can help keeping them calmer by either leaving the door open so they can go in and out as they please or going out with them, at least until they seem more comfortable and the place starts feeling a bit more like home. Helping him get used to the new place  until he's so comfortable to relax and sleep may or may not be worthy of implementing based on how long you will be staying there.

If you will be staying for some time in this place, then it may be worthy of getting him used to the yard by creating positive associations with it (treasure hunts, bringing his toys out, staying out with him and getting him used to the nearby sounds, using the "hear that" method. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

If you will just be staying a few days (like less than a week), it may not be worth all the effort, and therefore, he can just stay indoors with you and he can spend time outdoors when you go outdoors as well (even if it means sitting outside on a chair and reading a book as he relaxes and maybe tries to nap). Brain games in the home and yard, walks and play can keep him happy and mentally stimulated. 

Potty training when moving to a new place (dogs don't know we will be staying briefly so for them it's like a real move) can also sometimes have a setback. There are new sights and smells and pups may forget to signal to potty until they realize they can no longer hold it or they may feel anxious and just pee. So it's important to be extra vigilant and ensure the puppy is taken frequently out and rewarded for using the outside and that he has gone potty before being crated at night. 

Enjoy the holiday home!

[MeganLewis]

Hello Adrienne ,

you were absolutely right with the anxiety . Our puppy was fine on the second day at our holiday house. 
I am wondering if you could please offer any advice on our dog really starting to pull on his leash whilst being walked .

He is now 5 months old and quite strong and pulls to reach things, sniff things or to chase birds whilst out on a walk.

From what I have read, I have been stopping when he pulls and encouraging him to come back to me and loosen his leash. Then rewarding him with “yes” command and a pat . 
We are doing this up to twenty times each walk , which is frustrating and hope that it clicks soon. 
I would rather persist with this then let him continue with bad habits .

Is there anything else we can do or should be doing to help him understand that pulling will result in us stopping .

 

thanks in advance ,

megan 

[Adrienne]

I am glad the potty training issue was sorted out. 

At 5 months, your puppy is maturing and finding all sorts of things encountered on walks interesting to explore. We are now at the flight stage, a time when puppies get more confident and independent. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/ 

On top of this, I am assuming your puppy is some sort of spaniel (brittany?) and these dogs are very attracted to sniffing and chasing birds because they were selectively bred for flushing birds out of thick brush and into nets.

You are on the right track in not rewarding the pulling with any forward motion. If we allow our dog to pull, we only teach them that it works, and dogs will assume that that's just the normal way to walk. Dogs are faster in walking than us humans, and are attracted to many things, so it's natural for them to walk ahead and eagerly go sniff and chase birds as they are instinctively inclined to do. 

Stopping when the dog pulls and reinforcing loose leash walking with forward movement gives the dog feedback on what we expect. The loose leash is our accelerator and the tense leash is our brakes. It can take some time for this concept to kick in and the first walks may feel like they take forever, but it gets better the more we practice. Twice a day walks or at a minimum one daily walk provide the opportunity to keep this concept fresh in the dog's mind, as if we walk only every now and then, the dog may be too energetic and over threshold to listen. 

Based on your situation, here are a few extra tips that come to mind:

-Drain excess energy. If you can find a compatible play companion ( like another puppy that has completed vaccines) that will help burn off some of the physical energy, and can help make the walk easier and nicer.  Alternatively, if you have a fenced yard or somewhere else to play, try burning off some of that energy before you go for your walk. A walk may not be enough exercise for a young hunting breed, and it can be frustrating for a hyper pup to move at a slower human pace when all they want to do is  explore and run.

-Use sniffing as a reward for polite leash walking. We often think of treats as a way to reward a dog who walks nicely next to us, but for some outdoorsy breeds, being allowed to sniff and explore can be equally reinforcing or even a higher reinforcer. You can use a long line for sending him to sniff. A long line is a longer leash that a regular leash and it's often sold in horse tack stores or online as dog recall training leashes. If you use a  15 foot leash you can send him to sniff which gives some distance and still a loose leash. 

-Mix things up. Asking a young pup with a short attention span to heel for 20 minutes straight can be challenging. You can add some variety on walks to keep your pup's interest alive. For instance, you can do some polite walking for 20 steps, then you can reward that by giving your pup permission to sniff, then you can do some more steps of polite walking using high-value treats to reward heel position, then you can ask some hand targets https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/, then a little more walking reinforced with sniffing, then you can do some walking with some added turns, then you can drop some kibble on the ground and let her "go find!" in a treasure hunt-style https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/and then you can offer a higher-value treat or toy (kept in your pocket) when he comes to you and chooses to walk by your side. 

- Use a short leash for polite leash walking and a long line for sniffing strolls. Your pup can learn over time what to do with different lengths of leashes just as service dogs learn it's time to work when they wear their working harness. To help your puppy succeed, you may find it helpful to do more polite leash walking really close to your house where your pup is more familiar with the area or at the end of the walk when your pup is more tired. 

-Reward voluntary check-ins. When using the long line, make sure to always praise and reward your puppy for checking- in with you (comes to you or looks back at you). With time, your puppy may learn to do this more and more often. At some point, after your puppy starts offering real attention rather than just an occasional glance, you can then start using sniffing as reinforcement for polite leash walking. 

-Practice off- leash. When at home or in a securely fenced yard, practice training your pup to stick to your side. Polite leash walking really has little to do with a leash (the leash is there just for safety and to obey leash laws) it's all about creating a strong bond and a strongly reinforced habit.  You are basically mostly reinforcing position and moving with you despite tempting distractions.

Work gradually under distractions. Remember that you are working under strong distractions with a breed blessed with ingrained chasing instincts, so you're looking more at an advanced form of training. This takes time and lots of practice. You need to start indoors, then in the yard and then gradually increase distractions on walks. 

Create set-ups. One of my favorite training methods for hunting breeds is to practice leave its https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ with fake birds (you can find these online) and have helpers that drag around such stuffed animals tied to a long string in tall grass. I also have helpers also toss rocks (without the dog seeing) in tall grass on an opposite field and practice with that while the dog is on a long line. Soon, the dog realizes that the sounds of grass being moved by the tossed rocks doesn't produce prey and learns to attend less to it and pay more attention to the treats I have. 

-Try the smacking sound. With some challenging hunting dogs, I find that more than verbal cues (like saying leave it) they may respond more readily to sounds. I have therefore had more success with these guys by making a smacking sound and then delivering a treat to reinforce paying attention to me/looking at me. I start training this in areas with little distractions like a fenced yard and then gradually increase the level of distractions. Rep after rep, the goal is to have a dog who learns to look at you by default anytime your dog hears a sound/catches a smell. Here is how to train the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

-Use a flirt pole. Practicing leave its and drop its with a flirt pole can also turn helpful. This is a good impulse control exercise. 

-Reward with high-value foods. Very important is to use very high value rewards for choosing to leave it or walk nicely on a loose leash. These rewards need to surpass the adrenaline associated with the fun of the chase.  I like to feed several treats in a row (I use the super duper high value foods like strips of baked liver) to leave a strong impact. However, in some dogs bred for hunting, the drive/instinct to hunt is so strong that they can care less even if you dangle a slice of liverwurst in their face. Their eyes are sort of glazed over, and they look as if they're in a trance. It's important to catch them before they get to this state and are still under threshold.

-Don't forget about scent. Hunting dogs are blessed with strong noses so you may want too practice with scent too. Find some feathers, you can practice with those (since they retain some odor) by creating set-ups. You can have a helper on walks place them in a bushy area (prior to you walking by), and you can practice walking by that area and doing leave its initially at a distance from the bush (always with the leash) using super value treats to reinforce good choices. Another idea that comes to mind, if you spot on walks an area where there are often birds, and you see them fly away, you can practice walking by this area since there will be some residual scent. 

-Walk at a distance from distractions. If your puppy pulls towards other dogs in their yards, walk him on the opposite side. If your puppy wants to sniff the grass on people's lawns walk farther away from them. Distance can help your puppy be less distracted.

-Be aware of behavior chains. Sometimes, with some smart dogs, we may get stuck with them walking in a yo-yo fashion. They'll be pulling, then they come to us for a treat, then forge ahead and pull, then come get a treat etc. This a behavior chain that requires some skill to stop. I work on this with providing frequent feedback.

If your dog does this, the moment he pulls ahead, you can use a slowing down option to put in the middle of the two behaviors (heeling next to you and pulling).  In other words, right after your dog has eaten the treat after several steps of heeling, start slowing down and then stop in your tracks the moment he reaches the end of the leash.

Imagine being a tree, where as your dog starts pulling, you start getting heavier, slowing down and then you stop in your tracks, put roots and "become a tree."  You want to anticipate your dog in this. If you do this enough times, your dog will come to learn that "When I start to pull, my owner slows down, when I reach the end of the leash my owner stops, when I don't pull my owner keeps walking and I even get tasty treats! Pulling or trying to pull is not good if I want to keep walking!"

You can even issue a warning that you are about to slow down by saying a split second prior to slowing down something like "slow down" and then "oops!" (or anything else) once you put roots and stop walking. This pre- warning will help your dog succeed as he will learn to adjust his pace to yours upon hearing you pronounce that, while the "oops" works to get your dog's attention and understand what is happening.

So once your dog understands, that, when he forges ahead and pulls, you slow down and stop, you'll notice more occasions of him walking next to you which you can promptly reward so he learns it's great to stick nearby.  With small dogs, once they grasp they concept, we can even drop treats to the ground next to us to reward them rather than feeding them right next to our knee. 

-For dogs pulling due to anxiety.  These dogs may require behavior modification prior to starting formal training. In other words, they need to be exposed to triggers in a systematic, controlled manner through desensitization, and creating positive associations with triggers through counterconditioning.

More on these here: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

The dog's behavior on leash needs to be therefore carefully assessed to compile a list of triggers. Calming aids may be needed with some particularly anxious dogs. 

-Use a harness rather than a collar. You may find a front-clip harness (Perfect fit harness, Balance harness) better for training your pup to walk nicely. This puts the leash in a more frontal position and when your pup pulls it somewhat turns him your way and redirects him to your side.

-Watch what you do with your arm. Keep your arm in a natural down position when walking your pup. If you stretch your arm forward when your pup pulls, you are reinforcing the pulling by giving more leash as you extend the arm. If pulling therefore makes your arm move forward and your dog gains just a few inches this way, granted he'll keep pulling to gain that. With some owners, I tell them to keep their hand holding the leash in their pocket to fight this ingrained habit.

- Set him for success. Try setting your pup as much as possible for success by walking him more in the areas where he seems less over threshold before moving to places with more distractions and draining his energy prior so to minimize rehearsal of the pulling behavior. 

-Provide outlets for natural behaviors. Brain games, foraging opportunities, treasure hunts, flirt pole games, nosework can help provide outlets for natural behaviors. 

Hope this helps! Things get better though as the pup matures, bonds with us more and the outdoor world becomes more ho-hum so to say-as long as we stay consistent by not reinforcing the pulling with our forward movement. 

Hope this helps!  Keep me posted on how things go.

Best,

Adrienne