Beginning leash training 9 week puppy

[REBECCA SEGREST]

Does Brain Training cover leash training with young puppies? I am new with this program and haven't been able to find this subject in the material.

Thanks!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums, 

Congrats on your new puppy! With a puppy so young, you will need to take baby steps considering their short attention span. You will therefore need to acclimate your puppy to the collar/harness (usually good breeders start this, but when in doubt, it's OK to start from basics) and then the leash in small increments and then teaching your puppy to "give-in" to leash pressure. 

This acclimatation process is covered here under the section "Habituating Puppies to Training Tools"

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/

Afterward, you can start doing some heeling exercises, starting in a quiet area of the home and making it fun. You can start in a hallway even without a leash initially and carrying tasty treats to reward your puppy for walking next to you. Once this becomes fluent, you can add the leash so that puppy already knows what to do.  

Here is the section of teaching heeling:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

With your pup's young age, do a little at a time and stop before there are chances for negative emotions such as boredom or tiring or frustration setting in. 

Some pups can learn to do one or two steps of attention heeling too as long as it's fun and rewarding. You can keep the attention by talking to your puppy with a treat held up at eye level. However, it's important not to over do it and ask too much. 

For walks outdoors, please consult with your vet for when you can have the green light, based on your location and your pup's vaccination status due to infectious disease concerns. 

Happy training!