|
A puppy should be wearing a collar on his first day at
his new home. This collar should have a small ID tag
attached to it. Lightweight, but strong, nylon collars
are good "first collar" choices for most dogs. As the
puppy grows, these can be replaced with thicker, heavier
collars. Large and oddly shaped novelty tags (like dog
bone tags) should be avoided on puppies.
At about 10 weeks of age, puppies are ready to be
introduced to a leash. Start the puppy off on a thin,
lightweight leash that's six feet long. A thicker
heavier leash is going to be uncomfortable and
distracting for a very young puppy, and will make him
slower to accept walking with you.
The six-foot length is long enough to give the puppy
freedom of movement, but short enough to allow you to
control your new pet. As the puppy grows, you can move
on to longer and thicker leashes.
When first walking a puppy on a leash, you should let
the pet set the pace and determine the direction of the
walk for a few minutes before bending down and calling
the dog. When the puppy responds, you should praise him,
then get up and move away calling the pet to follow with
a simple command like "walk." Doing this repeatedly in
brief sessions several times a day should teach the
puppy to walk with the owner on a leash. For more
details, purchase a training book or take your new pet
to puppy school.
All puppies should be started off on standard collars
and leashes. Slip collars and halter-type head collars
should not be used when a puppy is learning to walk on a
leash.
 |
