A leash is going to be anintegral part of almost every dog and dog owners life. A dog will spendcountless hours on the end of a leash and this time should be a happy, positivetime for both the dog and the walker to be together. The goal of this articleis to teach every dog owner how to make leash walking a pleasure.

Dog leash training is also one ofthe most basic parts of dog training. What is the best time to start dog leashtraining? The training of a puppy should start when your puppy is about 6-7weeks old. The best and the fastest way to get good results is tousle thepositive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement in dog leash training meansevery time your puppy performs well, you should praise lavishly and you cangive your dog a small treat. The positive reinforcement method works muchbetter than any other method available for training dogs. You will need to take your dog for a walk ona leash once or twice a day so it gets the required exercise and it can relieveitself outside, unless you live on a ranch of course, and your dog can walk byhimself whenever he wants.

The first command you may want to teach your dog is “Heeling”. Beforeyou start, you are going to need your leash and some treats or some other kindof reward. Your dog should know how to “sit”, “stay”,”look” and the “come in” command before you begin training”heel”.

Heeling is a more formaltechnique of walking a dog on a leash. The dog is expected to sit quietly onthe left side of the handler. The moment that the walker moves the dog shouldrespond. The dog should be right at the owner’s side at all times. If the dogis large enough the owner should be able to touch the dogs head at any moment.The owner should be able to change direction or speed and the dog is expectedto keep pace and remain right with the handler. The moment the handler stopsmoving the dog is expected to sit. The command is not complete until the doghas done the “sit” and the walker gives a release command.

You can use a nylon lead for thefirst time which is light and yet strong enough, or a choker collar would begood to keep the dog from pulling on the lead, though the best would be gentle tuggingwith a stern command. As mentionedbefore, the best way for your dog leash training is the positive reinforcementmethod. You walk in front of the dog and call it to you. When it comes, yougive it a treat and praise it. Keep repeating this process while graduallyincreasing the distance you have the dog walk with you, along with you. Everytime it does it without pulling or staying behind you reward it. It will surelytake time and patience, but it will be fun for you and the dog.