Leash Walking New Puppy

[AngelBell]

Hi all! I have posted on this forum before a few weeks ago about my new puppy. Her nipping has actually gotten better as I have bought her a new toy that she just adores! I am also training her and I think she knows to sit...laying down is a problem though, she gets all excited and jumps up and down instead. Another problem is leash walking. I have read some of the articles on loose leash walking but I cannot seem to use it on my puppy because she tends to bite her collar as well as her leash. I tried bringing her out to the yard to walk around but she tried to eat anything in sight (plants, sticks, leaves). I think I need some advice on how to start leash walking. Also very recent she has started to chew on her pee pads and push her food bowl around (I do not think that she is hungry because I feed her and she still does it). Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

[emmabeth]

Ditch the pee pads and take her outside to potty - this is one of many issues you will get with using pee pads, the main one being that it teaches your dog its ok to go in the house when in a few months time you will NOT want her to do that.

All puppies mess about on the lead at first adn trundle around sniffing things and eating sticks and leaves - do you allow her out back to explore and play becuase if not the first time you go ut there it is goign to be wayyyyyyy too distracting for training. When shes used to out there, and its all old news then try training out there. If she cant go out there off leash because it isnt secure then you are going to have to take her out, frequently and wander around ith her on the lead - you wont get her to walk to heel just yet or really pay attention to you because its too exciting, so don't waste your time, just wander around with her and try not to ever let the lead go tight (so you dont inadvertantly teach her to pull ont eh leash).

[AngelBell]

I was taking her out so she would learn to use the potty outside but she did not go. I did not try any other training outside (as she was, like you said, very excited) and I did let her wander around but she kept trying to eat everything (and swallowed some plants several times) so I started to freak out a little. I understand it does take some time to leash train a puppy, is there any specific type of leash you would recommend to start with?

[Chance1214]

can i ask what types of pup you have? how big etc?
my pup was the same exact way! but we did what emmabeth said she is right on the money!!! all pups are gunna ingest some of that stuff and chew on sticks my dog still loves that shell try to bring the biggest stick back w. him from walks! but when he was a little pup we would bring him to the back yard in betwen little walks to just run around and play he would love it just explore yea nibble on things sometimes but mainly smelling everything exploring and interacting with me and i wuld leave the leash on him and let him run around loose he was only about 6 lbs very chubby so couldnt go very fast thats why; i ask the size and all of your pup right now ... he would end up going to the potty outside when he was exploring though as well as your little girl may too if you play outside more often! as well as get used to the sounds in your neighborhood, it made it easier for my guy to walk on the street and not be scared of the cars or trucks on my street whizzing by (they tend to enjoy speeding these days ) and other dogs barking in the neighborhood which is great for young pups! as well as playing with there leash! i would definetely start there!! and i hear you with the laying down it took a bit with my pup too you just have to be persistent she will get there!! you got her to sit already correct??

[AngelBell]

She is a toy poodle mix, almost 3 months old, and about 4-5 lbs right now (she moves very quickly though!). I use a soft nylon leash with her right now (is there a better leash I should be using?). I will definitely try to take her out more and hopefully she will use the bathroom out there (as she has not yet). I definitely agree with that, sometimes I try to carry her out to the street (she is not allowed on the sidewalk because she is not fully vaccinated) so she gets used to the neighborhood. Laying down is still pretty hard but she has gotten the hang of sitting

Also, she has a rubber chew toy that she has finally chewed a part off and I think she ate a little bit of it. Is this harmful to her? I wanted to get her a kong toy (because she tends to eat her food very quickly and I think she might enjoy it). But I am not sure if she is old enough yet.

Thanks for the advice! Your dog sounds adorable!

[Chance1214]

i dont have professional experience, only personal experience but from what ive read and all nylon is fine i had the same when my pup was small, he grew fast though so now rope for weather etc .... he wasnt allowed on the streets as well bc of vaccinations either so i get that i would continue to play with her outside a lot i think she will pick up scents and go potty outside, i dont know how much property you have but walk with her close to you, shell want to be close i'm sure, around the property a bit let her explore... i have a large property bc lots of woods so many smells!
dont worry about the rubber thing just throw it out now that you know she can take that one apart apparently her little teeth are developing!!
they make a puppy kong actually! they are pink/blue to show the difference and made specifically for puppies teeth at that age and their developmnt. i would check online, iknow petco and petsmart sell them online...

just be consistent with the laying and sit poodles are so smart! keep the training sessions short to keep her attention.. shell catch on very quickly especially when using her favorite treats
she sounds wonderful

[Nettle]

Get rid of the rubber toy as you don't want her to swallow any pieces.

Yes a kong is great at her age - get two so you have one in the freezer and one with the dog.

[AngelBell]

I am continuing to take her outside. She loves it; she gets all excited and runs around (pulling me with her usually). She still has not used the bathroom outside yet though, she just runs around and when she stops she just tries to eat everything I am planning to get her a Kong soon. Thank you so much for the advice!

[Mattie]

If you have a look at viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1981 it will give you an idea of what stage your puppy is at as she grows up, it may help.

For toilet training her there is viewtopic.php?f=20&t=6125 at her age I would be taking her out every 30 to 45 minutes.

Clicker training may help as well, viewtopic.php?f=20&t=513

She is like all babies, exploring with her mouth, even human babies do this, with humans we can also exploy with our hands, a puppy can't, they only have their mouths so she will keep exploring with her mouth, as long as what she is exploring isn't poisonous it won't hurt her. Just look at what our babies and toddlers will eat if given the chance, worms, slugs, etc and don't come to harm.

[AngelBell]

Thanks for the links! They are really informative. As she is now approaching 12 weeks, She is entering the stage of cutting teeth? Do puppies get their teeth cut? Also for toilet training, I was told by the vet that she should not be on the ground because she is not fully vaccinated, but I read the post and discovered she is kind of allowed on the ground? I am somewhat confused on how to make sure it is safe for her. She does try to eat everything, including some stuffing from her toy today. I am trying to teach her to recall but it is not super successful. Are there any good articles on recall, I have not been able to find many good ones, maybe I am not looking in the right place.

[Nettle]

Dogs, like us and all other mammals, have milk teeth and adult teeth. Round about now yours will start to lose her baby teeth and grow her adult teeth (cutting teeth is the name for that). During this time her mouth will be sore and she will need to chewchewchewchew. So give her lots of safe things to chew such as big cardboard boxes (no staples) the cardboard insides of kitchen and lavatory rolls, Kongs stuffed and frozen, rope toys soaked and frozen, deer antler, and raw meaty bones if you are inclined.

There is a secondary chewing stage at eight months which is setting in the aduklt teeth and even more destructive than the baby teeth time, and again you need to provide lots of safe things to chew. And always put things you don't want chewed out of harm's way.

[AngelBell]

Oh ok I did not know that! I have some chew toys for her now, but I'll probably get her some other things as well. Thank you so much for the advice!