Lead training: the ultimate guide on how to walk your puppy

Training your puppy to walk on a lead is a vital part of their education. But it can take some puppies a while to get used to this new experience.

But don’t worry: you can do it.

In this article, we share tips and a training plan from experts to help pet parents like you.

Key takeaways

• The best way to train a puppy to walk on a lead is to start indoors, reward them for staying close to you, gradually introduce a lead and harness, and slowly build up to outdoor walks once they're fully vaccinated.

• Start training at home before a puppy is ready to go outside, and choose a lead, collar or harness that isn’t too heavy.

• Give your dog space to explore on a long lead.

• Reward your pup while heel training and plan walks based on your dog’s physical ability.

Why is lead training your puppy important?

Walking your puppy on a lead is about much more than exercise; a lead is a way to build a puppy’s confidence and strengthen their bond with you.

The effective use of a lead communicates to a puppy that they don’t need to worry about who’s in charge and, in turn, that they don’t need to become anxious or aggressive when they’re outside.

Beyond the positive psychological benefits for your puppy, a lead will help keep them safe, and will allow you to take them to lots of new places that broaden their horizons.

In short, the lead makes walks more fun for everyone!

What age should you start lead training a puppy?

You can start training a puppy to walk on a lead indoors as early as eight weeks old. Stick to walking your puppy in your home or garden until they’re fully vaccinated.

Teaching your puppy to walk will be in two key stages:

Indoor preparation (8-10 weeks)

• Start positive reinforcement: Use treats and praise when your puppy is near or wearing their collar or lead.

• Get them used to the gear: You can get your puppy used to things like collars and harnesses inside ahead of time.

• Practice short, easy steps: Keep things short; things should stay interesting and fun for your pup.

Outdoor training (when your vet says it's safe to do so)

• Keep things brief: Don’t put too much pressure on your pup early on; five or so minutes is fine.

• Stay in safe, quiet areas: Avoid loud, busy areas. Start in your garden or on quiet paths.

• Don’t force things: Avoid punishment-based training methods, which will create anxiety, and focus on positive reinforcement instead.

Socialisation with new people and environments is really important for young puppies, so if you practice at home first, you’ll be ready to head out and about once they’re fully vaccinated.

“Avoid areas with lots of dogs and don’t overwhelm your puppy,” says Louise Feaheny ofDoctor Loulittle Dog Training. Onceyour puppy's vaccinated, you can start walking on streets and visiting areas like dog parks.”

“The earlier you start lead training your dog, the better,” says Jennifer Gardner, owner and chief dog walker atPlatinum Paws Pet Services LLC.

“Regular dog walks are about more than just basic exercise, and it’s also critical for your dog’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing” says Alison Schramel, certified professional dog trainer and animal behaviour and training supervisor for theAnimal Humane Society.

Puppyhood is also the best time to start teaching your dog to walk on a lead and commands around walking.

Schramel notes that basics like “sit” and “stay” are especially useful for waiting at crossings or stopping to talk to a passerby during walks.

Remember: only take your puppy outside a week or two after they’ve finished their full vaccination schedule. Follow your vet’s advice here.

Teaching a puppy to walk by age

How to train your puppy to walk on a lead

Follow Louise’s step-by-step training plan below to start your puppy walking on a lead.

Before each training session, Louise recommends making sure your puppy isn’t tired or hungry. If they get a burst of the zoomies, wait until they’re calm and then begin.

Step one

Before you even start using a lead, you can start training your puppy to become accustomed to walking by your side. Make sure you’re in a quiet environment with few distractions. Your own living room is an ideal location.

As you walk around, watch for when your puppy is walking beside your leg. Even if it’s just for one or two steps, give them plenty of praise and some high-value training treats.

Step two

Continue this process until your puppy can stay at your side for longer periods. Keep giving them treats and praise when they get things right.

Louise suggests “thinking of the side of your leg as a treat dispenser. If you're consistent and the treats always come from the same place, your puppy will start to hang out there, in the hope that one appears!”

Step three

Now it’s time to add your lead. Ideally, this should be connected to a harness rather than to their collar, to protect your puppy’s neck. Use a lightweight lead and start by just asking your puppy to follow you around the house as they were before.

Allow the lead to trail behind them but make sure it can’t get caught on anything and never leave your puppy unattended with their harness and lead on. After a few sessions like this, you can pick up the lead and hold it lightly in your hand.

Step four

Once your puppy is staying consistently by your side wearing their harness and lead inside the house, it’s time to move outside.

Start in your garden or a quiet (ideally fenced) public place. You can then slowly start introducing new places, like quiet streets, before moving onto busier places.

By increasing the distractions gradually, you’ll be setting your puppy up for success.

What do I need to walk my puppy?

There are a few essentials for lead training:

• The lead: Find something comfortable and durable, and long enough to let your puppy walk comfortably - start with at least two metres (six feet). Make sure you can gather it up or wrap it around your hand easily for when you want to keep your puppy close by though. Retractable leads offer less control, so may not be ideal when walking near traffic.
  

• Collar and harness: You’ll need a collar to attach your lead safely to your puppy - so make sure it’s the right size! A collar and ID tag is also a legal requirement when walking your dog in public. For extra control and safety, you might consider getting a harness.
  

• Treats: When you’re training, treats are the perfect way to reward good behaviour.
  

• Obstacles and barriers: Putting down obstacles and barriers in your home or garden is a good way to get your puppy used to navigating while they’re on their lead.

Introducing the lead and collar

If you’re training a puppy, this is something you can do while waiting for their vaccinations to kick in.

The first step is to just keep both the lead and the collar around the house so your puppy can sniff them and get used to seeing them. Then gradually introduce the weight of it on them with the ID tag removed so the noise doesn’t startle them.

If they don’t initially take to it, don’t worry. Just keep trying little and often – and reward with a few carefully chosen treats!

Once your dog feels comfortable wearing both around the house, you can move on to the next stage.

How much should you walk your puppy?

“While your puppy’s body is developing, you need to be mindful of their growing bodies,” says Louise.

The growth plates on your puppy’s bones can take up to 18 months before they’re fully closed. During this time, avoid strenuous exercise, like long walks or activities like skidding and jumping.

Your vet will be able to advise you at what age your puppy is mature, and you can then gradually increase the length and intensity of their walks.

The often-quoted recommendation is that puppies should have a maximum of five minutes structured walking time each day, for every month of their age.

For example, by the time your puppy is three months old, you can walk them for 15 minutes, and by the time they’re four months old, you can walk them for 20 minutes. This may be split into two shorter sessions.

But this is a rough guide and not based on scientific evidence. The exact amounts a puppy needs can vary considerably depending on their breed and energy levels, so speak to your vet if you are unsure.

Collar vs harness: is a collar or harness better for a puppy?

Your puppy should wear a collar with ID tags at all times, but it’s best to clip their lead to a harness, not a collar.

“A collar puts all of the pressure on the neck when a dog pulls, [while] a harness evenly distributes the weight across their chests,” Gardner explains. “Plus, a collar can more easily slip off; a harness is more secure.”

A 2020 study published by the British Veterinary Association found that collars can exert pressure on the neck when your dog pulls, resulting in injuries. Researchers recommended using a harness instead.

Fortunately, if you start training your dog to walk with a harness during puppyhood, they’ll be comfortable wearing it for the rest of their life.

Picking the right collar, harness and lead

For a puppy, you should pick a collar or harness that’s lightweight so they can gradually adjust to the feel of it. But as your dog grows, you can move on to something weightier and more substantial to prevent them getting loose on walks.

The same principle applies for leads. “Pick something light for a puppy that’s getting used to walking for the first time,” dog behaviourist Adem Fehmi advises. “It should also be long, so they have lots of space to explore. You’ll also want a simple clip that goes on nice and easily.”

Training tips for puppy walking

When to treat your puppy

Louise recommends using a high rate of reinforcement as you train your puppy. Offer them a treat when they get it right.

“This will clearly communicate to the puppy what it is that we're looking for. As our puppy gets better with training, we can start to increase the number of steps between each treat,” Louise says. “You can also give them verbal praise to encourage them to stay with you.”

When to stop for a rest

What if your puppy stops and sits down? “They might need a rest, or things may be too overwhelming for them. Let them take it all in for a few minutes until they're ready to continue.”

“The most important thing to remember is that our lead is like a safety belt, not a steering wheel. We use it for safety, not to direct the dog. We want to teach our puppy to walk with us, not with the lead.”

How to stop a puppy from pulling on a lead

Lots of pet parents fret about how to stop dogs pulling on leads, so it’s worth dealing with the problem while they’re still puppies.

It’s important to remember that lead-pulling is natural and indicates that your puppy has lots of energy and wants to go faster.

Lead pulling typically happens when your puppy is out in front of you on the walk. Here are a few ways to stop that from happening:

• Be ready with treats to reward good behaviour and hand them out when your puppy chooses not to run ahead.

• Train in a quiet area where there are fewer distractions that could make your puppy want to run out ahead.

• Create a training routine where you take a few steps back from your puppy, and it calmly follows you. Treats can help in this exercise, too!

• Follow a routine walk around your neighbourhood for a while. If your puppy knows the route it’s less likely they’ll want to run ahead.

• Let your puppy tire itself out with play before the walk: less energy means less desire to run around.

How to stop lead biting

If your pup is biting on their lead while you walk, it’s a good idea to redirect them. Offer them a toy to hold during the walk, or let them know they’ll get a treat at some point later on.

It’s also a good idea, where possible, not to pull on the lead: pulling might give your pup the idea that you’re playing, and that you want them to pull back!

What about loose lead walking?

Or otherwise known as ‘heel training’. Again, it’s good to practise this inside with a new puppy first, so they have an idea of what to do when you’re out in public. But this is also great training for dogs of any age.

Hold the lead loosely in one hand at hip level, with a treat in your other hand. As you move off, give the command ‘heel’ while guiding your dog forward with the treat.

As they stay in the heel position, keep giving them treats, little and often. Over time you’ll be able to extend the time between treats and eventually replace them with praise alone.

Planning your walk

When planning your walk keep in mind your dog’s life stage and physical ability. For a puppy, you want to keep it short but fun, giving them plenty of room to explore.

The usual recommendation is that puppies should have a maximum of five minutes structured walking time each day, for every month of their age.

For example, by the time your puppy is three months old, you can walk them for 15 minutes, and by the time they’re four months old, you can walk them for 20 minutes.

For a dog in their prime, consider their breed and fitness levels. A fit and healthy dog will likely be up for a brisk walk or a jog with a few games thrown in. Off lead time can be great for refining your heel work too.

And for the older dog, or a dog with a medical condition, keep your walks short and gentle, making sure to give them frequent rest breaks. 

Keeping up with other training

Lead training is a fun and normal part of a puppy’s development, and means that they’re growing into happy, healthy dogs. If you’re currently working out how to lead train a puppy, it might also be worth starting toilet training and crate training.

On the other hand, if you’re not quite ready to leave home yet, there’s plenty of fun training basics you can try with your pup from the very first day.

Why won't my puppy walk on a lead?

There are numerous reasons for this. Usually, it’s one (or a mix) of anxiety, excitement or fear.

• Fear of the lead (or being constrained): A lead naturally limits your puppy’s movement, and when they aren’t used to that, it can spark fear. It’s why short, frequent training sessions are best - with plenty of positivity.

• Feeling overexcited or overwhelmed: Going for a walk is a new experience for puppies. Throw in some new noises, smells, and a weird thing called a harness, and they’re bound to feel a bit overstimulated.

• Incorrect gear: Collars and harnesses take a while to get used to anyway, but if they don’t fit well, it can cause agitation and discomfort.

• Fatigue: Mental or physical tiredness from too much training or training at the wrong time can cause a puppy to not want to walk on a lead.

Most common dog walking mistakes

To get the most out of your walks, avoid these common dog walking mistakes:

• Jerking up on the lead: Schramel cringes when she sees pet parents jerking on their dog’s lead. Not only could it cause injuries (especially if you’re walking your dog on a collar instead of a harness), but jerking the lead can confuse the dog. “They may not know what they’re doing wrong,” she adds. If there’s a behaviour that needs to be corrected, stop walking and give the dog a command (like “sit”) to break the undesirable behaviour. Then offer positive reinforcement when the dog obeys the new command and start walking again.

• Using a retractable lead: Retractable leads have been linked to a host of issues, including breakage that allowed dogs to get loose. Schramel also notes that the extra-long length means your dog is often too far ahead (or behind) for you to address lead reactivity or reward them for loose lead walking.

• Skipping walks: The biggest mistake you can make? Skipping out on walks with your dog. Without the physical and mental stimulation a walk provides, your dog could become bored and destructive, says Gardner. You may also miss out on important bonding benefits.

“Walking is a form of quality time that creates a stronger bond with your dog and gives you a chance to reinforce training and socialisation,” she says.

“Whether you go for a quick walk around the block or a long hike, it’s really important to walk your dog.”

Common lead-training problems

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FAQs

How long does it take to lead train a puppy?

Most puppies begin showing good progress within two to four weeks, although more confident loose lead walking can take longer depending on age, breed and consistency of training.

Can I walk my puppy before vaccinations?

Not in public; you can practice walking indoors or in your garden if it’s secure. Your puppy should only go outside in public a week or so after their vaccination schedule is finished (between 10 and 16 weeks old).

Always follow your vet’s guidance here.

Should puppies wear a harness all day?

No - you should only use one for walks. Remove the harness when your puppy is resting and playing at home.

How often should I practice lead training?

We’d recommend around two to three short sessions a day, which should keep your puppy interested and avoid frustration.