How do you get a puppy to walk without her siblings

by Sandra
(New Zealand)

We have a 13 week old beagle pup. She has been with us for a month. We have 2 older beagles She has settled in well with the other dogs and is now part of the pack.

She walks beautifully on a leash along side or behind the other dogs, but will not walk ahead of them or if I try to take her for a walk on her own.

She just digs in her toes and won't budge. I have even used snacks as an incentive. How can I get her to walk on the leash on her own?

Sandra





Hi Sandra
Leash training a puppy is often a little bit of a challenge and many puppies fight the leash to begin with.

Your little girl has some great examples to follow in her older siblings and that is helping, but it's pretty natural for her to be a bit difficult about walking by herself. She likely feels safer behind her older siblings too and is literally 'following their lead'.

Of course, she needs to learn to walk with you by herself and also not always behind the other two, but this will take time and patience to achieve.

Using treats and a happy upbeat voice/attitude are the best ways to encourage her to follow you, but you'll probably have to make several attempts and be patient with this.

Another trick that often works with a stubborn puppy who refuses to move is to use a long leash, and when the puppy stops you back up a bit (this is where the long leash comes in) and then jog past her calling her name happily and waving a treat. Most puppies will be triggered into moving by your faster movement and will run after you. You then slow down a little and give her a treat but keep your movement/momentum going, with little pieces of treats as rewards for her continued participation!

Just jogging rather than walking can make all the difference.

Enrolling your pup in a basic puppy obedience class is also a good idea at this age and it will help you learn how to deal with problems like this.

She's still very young and is probably a bit unsure of herself, the more often she takes walks and follows her siblings the more confident she will get and sooner or later she'll be walking quite happily all by herself.