Walking politely on a leash — without pulling — is something that needs to be taught; dogs do not come equipped with that skill.
Puppyhood is a great time to teach leash manners because they cannot and should not go on significant leash walks anyway — they are best exercised with free play in the house and/or a fenced yard.
Lupine
THIS is a brief article on leash training from the AKC. The basic idea is that we do not move if there is pulling, and we reinforce what we want to see more of from the puppy (i.e., loose leash).
The Wildflowers will start their leash training soon but it will be some time for those leash manners to be solid — teaching a puppy to walk on a leash without pulling takes dedication and time.
Mariposa
Collar vs. Harness. This is another subject that can be complicated by strong opinions.
Let’s start with collars. If a strong dog pulls, collars have the potential to damage things in the area of the neck. Collars can slip off and they represent a strangle risk.
Harnesses can also slip off, can cause chest damage in a strong puller, and some harnesses impede the natural shoulder movement of a dog, which is particularly not desired in a puppy.
Clarkia
What to do??!
Teach leash manners — that is my solution. A collar or appropriate harness will not hurt a dog or puppy with good leash manners.
Pop Quiz for Clara and Elena — who are these three puppies?
Truth — I prefer collars, and especially martingale collars that are less likely to slip off. ETSY has many shops that make martingale collars in fun patterns.
I worry about harnesses impeding shoulder movement and so an acceptable harness is one in which the chest strap goes between the front legs — not across the chest. THIS is a good option and especially for baby puppies — thanks to Lori for the suggestion :)
Important and somewhat mind blowing: Dogs should not wear their collars (or harnesses) except when they are going someplace and/or being trained.
Collars get caught on fences and other things, and dogs are hanged. True story.
Dogs can and do get their jaws caught on a playmate’s collar. This happened to me and it was absolutely terrifying — had I not been right there and Galen close by, Halo would have strangled to death. That was it for routine wearing of collars at our house.
Dogs should not be running loose but in case of a loose dog disaster, they can be microchipped for easy identification and so collars are not necessary for that purpose.
I do have ID on the dogs’ collars for safety when we are out and about — I have collars that are embroidered with phone numbers and others have tags that say: REWARD and two phone numbers. I have a lot of collars!
Breakfast this morning (besides ongoing nursing) was quinoa/butternut squash/goat’s milk/sardines.
Mallow
As they finish their breakfast, they move to the living room play area…
Soon we will all head outside to the new outdoor area…
Two more x-pens are on their way from Amazon to support the expansion of the outside area. In addition to a lot of collars, I have a lot of x-pens — they are handy!
I do not leave the puppies outside alone and so all of us hang out there. I work while they play, and when it gets too warm, we will head inside again.
I get a lot of steps moving puppies around all day — and they get a variety of experiences, which is so good for them.
I hope your day is filled with a variety of fun experiences!
EVENING: PHOTOS AND REPORT FROM THE DAY
The Splash Pad continues to be a hit — this is Sage and Clarkia…
Paintbrush got brave and stepped in — he is getting ready for the wading pool, which is coming up soon.
Clarkia…
It is really cute to watch them drink from the streams — this is Mariposa…
Buttercup…
Lupine…
Something new today — a ramp that has a rough surface..
The long tunnel is no problem for the puppies — this is Lupine…
After playing for a bit, they all sacked out and rePete kept an eye on things…
While we were outside, all the puppies had at least one session of stacking practice on the grooming table — I introduced a tiny bit of string cheese to stacking practice today and that was new. Everyone had their nails dremeled — that continues to be easy peasy for the puppies. Claire and Sparkle both needed baths and so I did that — including blow drying — right next to the puppy area so as to expose the Wildflowers to the noise of the dryer.
Clarkia
After a few hours we all moved back to the living room where it was cooler. This is Sage…
Daisy with Larkspur on one side and — I think — Sage on the other side.
A take-down of Clover by Sage…
Karma stopped in to say hello…
They are napping now and will have one more wake-up-and-nurse-and-then-play session before heading back to their bedroom (aka the dining room) for the night.
Another successful and fun day for the Wildflowers.
Good Night, Friends!