Before you can begin formal obedience training you’ll have to give your puppy a few weeks to get comfortable with his new family. Nonetheless, you can do a few things right away. And since all of his formal obedience training will utilize leashes and dog collars, his pre-school training should include familiarization with them as well. Initially, the puppy should be fitted with a comfortable leather or nylon collar (although not yet a training collar).

You must be sure that the collar fits properly. Most likely, your new dog will immediately begin trying to get the collar off. If it’s too loose the puppy will be able to slip his lower jaw underneath the collar. In this case he may panic; and even if he remained calm, he could chew the collar in two.

By the end of day one with the collar, he will have adjusted to the device and it will no longer attract his attention. Now you can then attach a light leash to the collar and allow him to drag the leash around for a bit to get used to it. Ideally this will be done indoors and under your supervision. By exposing the puppy to a leash and collar in this systematic way, he will not have any negative associations with these things.

Be sure to keep in mind that you are working with the mind of a living creature. You are molding his mind as if from clay and therefore must always exercise care and loving understanding. We mention this here because abruptly affixing a slip-chain training collar and leather leash to an eight-week-old puppy cannot possibly accomplish anything, except to create a very negative experience for him, which will only come back to haunt you down the road.

The Dog Should Walk You

Once your puppy is accustomed to having the collar on and has a little time romping around the house with the leash attached, take him outdoors, a few hundred feet or so away from the house. With the leash still attached, put the puppy down.

Now let him lead you around wherever he wants to go (within reason). Just let your dog explore for ten minutes or so while you hold onto the leash. And once this time is up, take him back to the house and remove the leash. Fortunately your dog will probably have dragged you back in that direction, since a puppy’s instinct is to head towards home.

Rule Number One: Never Drag your Puppy.

Please note that we’ve introduced using dog collars and dog leashes without a single mention of dragging or pulling your puppy. Sure you allowed him to drag you on the leash for a day or two, but we can’t emphasize enough that he should not be dragged by the leash.

After three or four excursions in which the puppy is taken away from the house in your arms– with the leash affixed and the puppy allowed to walk at his discretion (with you holding the end of the leash) your dog will begin to recognize the leash and will start heading out the door when he sees it.

Let him lead you around. Let him lead you around while you hold onto the other end of the leash. By the end of the first week of his association with his new equipment, he will then begin to make the association of the new leash with an element of control.

Regular outings on the leash are part of your puppy's “preschool”. Human contact and socialization in the outside world are principle elements of this training. Once he sees big trees, hears noises from power motors and passing automobiles, and is perhaps admired by an occasional passerby, he’ll be used to them for later on in life.

Preschool Puppy Training (Part 2)