Accustoming your dog to the leash is the first step toward other training types you may want to conduct with your Staffy
Teaching your dog to safe-walk, not to pull forwards or backwards, not to get in way, not to burst forth etc., doesn’t mean that you will have to play the “smothering” games and find yourself being a criminal and a sadist.
- a short leash or a loop;
- a short wire, knit ribbon (or other soft thing to replace a collar);
When Staffy pups start running actively around and play with other dogs, you should put a harness of crossed soft leather stripes (or of cloth) on them and attach a short leash (rotating it with a long one).
Staffy harness:
- doesn’t damage the puppy’s physiology, even when you (or it) pull the leash;
- will feel better for the puppy than a choking collar on its neck;
- will make the control over your puppy easier, will require less effort.
The leash shouldn’t be too heavy for the puppy. As soon as the Staffy pup has got used to the leash, rotate the harness with the collar.
Take a knit ribbon or some other soft but thick material (it must be firm too and have a reliable buckle) and make a collar of it (or you can buy something alike in pet shops). First put on the collar together with the harness. Then rotate the harness and the collar. After that only the improvise collar should remain.
A Grown-up Staffy Wearing a Harness
1. At first, your puppy is going to pull forward, bite the leash and pull on it. Nevertheless, you are not the “bad guy” here, your puppy is learning to behave under control, accept your leadership and have a collar on its neck. So be patient, no matter how intensive the pup pulls, don’t twitch abruptly. Stop, tell the pup it’s not allowed, shorten the leash — let the pup know, what you want from him, in particular to walk next to you. Repeat it several times until the dog understands, what it is to do.
2. The right position of the collar for Staffordshire bull terrier is a key issue. Walking your dog at ANY time during trainings, check whether the collar is placed right under the dog’s chin or close to the hinder part of its ears. It mustn’t slip down onto the middle or bottom of the neck, so you lose the advantage of the lever and control over your dog correspondently. You don’t have to tighten the Staff bull collar too much, especially in the beginning, but make sure it doesn’t slip over the ears, when the dog pulls on the leash. If the collar is put on right, you only have to make little effort to gain your dog under control.
3. Don’t forget to choose the right leash length. If you walk down the street to the place you want to walk your dog at, you will need a short leash. If you walk your dog in a dangerous place, where you know you better shouldn’t unleash it, you will be in need of a long leash (puppies usually have much energy, they need to constantly run in circles, with the leash or without it). And by the way, you will need the skill of quickly gathering and letting go of the leash. So it’s not the dog alone, who needs some training. You have to rotate short and long leashes during training, depending on the exercises do do: for discipline or patience — the short leash, to teach the dog to trust its owner, to teach it obedience, to train its attention — the long one. The regular leash will be needed later, when the dog can walk calmly next to the owner. Walking your Staffy on a long leash, use the encouragement methods: after letting the puppy go on a long distance, call it. If it approaches you, give the puppy some dainty.If it doesn’t approach you voluntarily, pull the dog, even if you will have to overcome the its resistance. Then give something tasty. Don’t let the puppy go back or aside and don’t give it the dainty until it approaches you. Don’t overdo it with food, mind the feeding value and the quantity during the trainings.
4. As you advance during trainings, walk your dog around the house and attach the leash to your belt. This is going to help draw the puppy’s attention to you as a trainer and teach it to await another instruction form you before it does something.
Another advantage of this procedure is that it makes the taming process easier as the dog is always in sight and you will know in advance, where it wants to go. Always encourage your puppy for letting you know, where it wants to go, without pulling stubbornly on the leash.
5. As you establish trust-based relations between you and your puppy, start walking it in spontaneous directions to make your dog pay even more attention to you anytime and anywhere, when it walks on the leash.
6. Use short and abrupt pulls of the leash, when, after all those trainings, your grow-up puppy distracts and misbehaves. Articulate calmly and strictly something like “No” or “Hush-hush” (the latter is better understood by the dog then the simple “No”).
Don’t let the puppy go back or aside and don’t give it the dainty until it approaches you. Don’t overdo it with food, so mind the feeding value and the quantity during the trainings.
7. As you advance during trainings, walk your dog around the house and attach the leash to your belt. This is going to help draw the puppy’s attention to you as a trainer and teach it to await another instruction form you before it does something.
Another advantage of this procedure is that it makes the taming process easier as the dog is always in sight and you will know in advance, where your dog wants to go. Always encourage your puppy for letting you know, where it wants to go, without pulling stubbornly on the leash.
8. As you establish trust-based relations between you and your puppy, start walking it in spontaneous directions to make your dog pay even more attention to you anytime and anywhere, when it walks on the leash.
9. Use short and abrupt pulls of the leash, when, after all those trainings, your grow-up puppy distracts and misbehaves. Articulate calmly and strictly something like “No” or “Hush-hush” (the latter is better understood by the dog then the simple “No”).
