Dog training should be started in the earliest months of a dog's life
. Puppies are more easily trained than adult dogs. Leash training is the first basic skill puppies learn.
To begin, your dog should learn to wear the right sized collar. This means it should not be too large or small and should fit his or her neck.
When fitting your dog's collar, ensure there is a space of a thumb between the dog's neck and the collar. On the puppy's first day of wearing the collar, he or she will find it bothersome and likely try to remove it.
Patiently wait for your puppy to get acclimated to wearing the collar. After a few day and constant failures to remove it, the puppy will give up and grow accustomed to wearing it.
Next, choose a strong leash to attach to the collar so you can safely walk your puppy. A leash is a long rope attached to the collar that allows you to control your puppy.
Immediately begin training your dog to walk on a leash. It will attempt to run away at first when you let the puppy outside.
Help your dog learn how far it can go on the leash. This length should be long enough that the puppy is free to move about and walk comfortably.
Stop whenever your puppy pulls. You should not tolerate bad behavior from your puppy.
If you stop walking due to pulling, make your puppy come before you commence walking again. If the puppy once again pulls, stop and bring them near you again.
The puppy will get frustrated by stopping and will stop pulling. After a while, the puppy will learn it cannot walk too far away from you while attached to the leash.
Repeat this exercise over and over to help the puppy learn. You should be practicing leash training five minutes at a time initially.
Adult dogs are trained with the same method as puppies. However, they can be more difficult to train and so it is best to start practicing with your dog as soon as your bring it home.