# Leash walking



## kclose (Apr 30, 2012)

So Woodford is about 13.5 weeks now, and he has really begun to love walking on the leash. He is such a good boy and sits by the back door when he wants to go out. But when we walk, all he wants to do after he does his business is eat EVERYTHING that is in site (flowers, sticks, bugs, ect.) I don't know how to make him stop and just walk. I know he is a puppy and wants to get into everything. But has anyone else had this problem or had to work through it? Do they grow out of it? We are teaching him to "leave it" inside the house with food/treats, and sometimes listens outside but for the most part, I have to pry his mouth open once I know there is something in it. Like I said, I know he is just a puppy, but I am hoping you all have some advice or will just tell me that he will grow out of it. haha.

Also, what sort of bedding does everyone use for their V's in their crates? We used towels, then we decided to buy him a mat. It was made by Kong and was simple, vinyl like and cushioned. He did so well with it in his crate for the past two weeks, then today I came home from work and he had flipped it over and eaten some of the stuffing and tore it apart. So now we are back to towels. He has NEVER had an accident in his crate, but I want to give him more comfort, but I guess he is not ready. What have you all done in your V's crates?

Thanks!


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Hi kclose!!

I'd say your pup sounds perfectly normal when I compare him to my little guy and others whom have written in. Otto used to put EVERYTHING in his mouth. Now (at 10 months) he walks by a lot of items he would have snagged in the past. I can read the signals now when he is about to pick something up and I tell him to "leave it". If I miss the opportunity to give him the command in time he mostly picks it up and drops it. I think it sounds like you are working on the right command (leave it) and also drop it helps. It will take some time before you will see better results with the distractions outside - but my advice would be to bring some yummy treats and as soon as he drops it, treat him - or if he does leave it when you tell him to, treat him.

Otto started off on a down blanket I had from college as well as quilts ... When he was 4-5 months we bought him a Kong bed. It's really comfortable (I lay on it with him sometimes when we take it out of the crate) and it fits in the crate like a glove. Maybe your boy is a little young for a bed or just try and get him good and tired before you leave him in the crate so he won't have the energy to chew it up. You might want to leave bully sticks, marrow bones, or safe toys that you can fill with treats to occupy his time and satisfy his need to chew while you are away.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Teach him two things. 1. Watch me. and 2. Leave it, as OttosMama suggested also. 

To teach watch, use a high value treat, place the treat in sight and sniffing distance. As you say the "watch" command, move the treat towards your face. The dog naturally follows the treat with it's eyes and once it makes visual contact, praise and reward. This command is useful for lots of things you will find as pup grows.

To teach "Leave it" follow a similar process as above. Use a high value treat, when pup goes to eat something, distract with the treat while making the command and reward with the treat when they do. soon they will associate the leave it command as a positive.


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

Hi *Kclose*

I have to say I felt the same when Elza was that young. She ate everything and put everything in her mouth. It took me a good 2 months to realise that this is just the way it is. We carried on with the training (as others suggested) and slowly she started to ignore the rubbish or whatever she found. They have to put these things in their mouth to learn what's good or bad for them.

About the bed in the crate. Don't bother to buy any expensive. He will just chew it... We have a few fleece blanket that is easy to wash and dries quickly too. She's old enough now to give her a better bed so I know she won't destroy it. At the same age as yours Elza had two great beds, she chewed a hole in one and tried to defluff the other!  took them both away until recently.

Carry on with the training and it will pay off. ;D


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Bed-13 weeks is way too young IMO. Buy some hunks of fleece or continue with towels. Then when you finally put a bed back in you'll have a bad storm and come home to it torn up. Lol. Dozer could never really have a bed in his crate. Yet when left to roam the house never tore up anything that wasn't "his". 

Puppies put everything in their mouth. I'd really just make sure they spit it back out. But if you see danger you do need to have the leave it command. I taught this by putting something on the ground interesting. When they go for it jerk them back (not harshly) and say leave it. When you notice them relax from the object or even look at you, treat them. 

I taught look (aka watch) by standing like a T with arms straight out and treats in each fist. Dog will stare at your fists for awhile but eventually look at your face. When they do, say the command and treat them. Continue until your hands are empty. 

Good luck and remember to enjoy the puppy stage bec it doesn't last long!


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## Ddfred28 (Jun 26, 2012)

Lol - Brian is coming up for 13 weeks and his nose is constantly on the ground whilst out walking or in the back garden - looking for the next thing to eat! ;D

He seems very partial to stones, grass, twigs, used tissues, plastic bottles and magnetic letters! lol I too seem to constantly be opening his mouth to fish out twigs(incase they get stuck in his throat) and other stuff but you can't get everything and I think it will get better!

We use an uhhhhh-uhhhhh sound when he does something he shouldn't (trainer taught), and it's quite funny as I hear myself using it on my children now too! 

As for the bedding, I've got a bed in his crate(just one from Petsathome) that we can take in and out, he doesn't seem too bothered about chewing on it, but they maybe because he has all his toys in there too, plus a kong! Did the bed have any labels/velcro on it? Brian seems to like attacking and tearing apart things with labels/velcro/zips -- we have a 3 peaks car bed, which has had the velcro torn off, the zip torn off, just waiting for the next thing! lol :-\


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## katicabogar86 (Jul 4, 2012)

I took my puppy (10 wks) Csilla for a walk today, she too puts EVERYTHING in her mouth, so I am constantly fishing out of her mouth twigs, rocks and whatever else she finds along the way,making even our short walk (should only take about ten minutes) take forever. She is however little by little starting to get better on the leash, and the walks tire her out! 
As for the sleeping arrangement she sleeps in a crate with just a towel , I'm afraid that she would go crazy and de-stuff any bed that I put in there right now- even with her toys in the crate.


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## dcjwlee (Jun 22, 2012)

When I brought my pup home at 8 weeks I put both a large sized kennel and the small kennel she rode home in inside the pen I planned to confine her during "unsupervised" time. (I actually keep my pup in there MOST of the time with about 15 min of exercise every hour, a few minutes of training, and nap time for the remainder. Longer exercise before longer confinements. She cannot be trusted to not have an accident in the rest of the house yet and I don't want to create any poor habits.) 

She picked the bigger one. 

To make it more comfy for her I put two fluff beds (one flat, one with raised edges) inside the large plastic kennel with a floor mat stretching halfway out the front... and she loves it!


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