Hi,

I took my 12 week old Lhasa Apso pup (Cookie) out for his first walk yesterday, fairly successful.  He saw a few other dogs and cars driving pasted and he OK cos he's use to it buy now since we frequently take him on small trips to pet shops friends house to play with other dogs etc.  We walked halfway round our estate and he stopped after about 5-10 minutes, I think he got tired so I just carried him the rest of the way.  Is this the right think to do?  Shall I keep doing this until he can complete the route and then maybe take him on a longer route when he gets a bit older?

He is only 12 weeks old John, and he's a little dog.   For larger (lab size dogs), the "general rule" about exercise - ie walking - is 5 mins per month per day - ie for a 12 week puppy, 15 minutes lead walking per day.   The only thing I would think is that by picking him up and carrying him home, HE could be training YOU!   I've not had little dogs, so I'm not the best person to advise here, but maybe just take him half the distance, then walk him home!

Regards
Margot

Thanks Margot,

I think I'll just take him quarter of the way and then walk, back home.  If Cookie is still full of energy then I'll walk him around our car park area.

Also, when do you think I can take Cookie on free runs on a field?

When you know he will come back to you!  Start training him at home with this now, if you haven't already started.

Margot

I have a small dog and when she was tiny, I partly carried her and partly walked her.  To be honest, if I did it again, I would concentrate much more on meeting people, watching cars, cyclists etc pass and less on actual walking, although she did get used to all those things anyway.

However, the mixture of walking and carrying didn't seem to do her any harm.  She never asks to be picked up - well, maybe when we are going through some nettles or brambles and, in that case, I can see her point!

We have a 19 week old Shih Tzu puppy and I will often carry him if I feel he had walked too far or he is tired. He never asks to be picked up and as he is getting older I have to carry him less and less. I let my pup off leash when there is no one about and he's in a safe environment ie away from roads or danger.His recall is probably 80% there, but not enough to trust him completely after all he's still a baby really!!

Well done to get him walking on your first trip out! I took my westie out for the first time last night and it took half an hour to get to the bottom of the driveway! He thought the lead was one of his tug toys and stopped to try and eat everything along the way. I only suceeded in walking him 6 steps at a time by holding a treat in front of me and saying "walk" hoping he would get the message!

Cant give you any advice on walking distances though. Does anyone know how much walking to give a westie?

Awww bless, John if I send you my e-mail address would you be so kind as to send a pic of Cookie (love the name) as I also have a 12 week old puppy, a shih-tzu and the amount of people who ask me if she is a Lhasa apso is unbelievable. Would like to see how "similar" they actually are (or so I have been told).

I will return one of Coco if you like.

Thanks

As long as you have dones some foundation training on recall inside and perhaps a little outside on a long lead it is a good idea to let pups off in a safe environment as soon as possible. If you let them off when they are dependent on you they will tend to stay close to you, cementing a good behaviour immediately. WHereas if you wait until 6 months or more they may have found their feet and not feel the need to stay so close.

I used to carry my Cav puppy as she couldn't walk as far as the other 2 dogs, but she never wanted to be picked up, and struggled to be allowed down to run with the others!!

Hi John,

A good time to get your puppy off lead is now. (in a safe place ofcourse). This is so that your puppy can start to get used to keeping up with you and keeping an eye of where you are all of the time. Since puppies are not very confident, then they will always follow you at this age. So your aim is to turn away from your puppy frequently and sometimes hide behind trees and bushes (yes! I know what you are thinking!) so that Cookie gets used to looking for you now.

Once they grow in confidence then they won't want to be with you so much, so you want to instill this looking for you and wanting to be with you behaviour now.

All the best,
Patty

Hi John,
I have an 18week old shih tzu. We have encountered many problems with lead walking ,namely the fact that when we get outside the front door ,Taffie lays flat out on the floor. Some days he is fine, others he will not move off the drive! we have been to the park and he is fine on lead and off. At the age your puppy is at, you are his whole world, so I doubt he will stray far from your side. A perfect time to practice recall in the safety of your own area. Gwen Bailey's perfect puppy book is an absolute must read for training, I would highly reccommend it.  All I can say is patience is a virtue. and I'm really going to need it!!! Any tips or suggestions out there on this subject would be great. All the best John.

Hi John, my puppy is 16 weeks old and I started taking him for very short off lead walks from about 12 weeks. I take him either to the beach in the mornings when there is nobody around (and no horses! :D ) or else for a walk in the woods as I am in the country near the beach. I always take him only to areas that I know will be safe away from cars etc.
The first few times he was stuck to me and would not step away and inch and did not seem to enjoy it one bit :( , now he is into a routine where he knows when I will let him off the lead and waits for me to take the lead off and then runs ahead of me checking out the surroundings, but always returns on recall and about every 30 seconds if he is ahead of me he always turns his head around to see where I am and then keeps walking like this until I call him.
I was really scared the first time letting him off the lead, but I practiced the recall in my garden and had him on a long lead for a few days in the areas I was palnning to have as off lead walks, before I tried it and thankfully we have not had any problems, I am glad I got him used to it early!
best of luck with your puppy,
Carol :)