Welcoming a puppy at home is always a joy, but as we well know, taking care of a puppy , especially a few months old, requires a lot of time and effort . Puppies need to be educated right away, otherwise there is the risk that we can find ourselves with an adult dog that is rude and difficult to manage: we must therefore immediately start educating him, especially on behavior outside the home, such as walks in the park!
When we welcome a new puppy into our life, we can’t wait to take him out for walks and get him together with other dogs and puppies.
But what are the important things to know for the first walk in our puppy?
1. Begin home education : Before taking him out, it is good to start home education, for example by familiarizing him with the collar and leash. Some puppies may get frightened on their first walk because they are not used to wearing a collar let alone being tied up. For this reason, it is good to put the collar and the leash every now and then even when he is at home, so that he can play with it.
2. During the first walk : we must bear in mind that everything is completely new to our puppy and it is normal for him to fidget. A tip is to get the puppy out the door after us, so that he understands that we are in “command”. As a leash, it is advisable to use a fixed and non-extendable leash , so that you can manage it better. Don’t forget to bring toilet bags, and some snacks to reward him for behaving well!
3. Short walks: it is good that the first walks are short and do not last more than 10-15 minutes, because being very small it is normal to get tired quickly and stop when it happens, so don’t worry if you don’t want to walk anymore because probably he is exhausted. As it grows we can increase the duration!
4. Socialize : Try to use the first few walks to start your puppy’s socialization process, so don’t avoid him meeting other dogs. Always use positive conditioning so that the puppy associates the road with something good, is not afraid and obeys you.
Raising a puppy requires patience and perseverance, but by following the right advice, we can get our puppy used to being outside the home, taking the first walks and discovering the world outside!
