1st walk on lead help.

Can anyone give me adivce on teaching my 11 week old Harvey how to walk on the lead.

I have attached the puppy lead to him and let him just walk around with it but when we take hold of it to try to walk him in the garden he just sits down and refuses to move.

I read on here that this is a good way to train them to go to the toilet outside in the spot you want. He will go to the toilet outside if the door is open but as yet just seems to go where he wants which is not really suitable as it's on the grass and his toilet is not at the moment that solid to just pick up, having to use kitchen towel into poo bag then lots of soapy water.

What should I do?

You need to consistently take him to the same place if you want him to go in one area and taking him on the lead is the best way to do this. Also leave a small bit of feces in the area. Dogs like to return to places they have gone before (which is why it is important to completely clean, with enzymatic cleaner, their accidents inside).

Put your puppy on a little harness and a lead and then get some treats in one hand. Lure the puppy with the treats while you lightly hold the lead so the pup isn't dragging it along and make sure you are using a nice lightweight puppy lead too, not something heavy that drags. Many puppies are much more comfortable on a harness than having something pulling at the neck. Praise your up for walking along and treat every few steps to start! Once walking onthe lead is associated with rewards things should move along fine.

A good housetraining book is Shirlee Kalstone's on housetraining a dog in 7 days.

Do you know anyone else with a dog? We trained Chloe by going out with my mums dog and she picked up walking on a lead in no time!

That is exactly how Dixie learned. She followed our pug. It was the ONLY way she would go on a longer walk although the treats did work for short distances.

We've just been through this at Obedience and here is how they taught us to walk on a loose leash (which Beau does like a little champ now).

Have dog on left side. Hold handle part of leash in right, and control the leash with your left hand. Also in left hand (fingertips) you hold a little treat. Start walking with your left foot & use a command such as "heel" or whatever you want to indicate you are going to walk. Take only 3 steps & stop. The dog will walk to keep an eye on the treat (which you earlier made sure he knows is in your left hand). When he stops you give him the treat (prefferably after a sit, bit you don't have to do this). Repeat this until the dog is walking & stopping when you are. You then extend how many steps you take, until you have a dog that walks nicely on a loose lead.

The above exercise has a number of benefits. It gets the dog focused on you (the treat in your hand). He starts to pay attention to you & what you are doing with your left foot (walking or stopping). He makes no presumptions about where you are going or how long you will walk. He must look to you for clues. You are the one in control, not him.