I find that method in the link to be too abrupt and setting the dog up to fail because there is no gradual getting use to the leash. She's advocating putting the leash on a puppy while it's squirming and lunging and basically, just fighting the puppy who hasn't learned anything yet. You don't want your pup to pair having a rotten time with you.
Here, I'll share with you something I wrote. It is part of something else, so may not be all you're looking for. It doesn't include everything. That comes afterwards in following chapters.
If you condition your pup part of the way, to walk with you without the leash, you'll get a jump start. As with everything, practice in very low distraction areas first and gradually add them in. If your dog pulls because he's in a hurry, stop or turn the other way, encouraging him to come along. Reinforce VERY frequently at first, every couple steps that he is close to you. All fun and games, no yanking, scolding....just a game where he gets rewarded for what you want and nothing happens much when he doesn't, other than the forward movement stops if he pulls. Keeping sessions very short is key. I didn't write it that way, but I think Bubbadt's idea of a harness for starting out is just fine. If a puppy does yank around, his little trachea or neck can be injured. Once he is walking relatively nicely, you can switch back and forth. Practice out in the yard, using both. By using this conditioning method...getting the puppy comfortable with the leash more gradually, giving the puppy the idea of walking with you before getting him out into the world, he is less apt to yank, pull, back out of his collar. He already IS walking fairly nicely because he's learned to do it without the leash first and the leash then, is not so objectionable to him because he hasn't had a lot of jerking, lunging, backing, flailing around with it. Again, don't rush getting him out into huge distractions until he's practiced in quieter areas.
LEASH TRAINING 101
Your puppy may have had a light weight ribbon on his neck from the breeder. But he most likely has never worn a heavier collar or a leash. These things will be foreign to him. New things always have the potential to be scary, so as dog owners, we need to make sure to turn the scary thing into a good thing. We have our tricks and in a few days or weeks, our puppy will be happy to having his collar and leash put on.
Start in the house with no collar or leash on puppy. Encourage him to come along with you down the hall, through the living room and back again. Make it a fun game and entice him with a happy voice, a squeaky toy, patting your thigh and drop a few treat tidbits every couple steps. Do that several times a day. He will come to enjoy walking alongside you where ever you go.
What a lot of new puppy owners do, is make the mistake of putting on the leash, using force and dragging their fearful puppy across the floor or down the street for what is suppose to be a fun walk! The puppy may be terrified of this thing wrapped around his neck or simply uncomfortable. Dragging and forcing is most certainly not going to make the puppy learn that doing things with his owner is fun. And it will make him fear the leash. We also want to avoid associating tension on the dog’s neck with moving forward. As he matures and learns to walk nicely on the leash, without pulling, we want to have a history of motion without tension. When there is a pulling sensation against the neck, the dog’s opposition reflex will kick in and he’ll automatically pull against it. We don’t want that to become part of his repertoire. Prevention of bad habits, from day one will tremendously improve the effectiveness of future training.
After a little conditioning to coming along with you with no collar or leash, sit down with him and put on his collar in a friendly manner and give him a small treat. Play with him for a little while with a toy or ball. Then snap on the leash. Let him drag it around while you go with him. Never leave a collar or leash on a puppy when unattended. They can get it caught on a piece of furniture and strangle. Give him tiny treats frequently, as he walks around the house. He may struggle a little bit but don’t make a fuss. Try encouraging him to come along with you through the house with the leash trailing behind, just as you did without the leash, dropping little treat tidbits along the way. Praise him often and after about five minutes, remove the collar and leash. Be careful not to remove the leash if he’s throwing a fit. Wait for a lull. You don’t want him to learn that by raising cane, he gets his way. Do this several times a day, just five minutes at a time for a few days, always associating it with a pleasant time. If you need to use a leash to take him outside to go potty, you’ll just have to do the best you can if he is uncomfortable, but don’t drag or force him. Encourage him.
After he’s gotten a chance to experience the leash hanging off of him and dragging it around, sometimes making a little tension on his neck by momentarily catching on something, you can pick up the other end of the leash. A few gentle tugs on the leash from catching on furniture or when you turn and he doesn’t will help him to not fear that sensation. Some tugs and pulls are inevitable and will be a part of life but we don’t want a lot of that as a functional part of his training. Follow him around a little and encourage him to come along with you while holding the other end. Keep lessons short and fun, five minutes at a time is plenty. Little by little, he’ll become confident wearing his new collar and leash.
With toy breeds, I prefer to use a harness. With a collar, their tiny necks and tracheas can be so easily injured with any struggle. With a large breed puppy, pulling is very common and as he gets bigger and stronger, while he’s in training, you may find a no-pull harness helpful for management on walks. These do not train the dog, but enable you to take the dog for a walk without getting your arms pulled out of their sockets or having you dragged under a car. These harnesses attach from the front and prevent pulling. You will still want to train your puppy to walk nicely with a flat buckle collar and leash in low distraction areas to start. More on that later. By practicing these conditioning exercises, your puppy will be ready for graduation from kindergarten leash training 101 and ready for junior high school leash walking.
