Leash Learning

I don't think that Gorky has ever been walked on a leash and he probably hasn't spent much time outside of a backyard so another thing we've been working on is putting a harness on and taking it off, and also walking around while leashed.

Heading out on his first "walk"

Because so much of the noises, sights and smells of our suburban neighborhood are new, I'm not starting out actually attempting to just "go for a walk". I want this to be a positive thing for him so to begin with I attached a treat bag to my belt, harnessed and leashed him up, and then I let him sniff around our front yard and practiced walking on the sidewalk in front of our house and the neighbor's house.

Gorky set the pace and we walked around the yard while he carefully sniffed each shrub and plant. 

For the most part he didn't do a lot of pulling and stayed close so loose leash walking shouldn't be too tough to teach

Gorky was a little nervous but he is starting to understand that this is safe and fun and before we know it we'll be working on longer walks. For now we end our walks with a fun off leash romp in the back yard which is something that he loves to do. You always want things to end of a good note so that next time the leash comes out they are going to associate it with fun, and not something negative.