I just got an 8week old Great Dane puppy, and I have been taking her out on a regular basis to try to get used to her leash, and she won't walk. She just sits there and won't budge! I have tried treats and encouragement, but she still won't get up or walk. I don't know what to do about it.

Don't do this near a street. Try calling the dog's name and heel in an excited, happy tone of voice and running away using quick baby steps. That will be enough to encourage most puppies to catch up to you. If that doesn't work, apply the ultimate. Drop the leash and continue going, leaving the puppy behind. Dogs are very social animals, and puppies fresh from their litter and mother more so. They know being alone is wrong and dangerous. Being left behind will be too much for any puppy.

I have seen a lot of bad advice about dogs recently. Let me address some other needs you may have. Housebreaking is critical, but much of what I read leaves out important points.

Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your
Puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts. At
Around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time from when it
Realizes it has to go, and when it can't wait any longer is a matter of
Seconds. Only time will fix that. You can hardly be expected to be attentive
Enough to avoid all accidents There is no sense punishing the puppy for your
Inattention. It is not fair to punish you either, but you still have to clean
It up if you didn't have the puppy outside in time.

Housebreaking starts before you get home with the new puppy. If you don't have
A crate, buy one. I prefer the more enclosed, den like plastic ones. Skip the
Bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking
Hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of
Accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely
Spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. If you
Already have a metal crate, covering it may help. Just make sure you use
Something the puppy can't pull in and chew. Dogs that start in crates as
Little puppies, accept them very well. Never leave an unattended puppy loose
In the house. If nobody can watch it, put it in the crate. I suggest letting
The dog have its crate all its life.

Choose a command and spot you want it to use. The less accessible to strays,
The less chance of serious disease. If it is a female, choosing a
Non grassy spot will avoid brown spots later. When you bring it home, take it
To the spot and give it the command in a firm, but friendly voice. Keep
Repeating the command and let the puppy sniff around. If it does anything,
Praise it. Really let it know what a good dog it is and how much you love it,
And maybe a treat. Note, being out there not only means you can praise it,
But it also keeps it from being snatched by a hawk. If it doesn't go, take it
Inside and give it a drink and any meals scheduled. A young puppy will need to
Go out immediately afterward. Go to the spot and follow the above routine.
Praising it if it goes is extremely important. If it doesn't go, take it back
Inside and put it in its crate and try again soon. Do not let it loose in the
House until it does go.

At first it is your responsibility to know and take the puppy out when it
Needs to go. It needs to go out the first thing in the morning, after eating,
Drinking, and sleeping. If it quits playing, and starts running around
Sniffing, it is looking for a place to go. Take it out quickly. You will just
Have to be what I call puppy broke until it is a little older.

By the time most dogs are about 3 months old, they have figured out that if
They go to the door and stand, you will let them out. The praise slowly shifts
To going to the door. Some people hang a bell there for the dog to paw. If
Your dog doesn't figure this out, try praising it and putting it out if it
Even gets near the door. A stern "Bad dog!" is all the punishment that is
Effective, and only when you catch it in the act and are sure you didn't miss
It going to the door. Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little
Puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam
Sometimes. First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel. Keep moving
It and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry. A couple big putty knives
Work well on bowel movements. Just slide one under it while holding it with
The other. This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet.
This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house
Plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids. Finish up with a good
Shot of carpet foam. Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam.
Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Many people strongly strongly push cleaning up all evidence of past accidents. I am slower to suggest that. Dogs will return to the same spot if they can find it. When you see one sniffing the spot, that is your clue to run it out.

What does a puppy need?

A crate. It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. Skip the
Bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking
Hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of
Accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely
Spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in. At bed time, with a new puppy, I have found lying down in front of the crate like you were going to sleep and speaking softly to it, or singing, until it settles down and goes to sleep works very well. Follow the pattern, a period of active play, outside to eliminate, and then into the crate.

Chew toys. The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
There to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
Close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
Pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
Chewers such as Labs.

Food. Find out what the breeder is feeding. If it is dry chow you can buy readily, I would stick with it until the dog is 4 months old, at that time switching to a dry adult chow. If not, try to have the breeder give you a few days supply to use making a gradual change to a dry puppy chow.

Dishes. Empty plastic food containers are good enough. If you want something nicer, buy the spill proof? Ones. See http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...1078323611448À. I have found them at Big Lots too.

A collar and leash. You should stay with a flat fabric or leather collar until your puppy is 5 months old. Then you can go with the metal slip collar with the rings on each end. Otherwise you could damage its windpipe. Put it on like this for the usual dog on the left position. Pull the chain through the one ring forming a"P". Facing the dog, slip it over its head. The free end comes over the neck allowing the other end to release pressure when the leash is slack. A five
Month old's head will still grow some. If you buy one that easily goes over
The head, it still should come off leaving the ears when the dog finishes
Growing. I start the puppy out with a metal leash and switch to a leather one after the worst of the chewing is over and I need more control.

A brush. Start the puppy with a bristle brush. They don't shed much at first, and the bristle brush will remove dirt and help control odor. When shedding becomes a problem later, switch to a slicker brush with the wire teeth.

The number of a vet. It is very hard to evaluate them. Dogs need more medical care than in the past. Many new problems are wide spread.

A book. Any book is better than none at all. I like the Monks of New Skete and their The Art of Raising a Puppy, ISBN 0-316-57839-8.

Obedience training. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start obedience training the day you get the dog. Build on the foundation of housebreaking. The younger the puppy, the shorter you must keep sessions, only a few repetitions at a time. A few minutes here and there, and by the time the puppy is 4 months old, people will be impressed with what a nice dog it is.

An AskMe bookmark so you can come back for help as needed.

I didn't forget treats, shampoo, and bedding. I seldom use them.

My dane is doing great with housetraining. She is now to the point where she will sit at the door when she needs out. When we put her in her bed, we tell her the same thing every night, "lay down, go to bed." and she does that. She wakes up about once a night, comes to our bed and paws me and whines to go outside to potty. She has done really well so far. The only trouble we are having is the leash problem. I will try the dropping the leash and see how it goes. Thanks.

Hi,
Congratulations on your Dane doing great with housetraining! You are doing very, very well with her.
When you say she "whines to go outside", do you mean you have a back yard or something, that you can let her go outside by herself?
If so, why not let her out, holding her collar, then put the leash on. Just stand there, waiting for her to make her move to potty. Maybe she will go potty with the leash on! If not, then just take it back off, and let her go.
Just another idea, might work, might not. If it does work, then she will start getting use to the leash... not to be used every time she wants to potty, but maybe then she will take a walk with you and the leash.

She will sit at my bedside at night and whine so we will take her out, she goes potty, and when we go back to the bedroom, we tell her "go to bed" and she will go lay down on her bed, sometimes protesting by sitting in her bed and will growl/mumble, then go to sleep. She does better this way than in a crate. Every time I put her in a crate either in our room or downstairs in the family room, she will constantly whine, howl and bark through the night, so the best way for all of us is to let her sleep in her own bed in the corner of the bedroom. We close our door at night so she can't roam the house. We have had no accidents in our room while she is there through the night. The only night accidents she has was when she was crated at night. As for the leash with going potty, when we have traveled with her, she goes on her leash while at rest areas and goes potty, but we have to carry her to the pet area cause she won't walk, and then either carry her to the car or drag her, because getting all excited to get her to walk or coaxing with treats don't work so far.

I will try that method and let you know how it goes. Thanks!

I think she has already won an important victory by refusing the crate. You might try laying down in front of the crate as I suggested near the end of my first post. Once she goes to sleep, you will need to respond if she wakes up needing to go out. In another week or 2, she should be going over night.

It is important you show your position as top dog now. Between the crate and leash, she is dominating the household now. The dogs see all the
People and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in
The pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members
Outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by
Reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class
Or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with
A treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/. She is too young to get into a class. Get a book and get started. If not The Art of Raising A Puppy, then another one emphasizing leadership and not treats. Most dog trainers are moving to more weight placed on praise and less on corrections. I can't send you to a good web site because most of them are so poor. One of the reasons a command is important in housebreaking is that establishes the pattern of command, obedience, praise as a foundation of obedience training.

Ok Your puppy probably doesn't feel secure in it's surroundings. You should first introduce it to a collar and then once it gets used to that clip a small light weight leash onto the collar and let the puppy pull it around for a while in the house eventually he/she should get used to it

Something I've heard from someone with the same problem is that to leave a leash on it while they are in the house (while you are supervising).

As you both suggested, the leash in the house is another good, gentle technique. I have always succeeded with the coax the puppy to come to me. Since I am out in public a lot with the puppy from the beginning, I could never wait to use the leash in the house. A ball might be another good tool to get the puppy moving leash and all.

At least with the leash in the house, you could go about your business until he decided he was tired sulking where you left him.

Also I was walking this one dog that would not walk so I got some treats and coaxed it with them and it worked.

So far she is finally getting better. I take her outside every day with leash attached. Sometimes I hold her leash while she is attached and we just sit for a while or walk a little around the yard. When we go to the back yard which is fenced, I still put her leash on. She used to sit and try to chew it off, but now seems okay with walking around with it dragging behind her. She will walk on her leash for a few minutes and then sit and not want to walk, but she is slowly getting better. I have also started to slowly re-introduce her crate again, and she actually slept in it last night! Thank you for all your help with her. If I have any more questions, I will be sure to come back here and ask you. Thanks!

I am glad you are at least making a little progress and didn't resort to harsh methods that could injure a little fellow. I have managed to get the puppies I have had trouble with moving using the coaxing. A high pitched ''Puppy, puppy, puppy'' seems to work. There is always an even more difficult puppy. I have never had to try the ball I suggested in my last post, but think most puppies would go for it. May try it. My driveway slopes to the road. The puppy would follow it right out to the mail box when I go for the paper. Sometimes it takes a while.

Well congratulations on the slowly but surely progress you are making!

What u should do is pick the dog up and teach it to walk like I did with my dog then he will get used 2 it :o

Hi,
Putting the leash on the puppy in the house is the best idea yet!
Eventually, she will get tired of just sitting there!
Great idea.

Thanks for saying it was a great idea

Hi,
You are welcome.
Also, congratulations on getting the puppy to walk around with a leash some, in the back yard.
Things like this don't happen overnight, as you already know! It could take up to 6 weeks before the puppy is happy, and not stubborn, using the leash.

I can't imagine it taking a puppy, that started young, 6 weeks to learn to walk on lead. I think I usually am switching to how to keep it from pulling in 6 days.

Yeah thanks again