Hi, Your puppy is still very much a baby puppy at ten weeks and in a more natural setting a mother dog would not allow her youngsters to stray too far from home. Breeders observe their puppies' world expanding in leaps and bounds as they mentally mature and their inquisitiveness grows. Nonetheless any scarey experience will have them going back to the source of comfort and security. I do not think a ten week old needs to be going far from home on the leash. Going for a car ride to Puppy Kindergarten and being taken for visits to neighbours kids and dog friendly houses is great. I don't take my puppies out into the big world of traffic and smelly car exhausts until they are a bit older, usually after they have had all their vaccinations. My Wilma is going for her final shots today and has a date at PetsMart on the weekend, at sixteen weeks her world has got bigger and she is ready for more stimulation. Rather like an eight year old she is willing to try things out but will still hug up to me when she is tired or not liking something and expects me to protect her. A ten week old puppy is rather like a two year old toddler, sure she can walk but not too far and can we keep it somewhere fun:-)
All the best Rose Tierney -----Original Message----- From: Jay C. Maddox [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: December 17, 2002 11:46 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Puppy Leash Training Hello All, I've been reading the Berner digests for a few months now, as I am the new owner of a Berner pup, Hadley, who is 10 weeks old. I have a question regarding leash training. Hadley is doing great...she can already sit, stay and come. She is basically very good on a leash, but we run into problems on our morning and evening walks from our house. We live on a busy street, so we cross the street on our walks to get to a dead-end street that is much more quiet. Walking away from the house is a real hassle. Hadley clearly doesn't like to leave her house/yard. Once we're on our dead-end street, she'll more often than not, park herself and start whimpering. I have her on a flexi-lead and will walk to the end of it...she will come for a treat, but will once again sit in the middle of the street and whimper. Often she will beg to be picked up and carried. I've taken to "waiting her out", giving her encouragment when she finally gets off her behind and heads in the right direction, but she can be stubborn. I don't want to make walks tramatic for her or drag her down the street, but she seems like a real homebody. The walk home is a joy...and she often breaks into a trot as we get closer to the house. If I drive her in the car somewhere (like my workplace), she behaves perfectly on her leash - it is more of a neighborhood issue. I think, perhaps, she sees our yard (11 acres) as a much more "fun" place than walking on a lousy dead-end street (I should note that we are walking on a paved street, as much of our 11 acres is now mud and lake after 12 inches of rain during the last week). I certainly don't expect her to be perfect at this stage, but does anyone have any suggestions for a stubborn walker? Thanks, Jay Maddox & Hadley Santa Rosa, CA
