At What Age Should I Start Teaching My New Puppy Loose Leash Walking

Uploaded on October 8, 2025 • 9 min

In this straightforward Ask Cindy Q&A, Ed Frawley addresses a common question from a new Golden Retriever puppy owner about the right age to transition from harness to collar for loose leash walking training. The owner plans to use a harness initially for taking their 8-week-old puppy outside and exploring, but wants guidance on when to begin formal loose leash walking with a flat collar. 

How We Manage Dogs In Our Home

Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 12 Months

Basic Dog Obedience

Happy Howie's Meat Rolls

Getting Started with Reward Based Training Bundle

Leash Skills

Loose Leash Walking

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When people have specific training questions we recommend that they go to our website and post those questions in the ASK CINDY on the front page of leerburg.com. Cindy has been training dogs since she was a teenager and has competed in several dog sports at a regional and national level. She was also a vet tech and owned a boarding/training and grooming business for many years as well as breeding working Dobermans and Belgian Malinois under the kennel name Kaiserhaus.

Questions posted to ASK CINDY are answered almost every day. They are also recorded in our systems if a dog owner has additional questions Cindy will review the previous Q&As and this helps her give better feedback and assistance.

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