Puppy Crossing the Street

Teaching your puppy to cross the street is very important – just the same way it is for a child. When getting to the edge of the sidewalk, order your puppy to "Stay" by making him stop next to your leg. The puppy will then have to stay sitting until he receives your order to "Go, Cross" "Go". Once the road is clear tell your puppy "Go, Cross" and then start crossing the street together. If the puppy does not follow you, order him to "Go, Cross" and slightly pull on the collar making him go forward. If the puppy starts to walk in front of you, tell him "No, Heel" "Heel" and with the leash impulse him up towards the sidewalk next to your left leg. Never allow the puppy to walk or run in front of you or walk out onto the street without first receiving your order. If the puppy insists on running up ahead of you, every time you get near a sidewalk stop about a meter of distance away from it and order the puppy to "Sit", or ordering him to "Stay". Then walk on ahead of him a little, in the meanwhile the puppy must remain sitting, then after a few moments, go back next to the puppy and command him to "Go, Cross", then practice it again. This way each time the puppy reaches or gets near a sidewalk he will stop a little further back instead of at the edge, and this eventually will turn into a conditioned reflex of stopping before crossing. As time goes on, you will then be able to walk the puppy up until the edge of the sidewalk and order him to "Sit", which is an order he should by then have already mastered. Make sure you always treat your puppy with a lot of patience and to never be aggressive or yell at him. Getting angry and reacting in an irritated manner will only cause your puppy to become fearful and this will affect his future life and behavior. Obviously this causes a dog to then lose part of his charm.