# Collars and leashes for standard pup



## Poodles_Rule (Dec 15, 2020)

MustLoveDogs said:


> Hi all,
> I'll be bringing home an 11-week-old standard pup later this spring. As I research what I'll need for the early weeks of house-training and other basic training, I've become more than a little confused about which types of leashes and collars are appropriate for what purposes. Here's what I think I'll need--please add/correct/advise, if you can.
> 
> I will have my kitchen gated off until house-training is consistent. There's a door from there to the backyard, and the yard is fenced. I will have a crate in the kitchen. i plan on crate-training for night-time and for any breaks during the day when I have to leave the house or go to another part of the house. I would like to tether the puppy to me when I walk around the kitchen during the day so that I can more easily watch for signs that he needs to go out.
> ...


Hi! Wondering how it went for you regarding puppy collars and leashes?! 

I'm in the same spot now that you were.....except bringing home a 9 week old Spoo.........trying to figure out every detail


----------



## Fluffy Poodle 4 (Nov 29, 2020)

When my family got our 2 spoo puppies (roughly 4 months apart), they each came with a puppy collar which had a place to clip the leash. The collars stayed on them all the time and we let them run free in the fenced backyard. When they outgrew the puppy collars (which happened in a month if I remember correctly) we bought them standard buckle collars. As for leashes, we used a 6 foot leash for walking and an extendable leash for playtime outside of the fence. Our recalls are still a work in progress, but I have found that our dogs, once they learned the recall on the 6 foot, they were capable of longer recalls when running free.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

One 6 foot leash of whatever material you want, but not too heavy, 1/2" should be fine for younger months for a spoo. Later if you have a crazy teenager then a 3/4" leash.

I like martingales for puppies since they can't back out of them if they put the brakes on and you are still moving. We never used collars in the house for puppies.

You do not need a long line to teach recalls. Play run away games from young puppies either in house or in fenced yard. With Javelin (my only nice weather pup) I would sit in the yard with him and play with toys, do sits and downs and give treats and get him really into how fun I was. Then I would get up and leave. He inevitably followed. I would trot just enough so that he had to work to catch up to me and when he did I would pop him a couple of bits of kibble (baby dog training treats taken from his daily portion). I made a huge deal out of how great he was for having caught me, play some more and leave again. Once he got the hang of that routine I added come to the game. Then I would just call him without the playing and chasing. If he arrived very fast he got treats and play. If he was a little slow he got just one or two treats and a good dog. He quickly caught on that running to me was well paid. He has the best recall of all of our dogs. Nowadays if I call him when he is out of sight in the yard and he isn't back super fast he was in the potty corner doing poos. I don't ever repeat the order, he always shows up. He has never been on a long line except to track.


----------



## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

I would not use a slip lead on a puppy that young. It will tighten infinitely as the dog continues pulling, which is not healthy or fair to a dog that doesn't yet understand leash manners. A martingale has the same convenience as a slip collar, but the rings stop it from tightening past a certain point.


----------



## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

I would use a harness. 

I don't think you need a leash in a fenced in yard, except maybe the first few days so you can lead him to the potty spot.


----------



## LadyLucy (Jan 8, 2021)

We went with a harness on our 10 week old he is 14 weeks now and just wags his tale when I break it out. I was Leary but the wife wanted to try it. So far so good.


----------



## AliFenrisMom (Sep 14, 2020)

I had a harness for mine, no collar until we started going on walks a month later. I would attach the leash to the harness. The only time I had him wear the harness at home was when the cat was lurking nearby, it had a handy handle on it. Now he is 4 months and runs around the house without a collar or harness. I don't have a big yard and he always wanted to be next to me so I never used a leash when going potty (until we started taking walks). For a harness, make sure to get a front and back clip no pull harness, and one that has a handle on the back can be useful.


----------

