Walking a Staffy Do's and Dont's

MissyMoo will be embarking on her first real dog walks in a couple of weeks after all her vaccines are complete , i am looking for tips n tricks to make this as easy and as enjoyable for her as possible , so if you ware to be starting out again with a new learner puppy what would you do and not do .
My second question and concern is Staffy walking etiquette , how do you deal with other dogs and owners , especially those who are ... lets say weary of Staffy"s ? .
BRIAN

Shes young enough teaching not to pull is important also plenty socilisation teaching missy about traffic would be useful too also make sure shes socialised with livesstock too. Ignore the negative owners you will get one from time to time as long as you have taught/ teaching your dog the basics you should not have much problems .

Yep plenty of socialisation and you will prob get a few looks, I've had people step off the pavement and walk on the road when they've seen Marley, but I just smile and walk past missy will probably be a little scared so plenty of reassurance will settle her for my pups first walk I took him somewhere quiet but with plenty of people and dog walkers and he just zig zagged up the path sniffing at anything and everything I've been told off the forum too that it's good to let them off the lead first walk, ( maybe something you could try) we took Marley too an enclosed area to practice his recall and he was brilliant bit harder when there's lots of people and other dogs tho haha hope you both have a great walk

Cautious introductions on lead is what I would do. Socialise this way as much as possible but keep the lead on so that you can control any excited behaviour and stop it getting too boisterous.

My next two tips are equally as important. Recall, I can't stress how important getting this right will be as Missymoo gets older and secondly, leave/Drop command. This will help in so many ways if only to get the ball back so you can throw it

Have a look at my favourite on line videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0C724F6F6A597540

There's lots of fab stuff in them for all sorts of early puppy training. As Ian say, recall, recall, recall... you can't get this too right.

I'm a firm believer in finding somewhere quiet and safe (that might mean driving and picking your time), then letting a puppy off lead from the word go. They don't have the confidence to stray and you can work on recall using treats from the first walk. You then don't get into the 'I don't dare let her off' bind that a lot of people hit and get stuck with for months if not longer.

Do mix in spells of lead work, so that she learns that there are times she needs to walk nicely, and work on loose lead walking (in those vids). I would also start working on walking past other dogs and people if you ask her to. Puppies tend to LOVE others and will rush up to them (Millie still does sometimes ) but while it's sweet with a pup it's less welcome in a lump of a staff when they're a year old! Teach her what you'll want her to do as an adult dog now, it so much easier than trying to change the rules later.

All great tips/pointers above. Regarding those other owners that aren't keen on the breed, the best that you can do is prove to them that your dog is well trained/under control/sociable. So many times people have never interacted with a staffie, and are going by what they read/have heard. Pr

*prove them wrong!

As ever , all great stuff folks .

i've been taking my Spike out for about 3 weeks and he's doing really well. Im very proud of him. It's important to remember too, that one must be an ambassador for the breed as they are so maligned and misunderstood. To that end, im always very friendly and polite to people and when they say hello to my little mate i always thank them for being kind to him..It works wonders!
Meeting as many other dog walkers and having as many positive interactions with other dogs and puppies will really help....Puppy parties are great too..Spike goes to a class at the local vets and loves it...He's also dealt really well with a couple of dogs that have been quite aggressive towards him, even though he's only a baby...

My advice would be to take Missymoo to a quiet park or fields and have her on the extending lead and have a good old sniff around. Then gradually introduce her to 'proper' walking on the lead on the pavement..Again, when it's quiet, and also at different times of the day.
Spike, for instance was a bit jumpy when he saw cars at night time, but he's great now. I always have a pocket of treats with me (real meat). I reward him if i call his name and he looks at me..this is great to get him to focus on me when a jogger or cyclist goes by. He also sits before we cross any roads....
To stop him pulling i simply stop walking...he will stop pulling (eventually) and either look back at me, walk back to me, or sit down...i reward him the moment he stops pulling..This has eliminated 90% of pulling, unless a person starts saying hello to him in an excited voice.
Liz has linked to the Victoria Stilwell videos which are good, but there are also some other fantastic trainers on youtube, including kikopup, zak george and training positive. I personally find their methods more effective than Victorias, but i think it all depends on the individual dog.

Fantastic advice above from everyone, Recall is definitely a must. I echo what people have said about being ambassadors for the breed. By nature I'm quite a shy person and only ever talk if someone talks first, however when I'm with Misty I smile at everyone I see, and always say hello to all dog owners. It's strange, it's like having a dog just makes you sociable! I chat with people across the street and its amazing how you can change people's opinions if your dog is well behaved. Sometimes it's not all plain sailing and Misty does get too nosey and tries to sniff people walking by and walk into drive ways etc. Then I always make a joke and say oh you're so nosey, it's amazing how well people respond to that! Have fun and enjoy your walks.

Thanks again for the replies folks .
MissyMoo is only 9 weeks today and has been really great , i have to be extra careful where i bring her till she gets her last injections but most of the time she doesn't want to go for a walk at all , i have to carry her her for 20 minutes and then she will want to walk home , but only if we go the way we came , cant walk around the block !!! .
I have her on a n extendable lead 99% of the time for now , im starting slow to teach walkin on short lead as i think she is a littkle youg to understand just yet .

Also remember the 5 minute rule 
 Upto a month old 2 five minute walks a day then you add another 5 minutes the next month and so on.

Mia05 wrote:Also remember the 5 minute rule 
 Upto a month old 2 five minute walks a day then you add another 5 minutes the next month and so on.

I did not know that , so ive actually been over doing it , 15 - 20 mins have been the norm , less the carrying so maybe not to bad .

beecee wrote:

Mia05 wrote:Also remember the 5 minute rule 
 Upto a month old 2 five minute walks a day then you add another 5 minutes the next month and so on.

I did not know that , so ive actually been over doing it , 15 - 20 mins have been the norm , less the carrying so maybe not to bad .

My vet said that this rule was a very rough guide and that as long as you're not exerting your dog with hard or prolonged running or extended pavement walking, 30 minutes or even up to an hour were fine...
My advice would be to ask your vet.