[Danvlt13]

Hi,
I have recently got my first gsd she is a 9 week old pup called Harley, when the time comes for walks etc there have been a lot of different opinions thrown at me regarding choke chains, collars or harnesses etc, I would be grateful for anyone’s input who has experience in this.
Thank You.

 

[Chuck94!]

First off NO CHOKE CHAINS especially for a tiny 9 week old baby! I would recommend either a harness or a standard flat collar!

 

[Shane'sDad]

At that age I've always used a flat collar for starting leash "walking"--he'll have no attention span for much real training at his age
** remember to make even very short walks "fun"

 

[Twyla]

IMO no choke chain ever. Maybe a prong later in the first year. Right now, a nice flat collar. Some do use harnesses, but once again my opinion - they encourage pulling (what harness were originally designed for).

A 6 foot leash - a lighter one at this age and change as needed for size. I settled on a Leerburg Prong leash once Woolf reached size and proved to be a butthead occasionally. The leather has aged beautifully.

Run away from retractable leashes.

 

[sebrench]

I would use just a flat collar for a 9 week old puppy. Later on you can move up to a martingale or other training collars. I wouldn't use a harness once the dog is big enough to pull you around. Sign up for some obedience classes under an experienced trainer when your puppy is older and vaccinated. There, you will learn a lot about training tools and techniques.