At 10.5 weeks old in this video, Zooka is in that critical socialization window that closes around 12 weeks of age. We demonstrate what a puppy walk at this age should look like.

Some people (with good but misguided intentions) will try to tell you that you should not take your puppy out in public AT ALL until they have had all of their vaccinations. That usually is around 16 week of age. So, if you followed that advice, you might protect your puppy from catching any potential illnesses. HOWEVER, you would entirely miss the critical socialization window.

Those who are better informed will tell you that you in fact SHOULD be getting your puppies out into the world. But do it as safely as you can. Find places to get out and walk and explore where you hopefully minimize potentially dangerous exposures.

Don't isolate your puppies! If you do, you run a far greater risk of serious behavior problems developing and a much more fearful dog as he grows.

In this video, Zooka is being taken for a walk on a local park at a fairly quiet time of day. You can see there are very few people around. The goal with this outing is exposure to a new environment, new smells, different sounds, but not necessarily other people or dogs.

The goal here also is to get working on our leash manners. Not on teaching Zooka to Heel at my side or to stay tuned in with me every step of the way. The goal here is for him to learn how to explore and walk without having tension on the leash. And to reward him any time he does check in with me.

From the get-go, I want him to understand that exploring and sniffing and investigating your world AND learning how to stay tuned in with the person at the other end of the leash are NOT mutually exclusive activities. You can and should be able to do both!

As you watch the video, you will see that I am not asking Zooka to connect with me at this point. I am just letting him explore. I am following him. I want him to feel what it is like to have a loose leash. I can do that right now by following him and gently guiding him when I need him to change direction.

By doing so, he's learning that walks are FUN! And it's fun to do TOGETHER.

When starting walks with your puppy, find a happy compromise between allowing lots of exploration (remember, everything is so very new to puppies at this stage!) and learning how to keep a loose leash and check in with the handler holding the leash.

Get puppies off to a good start by not expecting too much too soon!