Lulu was the same way, when we first started training her inside the house. She was playing with her leash alright, but when we tried walking her it was a completely different story. Now though we don't have any problems with her.
What helped us is having her on a short leash while having her favorite treat a short distance in front of her. Sort of "the carrot and the stick" method. Lulu wanted her treat, so she walked forward it while being on the leash. Another good method is to have your puppy's treats in a plastic cup, and make noise with it -- but the puppy needs to learn first that the treats are kept in the cup. And then you can do the same thing; have them on the leash, walk in front of them and make noises with the cup. When they make a few steps forward, reward them with a treat and praise them in a high pitched voice.
Lulu was doing sort of OK when we tried it in the house, but she became a much better leash walker when we started taking her outdoors. At first, she was scared of being outside. So at points she would stop, lay on the ground and refuse to move. But we kept on gently pushing on the leash, and saying "lets go". It worked well, and now she is totally fine with the leash. In fact, she gets excited when she sees the leash now because she knows we're going outside!
Good luck! |