Walking your dog on a loose lead.
One of the many training problems owners seeks out a trainer to help address the constant pulling. A dog or puppy does not come trained knowing what a lead is and not to pull on a lead. When we walk our dogs we often take them to exciting places: the park, woods, beach, etc,. and our dogs then become very excited to get there – so they pull on the lead as soon as they know where they are and where they are going, this often leads to pulling and weaving.
Teaching your dog to walking a loose lead takes time and patience.
How to get it right:
- What does your dog love: toys or treats? One can have the advantage of rewarding the dog quickly and effectively when the dog is walking on a loose lead.
- Start off in a quiet area – your back garden or indoors. You can then progress to a more challenging environment – out on a street/pavement walk.
- Begin with small sessions of a few minutes and gradually increase the training over a period of time.
Methods for walking on a loose lead:
- Lure your dog forward to walk beside you. Always reward your dog beside or behind – not in front of you.
- Take a few steps back and turn so that your dog follows you. Again, reward your dog for walking beside you.
Points to consider:
- Do not pull back on the lead.
- Reward your dog for all the small stages of walking on a loose lead.
- All your dog some off lead time to begin with before starting your loose lead training.
Remember that loose lead walking is not the same as heeling – when you teach a dog to heel this more demanding and requires the dog to focus and concentrate more on the owner/handler.