Let’s Let Loose—Loose Leash Walking Tutorial Part 2

Now that you have a few tips to consider from Let’s Let Loose—Loose Leash Walking Tutorial Part 1,

Things you will need:

• harness

• 6 ft leash

• treats

• treat pouch

• patience and a smile

After fitting your dog into a harness—if you don’t have a harness click here to learn more about The Best Harness: My Favorite Harnesses—make sure to grab the good stuff, treats!

Well timed treats combined with the power of stopping in our tracks the moment tension is on the leash are going to be the key to success. Doing it this way will make it very easy for the dog to understand what we want him to do, and set up the training session for considerable progress.

Get everyone in the family or anyone that walks him involved in loose leash walking. He will learn much faster if every walk he goes on has the same rules.

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How to Teach Loose Leash Walking

Step 1: Start walking! As soon as you feel tension on the leash as your dog starts to pull, stop immediately. Keep your face and emotions calm. Your arms and shoulders should be relaxed.

Because you’ve halted the walk so suddenly, your dog may be confused and come to check you out. Alternatively, he may not even notice you’ve stopped at all.

Step 2: If your dog comes to check you out, backs up a little, or in anyway puts slack on the leash by himself, praise him (“Good Boy!”), and begin to walk again.

If he doesn’t, wait about 90 seconds, then call him too you in a happy voice. Give him praise and pet him, but don’t give him a treat.

Step 3: Continue walking again and maintain a normal pace until there is tension on the leash. Repeat step 1 and 2 to teach the dog: walking without pulling=walk; pulling=stop.

At first, you may be stopping every minute or two. This is normal! Don’t expect to get very far the first week.

Step 4: If your dog is able to walk more than a few steps without pulling on the leash, reward him by happily saying “Good!” and giving a treat. You are reinforcing walking without tension on the leash. Only if he is walking with a loose leash does he get a treat.

Pro tip: Don’t keep the treat in your hand. Put it in a treat bag or pocket instead and reward quickly after saying “Good!”

Step 5: Repeat 1-4 for every walk your dog goes on. As he gets better and better at walking loose leash, space out the time in-between giving him treats. Eventually, after 2-4 weeks, you should be able to fade out using treats and just use the reinforcer “Good!”

A tight leash can be frustrating for both of you! A pro tip is to stay calm and remember practice makes perfect.

Trouble Shooting

• My dog stays at the end of the leash when I stop: It’s most likely that you are competing for your dogs attention with the environment. The walk or something he sees is more interesting. Exuberantly and happily call his name, as if you are having the time of your life where you are stopped, and reward him with a treat if he turns to focus on you instead. Then continue back to step 3.

• My dog is jumping at the leash: Some dogs, especially ones that have pulled for a while, will try harder to pull when you stop. This is a very normal reaction! Just ignore your dog, calmly and patiently wait out this little “temper tantrum.” Once he stops, tell him “Good!” and continue on with Step 3.

• My dog comes to me, then goes right back to pulling: This is a typical response for a dog who needs a little more time for the concept to sink in. Stay the course! If you keep at it, over a period of days and weeks you will notice a change in his behavior. It may be annoying for you at first (believe me he’s probably annoyed too), but this method teaches him to regulate himself; it eliminates you needing to constantly micromanage his behavior in the future.

• My dog won’t take treats: If he is not motivated by food, he may be motivated instead by affection, a toy, or even being able to continue to walk may be more rewarding. If your dog loves food, but isn’t taking it, he could either not like the treat (we need to find something tastier) or he’s too anxious to take the food. IF it is the latter option, take care to be very calm and positive. Continue to offer the treats, even if he doesn’t take them, he still understands the gesture.

• As soon as my dog sees treats he stares at me the whole time, I think he’s only doing this for food: This is great, if not a little creepy! This means you can space out the time in-between giving him treats. Is he still next to your side after you’ve been walking for 5 minutes? For 10 minutes? You can challenge him and keeping him guessing by treating him at odd intervals (e.g. after 2 minutes have passed, then after 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 4 minutes, 7 minutes, etc.).

• My dog gets frustrated and won’t walk at all: Your dog probably thinks what your asking him to do is too hard. It’s ok to take a break from walking, to sit for a while and pet him, or play with a toy. After this break, see if he is willing to walk again. If not, go home and try again after 45 minutes.

#walk #tutorial #training