Loose Leash Walking
1,548 views · Published 17 August 2013 · 2:15 · Indexed 11 October 2026
Channel: Born to Behave · 2013 · Pets & Animals
Loose leash walking for easy-going dogs Progression: Indoors * I take one step, stop, and treat by my leg regardless of dog's behavior * Dog has to heel by my side for one step. I always deliver treats by my side and slightly back. If dog goes out of position, I move myself so that she is to my right *Two steps of heeling, click-treat *Three steps *Two steps *Five steps *Three steps *Five steps *Seven steps *Ten steps Throughout, every time I turn I reposition myself so she's heeling to my right, and click-treat. I break most turns into two clicks at first. Dog slowly gets it. Outdoors, back yard New environment, so back to the beginning. One step, then two, then one, then three, five, seven, three.. use your intuition. You want to be 90% sure that the dog will succeed at each step. Progress slowly, and throw in some very easy reps as well. This is a fun game, not a drill! When the dog pulls, just stop in place and wait. Eventually, she will reorient to you. As soon as she does, click-treat and position your body so that she's in a heel position. It is always the human's responsibility to make sure we're in heel position. To go from "dog far ahead" to "dog in heel position," simply turn around. Now the dog is behind you. Start walking! If possible, take the dog to the interesting things she wants to sniff. Sniffing is nice, and perfectly acceptable if done on a loose leash. The dog will learn to trust that fun and interesting things can happen when she walks with you. Sometimes, a dog will pull to check out some potential threat. She will be tense and stare at the thing intently. This is perfectly normal dog behavior. Let her stare and sniff. Eventually, she will reorient to you. Reward her, put yourself in heel position, and move on. The next time I train with Rosie I will start indoors again and go through the first progression. We'll move through it quickly. Then, on to more back yard training. We'll train through many back-yard distractions until I am confident that she can step it up a notch. Tips I use "The Buddy System" leash that ties around my waist. I love this leash. When the leash is tied to your waist, it is always exactly the same length. A hand-held leash will vary in length as your arm is pulled by the dog. A waist-tied leash frees my hands to click-treat, and makes it a lot easier to plant myself in place when I need to. No torn shoulders. With my hands free, I can dangle my hand loosely by my side. My hand functions as a visual cue for the dog. Whenever she's heeling and can see my hand near her face, wonderful things happen. Keep a brisk pace. Be fun.
