Loose Lead Walking

Most dogs aren’t born knowing how to walk calmly and happily on a lead. Remember, if you have never spent time training your dog loose lead walking, they won’t know how to do it! We often expect our dogs to come pre-set knowing how to walk on a lead and then get frustrated when they drag us down the street. This is particularly true of puppies and young dogs. Here’s how to get started…

The Right Equipment

Firstly, make sure your dog is wearing comfortable and well fitting walking equipment. For most dogs, we recommend a Y front harness and we particularly like the Perfect Fit Harness (this is what our boy Duke wears for all walks). A standard rope lead of 6 metres is good for street walking and a 10 metre long line is ideal for adventures if your dog can’t be off lead. We suggest avoiding retractable leads in general, but especially when training loose lead walking. 

Loose Lead Walking Training

When you first start training, do it without putting your dog’s harness and lead on. Begin at home in a quiet room with few distractions, when your dog is well rested and ready to learn. To begin with, you want to lure them with a treat into the heel position (so their head should be roughly next to your ankle, shin or knee, depending on how tall they are). As soon as they are in this position, mark the behaviour with a clicker or say ‘nice!’ and immediately reward them with a tasty treat. Give them several treats just for being in the right place to begin with. Then take a step forward and they will likely follow you. Once your dog has got the idea of walking next to you being a rewarding experience, you can add more steps in, continually rewarding them for being in the right place.

Build up to Distractions

You’ll want to do several short sessions like this at home, then build up the distraction level by practising in your garden. Then add in the lead and harness and practise again. If your dog has got into the habit of pulling on the lead, consider what it is that they are usually pulling towards. Is it the park that you go to twice a day every day? Try changing up your routine. Go to different walking spots at different times of the day, take a different route to the park and change direction frequently. Be less predictable in your behaviour and your dog will be more inclined to check in with you. Of course, always reward them when they do check in!

Teaching your dog loose lead walking takes patience, practice and consistency. But you can do it! Before you know it, you and your dog will be having stress-free walks.

Next Steps

Need some help training your dog to walk with a loose lead? Contact us to be added to our training waiting list.

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