Loose Leash Walking With Your Dog

One of the many reasons why people tend to seek help from dog experts is they have trouble walking their pooch on leash. A nice walk outdoors with Fido is something that we all would like to have the chance to enjoy. However, this is not something that’s always easy to achieve.

How to Prepare Fido for Training

To help you make your pooch trot calmly with you down the road, it is important that both of you are all set for practice.

• Wear him out. Before you start the training, make sure that you have worn your pooch out first. Use different games and exercises to help drain some of Fido’s excess energy especially if he’s the highly energetic type.
• Get him used to the leash. Whether you are making use of a front-clip harness or a head-halter, always see to it that you have spent some time in acclimating your pooch to the equipment. He needs to be familiar and comfortable with the use of such restraining device.
• Teach him to wait. It is important that you train your pooch to sit and wait till you are all set to get going. He might jump on you even before you have put your sneakers on so teach him to calm down. Also, teach him to give you a “default focus” the moment you walk out of your house. This way, Fido doesn’t launch into immediately scanning the surrounding.

Effective Loose Leash Techniques

• Silky Leash Method. This technique has been devised by Grisha Stewart who is a Seattle dog trainer. Her method is based on the premise that humans and dogs possess an opposition reflex wherein they both subconsciously move in ways to resist pressure. Through the Silky Leash technique, the dogs learn how to give way to pressure and then move into it on their leash. This especially diminishes the “push-me and pull-you” effect that normally results in that unwarranted tug-of-war. Find out more about his method in Grisha’s blog.
• Emily Larlham’s Method. Another excellent dog training work is that of Emily Larlham. Lots of notable positive reinforcement videos are available on YouTube, including how to effectively walk your pooch on loose leash. If your dog suddenly gets distracted by new interesting scents as he walks with you, Emily’s videos will teach you how you can make use of your pooch’s sniffing behavior as a reward while you keep him from pulling you over just to check out that new smell.