5 Tips to train Leash Walking
- Start with a high value reward: If your dog doesn’t show interest in what you have to offer, you’ll need to switch to something else
- Choose a location that your dog can give you their focus (so that they’re able to think and learn)
- Ditch the leash at first – it doesn’t mean anything to your dog: Leash Walking is not about the leash, and it will be easier for you to train if you skip trying to hold a leash for now. If you’ve tried tip 2. then you’re likely in your fenced yard or inside your home(don’t try this somewhere you can’t contain your dog!), where you can safely train without a leash.
- Keep your sessions short… 10 seconds of quality behaviour is worth more than 30 seconds of distracted or confused dog.
- Break down your goal: start with what your dog CAN do and then gradually build on that.
Happy Training!