# Loose leash walking



## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

I teach loose leash walking by going to a field or large empty yard and forgetting about straight lines. I start walking and when dog starts to pull, I abruptly change directions. There is no destination. Once puppy is looking to me for direction consistently (it can take days!), I will move to a sidewalk and start a straight line. If puppy pulls, I will about-face and go the other way. I’m careful to never jerk the dog or puppy in any of this training, just change direction so they cannot pull.


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## Mr.Ziggy (Jul 14, 2020)

It may also help to start indoors in a familiar area and lots of treats. We step forward, you get a treat! We step forward again, you get a treat! Gradually get to where you are walking treating every few steps. 

Indoors there are fewer distractions so it will be easier to focus on you.
I also highly recommend this harness for leash pulling. If she is pulling hard now, you want to make sure she doesn't hurt her trachea while she learns how to walk. But some harnesses that clip in the back end up encouraging pulling. I have found this one is gentle, but forces your dog to turn towards you when they pull. 










PETSAFE Easy Walk Dog Harness, Black/Silver, Medium/Large - Chewy.com


Buy PetSafe Easy Walk Dog Harness, Black/Silver, Medium/Large at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!




www.chewy.com


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I recommend stop followed by direction change as soon as your pup looks at you. Stop when she is at your side and looking at you and give a treat and/or praise. With my puppies I am sure my neighbors think I am crazy since I might only go past one house with all my stopping and turning around but it has work for all three of our recent dogs. All of them were trained on martingale or flat buckle collars. I also do not like harnesses too well since some of them actually can turn even a toy dog into a sled hauler ready for the Iditarod, and others can injure dogs if they are designed to restrict range of motion. Additionally any tool that forces a dog to do something like turn around or prevents something like a jump up is a punishment. That isn't to say that other tools don't also result in punishment through their use. Let's just be honest with ourselves about what we are doing.


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## Mr.Ziggy (Jul 14, 2020)

lily cd re said:


> Additionally any tool that forces a dog to do something like turn around or prevents something like a jump up is a punishment.


Correct. Even if the dog is on a collar and you force the dog to stop walking or change direction when they pull, that is a negative punishment. You are removing a reward (walking forward) and forcing them to do something (stopping). 
If the dog is choking themself, that may need to be addressed with a safer tool to protect their trachea.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

I think right now you are focusing on what you want the dog to stop doing: stop pulling. What do you want the dog to do instead of pulling? My guess is that there is an additional component to all this: the dog has tuned you out in favor of interesting smells, taunting squirrels, and all the other distractions of a walk.

I think the sitting is actually a good sign, even though it's not the behavior you want. It means you are occasionally penetrating that busy doggy consciousness, and she is responding with an action she thinks will please you. That's great!

Other people might have other suggestions, but I would work on getting her solid with three alternative behaviors. One is Come to Heel, the second is Look at Me, and the third is Follow Me When I Change Direction. (You can call them whatever works for you. I use "With me, " and "Yo!" and "This way!") Practice these many many times in situations that are free of distractions. Then, when she's towing you along like a water skier, ask her to look at you or come to heel or follow you. Spice up your walks by doing unexpected things and rewarding her magnificently when she reacts to your direction change or whatever.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

I also do the change direction thing. I was glad of it with Annie, who is far more motivated by 'oooh! thing in the distance! Sniffs!" Than anything I might have in my pocket. I start on the sidewalk, and usually end up walking back and forth in front of one house for quite a while. The trick is to be 100% consistent and turn the moment there is pressure on the leash. 

Annie went through some regression as a teenage puppy where she didn't think 'no pulling' applied to her, yet I still needed to walk her for exercise. I was exhausted, had let her get away with it a few times and she took that and ran with it. I really struggled to be 100% consistent without getting frustrated when we were walking for as much as 2 hours per day and I didn't have much opportunity to let her run off leash and burn energy that way. 

I found it helpful to have both a harness and a collar. I allowed some pulling on one (I think it was the harness), and practiced perfect non-pulling on the other (martingale) for short periods of time (even just a minute or two) before switching to the other tool for the rest of the walk and only stopping/turning for really bad examples. Then, I gradually worked up how much time we spent on the "absolutely no pulling allowed" tool before switching over until eventually we did whole shorter walks (10 min) on the no pull tool, then longer walks... It sounds complicated, but saved my sanity by not having to be in training mode all of the time.

Another thing that helped Annie learn to not pull was letting Annie 'earn' a longer walk. As we returned to the house from a walk, if she wasn't pulling, we walked on past the house. The moment she pulled, we went home. I also did this on pee breaks (no yard, so peeing was outside on leash). The moment she peed, we went for a short walk that ended when she pulled. It's amazing how quickly we progressed with that motivation!


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Duplicate, oops


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

If loose leash walking was as easy to train as stop when the dog pulls, no one's dog would pull. There are as many different ways to train loose leash walking as there are dogs. None of them work for every dog. I've had success with 1 step = 1 treat. Two steps = 1 treat. Three steps = 1 treat and so on. Do not try to stretch it beyond eight steps, because the dog gets frustrated. Once you reach 8 steps = 1 treat, go back to one step = 1 treat. Start this practice indoors with no distractions. Move it to your driveway. Then try it in front of your home. Back and forth, back and forth, stopping and treating over and over.

Another method that works well needs two people. Set out six traffic cones in a straight row. If you are doing this on a sidewalk, one cone per side walk square. Walk to each traffic cone, pause and treat. Walk to next cone, pause and treat. When you reach the end, have your partner remove the second to last cone. Walk back pausing and treating, and walk the longer gap, pause and treat. Partner now removes the second to the last cone on the other side. Now you have, cone, big gap, cone cone, big gap cone. Go back again, same thing. Partner removes one of the middle cones. Now you have cone, big gap, cone, big gap, cone. Walk to the center cone, treat, walk to the end cone, treat. Repeat. Remove the center cone. Walk from one cone to the other. 

Same game, one cone every other sidewalk square. Same game, one cone every third side walk square...

Use very high value treats for this game because you have to compete with the environment. 

Good luck!


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

_Starts taking notes_


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

Lots of good ideas and thoughts shared! Here are a couple that helped Bobby learn. 

When Bobby was learning leash walking skills I would take him into the street, later in the evening when there was no traffic. Any large area will work but I liked the street because there were less distractions, at least where we live. I also liked the physical parameters of one side to the other, kind of like cones. We walked basically from one side of the street to the other varying the pace as we worked our way down the block. We did lots of turns, circles, large “S” shapes, a lot of direction changes as we walked down the street. He had nothing to sniff but the high value treats that I generously rewarded him with. This approach really helped his loose leash skills as he really had to focus on me. I kept him engaged by talking, singing, praising and treats. We started out easy then worked our way up in speed and how much we turned, etc. I always made it positive and fun. I did this quite regularly and I think it really helped him learn. We basically would go one or two blocks at most, starting with just a partial block when he was first learning. We still do this activity sometimes as he’s very good at it and it’s a great workout. 

When we were just starting out I held a whole hotdog in my left hand and let him nibble as he walked by me. 

We also did a lot of turning the opposite direction when Bobby pulled. 

I have heard that loose leash walking and heeling are one of the hardest things to teach a dog. Some days it can be quite discouraging (Bobby pulled very bad as a young dog) but with lots of practice and maturity they do improve and eventually learn to walk nicely. 😊


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Loose leash walking took a lot of work for Misha. He still pulls when he's in a very exciting new place but is quite good in areas he is used to walking in.

For him I started out with a collar but had to switch to a harness. He was just too prone to darting and would make himself choke. It was not safe. I mostly used the technique of stopping when he pulled. I also did some work trying to teach him to walk at a slower pace by making myself actually walk really slowly to force him to change gait. The problem is that his normal gait is a trot which is faster than me. So he had to learn to pace rather than trot to stay at the same speed as me. Took a long time. I can understand. Another thing I did was to use a verbal warning when he started to pull to help him understand exactly when the error occurred. For me it's something like tut-tut-tut. I think it helped him to pick up on the issue.

Now if he pulls I tell him to Slow Down and he actually does listen and goes slower.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

This won't help with the pulling issue but as I recall, Noodle is a tpoo. Is a collar the right tool?


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Another method is become a living Pez dispenser. If you have a small dog, use a sticky treat on a wooden spoon. If you have a really small dog, tape two wooden spoons together. Anyhow...

Hold a pile of treats in your left hand. Put your thumb on the seam of your pants and keep it there. Stand still. Let the dog snorkel treats from your hand like you're a Pez dispenser. (Or, hold your spoon(s) against the side of your leg, same thing) Repeat, repeat. Once the dog is happily snorkeling treats, take one step forward, go back to letting the dog snorkel up treats again. Next day, same game, two steps and stop. Next day, three steps and stop. Next day, four steps and stop...

This builds value for hanging out at your side instead of just wandering around on a leash. A lot of dogs are trained in front of us because our eyes face forward. It's natural for us to train our dogs in front of us. Then we put a leash on and expect the dog to walk at our side. Why should they if we haven't built value for our left side? And why do dogs heel on our left? Most people are right handed. Sword on right, dog on left. Gun on right, dog on left. Ahhhh, makes so much sense now, doesn't it?


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## Phaz23 (May 31, 2020)

lily cd re said:


> I recommend stop followed by direction change as soon as your pup looks at you. Stop when she is at your side and looking at you and give a treat and/or praise. With my puppies I am sure my neighbors think I am crazy since I might only go past one house with all my stopping and turning around but it has work for all three of our recent dogs. All of them were trained on martingale or flat buckle collars. I also do not like harnesses too well since some of them actually can turn even a toy dog into a sled hauler ready for the Iditarod, and others can injure dogs if they are designed to restrict range of motion. Additionally any tool that forces a dog to do something like turn around or prevents something like a jump up is a punishment. That isn't to say that other tools don't also result in punishment through their use. Let's just be honest with ourselves about what we are doing.


Im so glad you said this. I know it’s controversial but I tried a gentle leader on my dog and after a while I saw that it brought his whole demeanor down, he wasn’t being well-behaved- he was giving up. Then I tried a front clip harness and he was so confused and angry about being turned around, it made him over wary and nervous about walking. I thought about how it affected him, and what my ultimate goals were and was like well...how is this better than a prong or low level shock from an e-collar? Now I just walk him on a buckle collar and reinforce him being at my side and looking at me. I can feed nearly his whole day’s meal during a walk. If he pulls I stop, he stops, I walk beside him and then we keep going. If he pulls repeatedly or strongly, I say “lets go!” to prepare him for the turn, and then we change direction or walk in a circle until he chills. I also use pre-mack, he walks beside me nicely and then I reward with “go sniff!!” And he reads the doggy newspaper, then we repeat. At home, following me closely gets treats, attention, and play. Any time he’s by my left leg, food and toys are coming his way so after a while being there is where he wants to be all the time. He still pulls occasionally but its coming together for sure. Sometimes the solution is just a longer leash, it takes 2 to pull 😋


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## Charlie's Person (Dec 9, 2018)

Appreciate reading everyone's comments. Charlie the Spoo is turning 4, and we walk for several hours a day. We did alot of work with changing direction every time he pulled, and it seems to be a good technique. He wears a loose buckled collar, and usually walks at heel on a loose lead . However, my husband has bad shoulders and cannot risk being pulled. At 85 pounds, Charlie has injured his person more than once by suddenly yanking when he saw deer or squirrels running through the park, quite common here. I put a Gentle Leader on Charlie because the special harness he wears for hiking on mountain trails with me is designed for hauling his old person up steep rocky slopes, and he is supposed to pull when in a harness. Charlie hates the Gentle Leader but walks perfectly for my husband on a loose lead or trots beside my bicycle without pulling me over, no matter what distractions appear. I just don't like how very sad it makes him and have resolved to go back to re-training him to heel with only a buckle collar. At least he would only have to wear the Gentle Leader when my husband walks him

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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Charlie's Person said:


> Appreciate reading everyone's comments. Charlie the Spoo is turning 4, and we walk for several hours a day. We did alot of work with changing direction every time he pulled, and it seems to be a good technique. He wears a loose buckled collar, and usually walks at heel on a loose lead . However, my husband has bad shoulders and cannot risk being pulled. At 85 pounds, Charlie has injured his person more than once by suddenly yanking when he saw deer or squirrels running through the park, quite common here. I put a Gentle Leader on Charlie because the special harness he wears for hiking on mountain trails with me is designed for hauling his old person up steep rocky slopes, and he is supposed to pull when in a harness. Charlie hates the Gentle Leader but walks perfectly for my husband on a loose lead or trots beside my bicycle without pulling me over, no matter what distractions appear. I just don't like how very sad it makes him and have resolved to go back to re-training him to heel with only a buckle collar. At least he would only have to wear the Gentle Leader when my husband walks him
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk


Ahhhhh. I can relate to this.  I have joints that easily dislocate, and those unexpected pulls are an ongoing problem with Peggy. She’ll be great 99% of the time, but all it takes is a sudden jerk when her brain turns off to do serious harm. We’ve never tried a gentle leader, but I suspect she would hate it.

Very hard to train for events that are so very rare and unpredictable.


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## PecheythePoo (Feb 9, 2021)

that_poodle_noodle said:


> I’ve been trying to do some loose leash training with Noodle because at the moment she pulls really hard whenever we go for a walk, but I think I might have confused her and wondered if anyone has any tips please?
> 
> I’ve tried stopping whenever she pulls but I don’t think she understands what I want from her, because as soon as I stop she sits down. Then when we set off again, she rushes forward, almost choking herself in the process, so I stop and she just sits (and this happens over and over again). Is there anything I can do to help Noodle know what it is I’d like her to do?


As others have shared, I’ve had success with immediately turning around whenever Pechey pulls. After a couple of weeks of extremely short walks, where I essentially walked back and forth in front of my house for 5 minutes, she now walks quite well on a loose leash.

I found this training tutorial to be extremely helpful:









Loose Leash Walking


Loose leash walking can be a challenge for many dogs. Our extensive guide explains step-by-step how to get your dog to walk politely and without pulling!




spiritdogtraining.com


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## Charlie's Person (Dec 9, 2018)

Thank you so very much for sharing Spirit Dog Training! I checked it out and it totally makes sense. Also agrees with the lessons I got from a profesional dog trainer I went to when Charlie was a pup. I've been working on refreshing Charlie the Poodle s training. Totally my fault for getting lax. For example, I trained all of our dogs to never cross a door threshold without a command. Essential when we had a busy household of kids dashing in and out and heavy traffic right outside our front door. Charlie has started moseying across the courtyard in front of our condo because he is buddies with all of the neighbors and gets cuddles whenever he finds one outdoors. I also appreciated the loose leash walking advice, so sensible. Charlie always walks on a loose lead no matter what the distraction- as long as it is his headcollar . Need to get this behavior to happen with a flat collar too. Much appreciate the sharing!!

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## that_poodle_noodle (Jul 24, 2020)

Thank you so much everyone, there’s some great advice on here! I decided to start off using ‘heel’ and ‘look at me’ whenever she pulls and upgraded my treats to something higher value and so far we seem to be making good progress! 

Even though she still pulls occasionally, I’ve been able to redirect her attention so she doesn’t hurt herself (she is a toy poodle and I initially used a harness with her but she hated it so much that every time it was time for a walk she ran and hid under the sofa, so I ended up switching to a collar which she much prefers).

And at one point on our walk this afternoon she even trotted along to heel voluntarily, looking up at me and licking her lips in anticipation, which made me laugh (and give her a treat of course!)


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

that_poodle_noodle said:


> Thank you so much everyone, there’s some great advice on here! I decided to start off using ‘heel’ and ‘look at me’ whenever she pulls and upgraded my treats to something higher value and so far we seem to be making good progress!
> 
> Even though she still pulls occasionally, I’ve been able to redirect her attention so she doesn’t hurt herself (she is a toy poodle and I initially used a harness with her but she hated it so much that every time it was time for a walk she ran and hid under the sofa, so I ended up switching to a collar which she much prefers).
> 
> And at one point on our walk this afternoon she even trotted along to heel voluntarily, looking up at me and licking her lips in anticipation, which made me laugh (and give her a treat of course!)


It sounds like you are making great progress!


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