Loose leash walking means you and your dog are walking at the same pace with the leash relaxed. This training comes in handy when you are walking your dog in a public space and you don’t want him to be distracted or be a nuisance in the environment.
What you need to Teach Your Dog to Walk on a loose Leash
- A collar or harness.
- A 4-6 foot long leash.
- Lots of treats
How to Teach Your Dog To Walk on The Loose Leash
- Do the training in a quiet environment where there is no distraction. The training is preferably done on empty stomach.
- Start walking your dog with a command prompt (e.g., Walk) and reward it with a treat immediately after it starts walking with you.
- Keep walking to and fro in circles using the command prompt and rewarding.
- Gradually start introducing the dog to an environment where there is a distraction with a loose leash. The distraction should be simple and increase gradually.
- Increase the distraction from moderate to high and repeat steps 2-4 again.
- Keep practicing in different environments and situations.