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Loose Leash Walking does really seem to be an odd pairing of one of the hardest skills to teach a dog and the one that most dog owners think that their dogs should just know how to do. What we are asking simply isn’t natural to most of our dogs. Their pace is different from our pace (two long legs vs four shorter ones). Their focus is on odors, which we literally can’t experience!
The concepts I offer when teaching this skill are “the more you pay attention to your dog – the more your dog pays attention to you” and “catch them doing it right”. This may seem very abstract, but it does seem to shift the conversation to a more positive one than what we so often hear, “How do I stop my dog from pulling?”.
Then come the basics of how to hold a leash safely, finding a Home Position for the handler’s hands so as not to confuse the dog, and treat delivery placement.
Does anyone have some tips for teaching this skill to little dogs? My knees (and my clients) would welcome them!