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Great topic, Hope! One thing that can really help is foot-blocking the doorway until all is ready. Check out this photo from a CATCH in-person workshop at St. Hubert’s. See how Daniel’s foot is keeping the door shut while he organizes his slip line to be ready and unlocks the door? Using your foot can be a great way to keep that door shut, only opening it a few inches at a time. You can toss treats to the back of the kennel while you stick your hand & slipline inside the door with it open just a few inches (enough for your arm) while also blocking it from opening any further with your foot. This way, the dog is leashed BEFORE you open the door entirely. Then, keep the line slightly taut while you slide the “keeper” down the length of the lead to hold it in place. If the leash doesn’t have a keeper on it, that’s a real problem. Slip lines are not training leads and without a keeper, they must be kept taut in order to maintain attachment to the dog, as you unfortunately discovered. If you are taking the dog out to train, perhaps see if it’s possible to use a flat buckle collar and snap-on lead. Otherwise, you won’t make much progress on leash manners, at least.
