A dog’s natural inclinations and leash walking skills are somewhat at odds. Dogs love to gather information via sniffing and move along as their curiosity leads them. This can be an engrossing activity, where the human can be ignored. Rushing to investigate an area, urine marking, and reacting to stimuli in the environment are all part of the routine. Polite leash walking is a skill set that requires other behaviors.
It Starts During Puppyhood
It is tempting to place a collar or harness and leash on an inexperienced leash walker and head outside. Behaviors range from pulling and frenetic movement, balking or lying down and refusing to move, biting the leash, weaving around the handler’s legs, and wanting to chase squirrels, cars, other dogs, people, etc.…. There is no real motivation or practice for the dog walking beside his person.
Introduce leash walking on your patio or deck. Work in the driveway. Take a handful of kibbles or treats. Elicit the puppy’s walking with you, by your side. Reinforce this behavior with bites of food. Make this fun for the puppy and easy for him to learn.
Time to Extend the Route – Gradually (!)
Leash walking is a process and going too fast, too soon is an invitation for set backs. Up the ante with food reinforcement. Exposure to higher levels of distraction require higher value food to obtain and sustain your dog’s attention on you. This usually translates to human food: chicken, cheese, liverwurst, hot dogs, and the like. To get this process on track, you will need lots of very small bites.
Reinforce all attention to you and walking on a loose leash with a bite of food. Keep walks short (10-15) minutes and go 3-5 times each day. Vary the routes somewhat. No on leash greetings with other dogs. (People greetings are OK if jumping can be redirected.) Sniffing is permitted. It is a joy for dogs!
The Connection with your Dog is Key
Dogs who walk beside their owners in a relaxed and reliable way do so because they want to! They are out in the natural world with their trusted human. Leash walking is not a pulling contest between dog and human. As time goes along, dogs should bond closely with their person(s). This is a process, as is learning great leash walking skills.
There are many elements in the natural world that interest and, sometimes, frighten dogs. In the absence of a strong connection, a true handler/dog team is not likely. Remember that your dog is looking to you for leadership and learning. Dogs learn great leash skills when their people learn great handling skills.
Copyright © Kimberly B. Mandel CPDT-KA, 2019 all rights reserved
Kimberly Mandel Canine Behavior and Training LLC