Anyone know the secret to always walking your dog on a loose leash? I do. Join the forum and discover the secret!

This is a great topic.

A few weeks ago we got a dog from the shelter. He's an Irish setter, about 6-8 years of age and is now a very happy dog. We were told he was trained as a gun dog in his former life.

He has a lovely character and is fun to be with, however walking him can be bit of an exercise. He is pulling all the time and walking "heel" is not want he wants to do naturally.
We try to train him daily: keep him on a short leash, walk him for 3 steps with the command "heel" and stop, and repeat this exercise and increase the steps gradually as he improves.
While we are doing this, he is improving every day, however, as soon as you let him go on the leash (5m retractable leash) you have to start right from the beginning again.

We are doing this exercise for the last 6 weeks and every day it seems we start from scratch again.

Please share any thoughts you have.

Best regards
Marcus

The secret is.. Never Let The Leash Get Tight.. next time you get ready to go for a walk make your dog sit..and be still. Don't put the leash on until he is calm and submissive..then when you are ready.. start to walk, and do not speak to you dog. When your dog starts to get ahead of you don't wait until the leash gets tight, stop immediately and go the other way..the dog will come to the end of the leash and get a correction,( a tug when the leash goes tight), when he turns around, what he sees is you walking the other way...in his view you did not correct him, he didn't hear you say anything, he won't associate the tug of the leash to you..he will just hurry to catch up to you... Apply this method to every encounter,,ie,,if he sees a squirrel to the right...before he gets to the end of the leash,,,stop and go to the left,change direction often,,go ahead, back up, speed up, slow down, go around the trees, over the bench, up on the rock..ect, be creative. This method will force the dog to focus on you...thus preventing the tight leash. Be consistant in conditioning this method,,,and the dog will soon realize that the only safe place is close to you. If you have any questions or want advice, feel free to contact me anytime. Harley Harrington Senior Trainer K9 Dog Academy 506-375-9017

Hey Dear Harley!

As I can see You are already well on your way here ;-)




Blessings,

Alain

Many thanks for you reply. Much appreciated. I will certainly give it a try!
I will let you know about the progress.

Have a good weekend
Marcus