This week let’s look at the foundation steps for helping a dog learn how to walk with you. We like to start with focusing on what we want the dog TO DO, rather than wait for them to start pulling us down the street. So let’s look at the beginning steps of teach a dog to heel. While your end goal might not be for your dog to walk at your side, it is still a very good way to start teaching your dog how to move with you when we ask them to.

check out the following exercises from Foundation Module 2.

And let’s make sure we clean up our dog’s associations with being leashed and unleashed. If your dog loses their mind with excitement, or tries to run the other way when they see the leash we have some work to do. Your dogs should see having their leashes put on and off as a positive normal experience. If you see potentially problematic behaviors shaping into your leashing you want to fix those right away before they become habits. See these exercises from Foundations Module 3

For loose leash walking I prefer if possible to teach it using a long line so I am doing very little with the leash and actually rewarding for staying connected to me and following me. I like to use large empty parking lots or other large open areas. Parking lots are easier with dogs as you generally have less sniffing distractions as you can get with grass. The following video is also in Foundation Module 3.

These exercises may all seem a little bit basic and like review for you, and that’s ok. A great trainer loves revisiting the basics and making sure your foundations are strong. All year long we are going to be digging in deeper and deeper into helping our dogs to learn to LOVE walking by us. If your dogs already know how to walk with you show me a video of your dog both: walking next to you in heel position and also walking with you on a loose leash. If your dogs have it down, show me the follow my lead game above and you can put some distractions on those things you are walking around, maybe set some toys on one chair and some treats on another of the chairs.