Loose-Leash Walking
Walking together without pulling — the longest skill to train and the one that requires the most patience and consistency.
Adolescent Note
Loose-leash walking is THE adolescent struggle. Bryn's world is exploding with fascinating smells, sights, and sounds, and she wants to investigate all of it NOW. Be patient. Use management tools (front-clip harness) alongside training. Expect this to take months, not weeks. Celebrate small improvements.
Training Stages
Teach Bryn that walking next to you is the most rewarding place to be.
- In a boring indoor space, take one step. If Bryn is anywhere near your side, mark and treat at your hip.
- Take another step. Mark and treat at your hip again.
- Gradually increase: 1 step → 2 steps → 5 steps → 10 steps between treats.
- Always deliver the treat at your hip/thigh level, on the side you want her to walk.
Advance When
Bryn walks beside you for 10 steps indoors with minimal leash tension, 8 out of 10 times.
Watch Out
Delivering treats ahead of you — this teaches her to forge ahead. Always treat at your hip.
Starting outdoors. This skill MUST be built indoors first.
Tips
Use a treat pouch so rewards are instant. Speed matters.
A front-clip harness makes managing pulling easier while you train, without using aversive tools.
Teach Bryn that pulling doesn't work — it stops forward motion entirely.
- Walk with Bryn. The moment the leash goes taut, stop. Stand still. Say nothing.
- Wait for any slack in the leash: she looks at you, sits, takes a step back. Mark and reward.
- Resume walking. Repeat every single time the leash goes taut.
- Be ready to stop 50+ times on one walk initially. This is normal.
Advance When
Bryn starts to self-correct when she feels leash tension, checking in with you without you having to stop as often.
Watch Out
Being inconsistent — pulling works sometimes but not others. It must NEVER result in forward motion.
Getting frustrated and yanking the leash. Leash corrections teach her nothing useful and erode trust.
Tips
This is the single most patience-requiring skill. Progress is measured in weeks, not days.
Alternate between 'training walks' (focus on LLW) and 'decompression walks' (long line, let her sniff). Not every walk needs to be training.
Build duration and proof against outdoor distractions.
- Start on quiet streets at low-traffic times.
- Gradually add challenges: busier sidewalks, passing dogs at a distance, passing people.
- Use check-ins: reward Bryn for voluntarily looking at you during the walk.
- Practice 'let's go' direction changes to keep her engaged when she starts drifting.
Advance When
Bryn walks on a loose leash for most of a 15-minute walk in your neighborhood with manageable pulling moments.
Watch Out
Expecting perfection. A 'good' walk has some pulling — the goal is a general trend, not absolute compliance.
Walking the same route every day. Novel routes create more engagement.
Tips
Let her sniff! Sniffing is enrichment and not misbehavior. Build in 'free sniff' breaks as rewards for nice walking.
Morning walks (when she's fresh) are usually hardest. Train this when she's already had some exercise.
Proofing — The 3 Ds
⏱
Duration
Build from 1 minute of nice walking → 5 minutes → 15 minutes → a full walk.
📏
Distance
Not distance from you, but distance of the walk.
🐿️
Distraction
Indoor hallway → quiet backyard → quiet street → regular neighborhood walk → busier areas.
Generalization
Practice on different types of paths: sidewalks, trails, grass, gravel. Each surface and environment needs separate reps. Different times of day matter too — evening walks with other dogs out are harder than early morning.
Troubleshooting
Bryn pulls toward every dog she sees
She's over threshold. Increase distance from the other dog until she can function. Reward heavily for looking at the dog and then looking back at you. This is a separate skill (look-at-that game) layered onto LLW.
Walks are exhausting and no fun for either of you
Split your walks: 5 minutes of training practice, then switch to a long line for decompression sniffing. Not every walk is a training walk. Both of you need to enjoy the walk.
Related Skills
Name/Focus (Watch Me)
Teaching Bryn to look at you when she hears her name — the gateway to every other skill.
Leave It
Teaching Bryn to disengage from something tempting on cue — a critical safety skill and impulse control builder.
Recall (Come)
Teaching Bryn to come reliably when called — the most important safety skill you'll teach.