Loose Leash Training Tips
For Dog Walking Success

Loose leash training is another one of the important and very useful basic dog commands. Leash training a puppy is critical or walking the dog will become a nightmare of pulling, dragging, weaving, choking, or chasing.

loose leash training

Teaching your dog to walk calmly on a loose leash will make your walks a happy experience for both of you.

Loose Leash Training Tips:

  1. Put a buckle or snap collar (not a choke collar) on your dog with a 4 to 6 foot leash (not a flexi-leash). Make sure the collar fits well and that you adjust as your dog grows. Harnesses can be a very safe and easy way to train your dog. Most puppies will pull on the leash at first, and a harness will prevent injury to the Coton's fragile neck.
  2. Give a command the dog recognizes as going for a walk such as “let’s go” or “let’s walk”.
  3. Start walking and every time he pulls, turn in the other direction and say “let’s go” the moment his leash tightens.
  4. You’ll probably have to repeat many times, but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get very far at first. Make sure not to yank your small dog or you can inadvertently hurt him, especially if you're not using a harness.
  5. As soon as he’s moving on a loose leash, give him a small treat and praise him.
  6. If you start out in the house or yard you may have to be patient when he regresses a little when you move to a more distracting environment and he’s faced with people, other animals and cars. Practice is the key, as your dog will get desensitized to various sites and sounds in his environment.
  7. If your dog is having trouble with this command you may want to try a head collar since the dog has to follow where you lead with this type of collar. Just make sure you get the right size.
  8. BE PATIENT AND CONSISTENT WITH YOUR LOOSE LEASH TRAINING. 

Remember that there’s more than one way to leash train a dog and every dog learns differently. Select one training method and stick with it; consistency is the key to success. You want going for a walk to be a good experience for you and your dog.



More Dog Training Links:

Sit Command

Come Command

Down Command

Beyond Basic Dog Training

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