Useful behaviors to train: Walking on a loose leash

Loose-leash walking: 

For some dogs, this one is very easy, and for others, quite frustrating.  It is best if the dog never has any opportunity to learn to pull on the leash.  Dogs generally pull because they are excited and in a hurry to go somewhere.  If Fido is pulling, and you move forward, you have just rewarded him for pulling!  At times when you are in a low-distraction, secure environment, reward Fido for following you closely as you move about.  This is particularly easy when he is a puppy and tends to follow adults closely, anyway.  With an adult dog, this is a behavior you may have to train to install.  In the same environment, when Fido is staying close, snap on the leash, and reward heavily for keeping the leash loose and staying with you as you walk around the house and yard.  If he should ever pull, stop!  Be a tree.  Wait until he has stopped pulling to move forward, or even change directions.  Continue to reward a loose leash.  As Fido improves, move to more distracting environments, a few steps at a time.  For chronic pullers, for really exciting, new places, or for situations where you need excellent control, like at the veterinarian’s office, consider training Fido to wear a Gentle Leader or other head collar.

If you want him to walk on your left side, begin to click him only when he is on your left, or put various positions in relation to you on different cues.  Morgan Spector’s book, Clicker Training for Obedience, has ideas on how to turn a loose-leash walk into a formal heel.  Spector’s book is a must-read for any clicker-trainer who aims to train for competitive obedience. 

With my hound, Elvis, I have learned to use the environment itself, specifically sniffies, to walk nicely. When he is outside, he has no interest in treats or toys, but access to good things to sniff is paramount when he is on a leash. When he walks nicely, he gets access to the grass, poles, bushes, and other interesting sniffies by the side of the road. If he pulls toward a sniffy, I pull him in the other direction so he loses the sniffy. If he is really excitable, I lunge him like a horse in the middle of the road until he calms down. Then I walk him, using the above “be a tree” rules, in the middle of the road. When he is calm, I will allow him access to the side of the road, as long as he remembers not to pull me there. He is very intelligent, but tricky to motivate.

Important:  When walking your dog, try to keep a loose leash when you pass other walkers or dogs.  Over time tightening up tends to make the dog fearful and encourages on-leash aggression.