Loose lead walking is about turning walks into enjoyable, stress-free experiences for both you and your dog. This section provides practical, positive training games and techniques to teach your dog how to walk calmly by your side—without pulling or constant corrections. With step-by-step guidance, you’ll build better communication, boost your dog’s focus, and make every walk a chance to connect and explore together.
When practicing Loose Lead Walking, it’s always a good idea to be as consistent as possible and separate ‘training’ from your usual leisure walk. One of the ways to do this is to change the equipment that you are using. For example, for training you might use a double ended lead and attach one end to the front clip of the harness.
With leisure walks and fun activities, the preferred option would be off lead freedom. However, in the short term it would be best to use a longer lead (ideally a training line) and attach to the back clip of the harness. Always keep the training sessions fairly short so 10-15 minutes at a time.
When the lead is in the shape of a ‘J’ its Green Light, so keep walking. As soon as the lead goes tight, it’s ‘Red Light’ so stop immediately. At this point either wait for your dog to naturally come back to you or lure them back into Close position with a treat.
Ideally its best to delay them getting the treat until after you have started to walk forward again.
NOTE – While rewards for the initial Close position are fine, if a dog pulls and you have to stop, its best to only reward once you are moving forwards again.