LLW p1

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

Before even attempting this sort of skill, there must be an open line of communication between you & your dog. So a few questions to answer first:
-Have you trained with your dog before?
-Do you have a marker that you use?
-Have you practiced impulse control so your dog understands how to focus on you?

If the answer to those questions are yes then you’re ready for the next step.

Anytime a dog is learning something new you need an environment that is conducive to learning- and the outside world just doesn’t provide that for most beginner dogs, so we will start inside the home.

For the first few days I like to tether the dog to me and just allow the dog to learn how to follow me. This usually becomes easy for the dog after a few repetitions because there really is nothing else to do. When the dog is staying with me or follows me or changes directions as I do, I mark and reward. As the dog realizes you are rewarding him for his work, they begin to pay even more attention to you. If your dog is having a hard time and continues to get to the end of the leash then wait for part IV of this series for more directions on how to resolve that.

You can choose to teach a heel but it isn’t always necessary for every owner/dog.

Instead, you can just teach a verbal cue that means “we are going to continue moving now.” I like to use the verbal cue, “let’s go”.

So practice this within the home first for at least a week straight. Your dog can still have outside time but I would avoid doing an actual walk yet. We don’t want the dog practicing the unwanted behaviors while we’re trying to teach new ones. It will only make those behaviors stronger and it will be harder for us to build the new behavior as the stronger one.

If you feel like your dog is already able to do this, then wait for Part II tomorrow.