Loose-Leash Walking Muggsy-Style

In addition to what my brother said (Mom must have been coaching him because those were good tips), an additional challenge to loose-leash walking is a nervous dog. I can tell you this for certain because I am a nervous dog. I provided an additional challenge to Mom's training because when I'm nervous, it's really difficult to listen, so I continue to pull.

When faced with this situation, as some of Mom's clients have been recently, remember that you are training two different things: calm and loose-leash walking. To be able to effectively train loose-leash walking, you have to help your dog learn calm behavior outside. This can be as simple as desensitization and counter-conditioning, two big scientific words that mean exposing us to fear at low levels and then pairing that thing that scares us with something that makes us happy, like treats. We've talked about how to do this before, but make sure to move slowly. If your dog is taking the treats too hard, won't take them at all or is reacting, you're moving too fast. You want your dog to feel comfortable.

If your dog is very nervous, however, this might not be enough. Many dogs, like me, don't know how to feel "calm." They've never felt it, so they don't know what you're looking for. When my mom was training me, the best advice she got was from New York trainer Sue Sternberg, who said that she needed to find someplace where there was nothing scary and just let me run. So twice a week, my mom would drive me an hour to this abandoned trail in Yorba Linda where we never saw other dogs or people. On that trail, for the first time ever, I learned to relax. Now, I can do it in other environments once I have been conditioned because I know how it feels. Before that experience, I wasn't capable of calming to that level. You may need to find a place like that for your dog. If you can't do that, try walking your dog up and down the same stretch of a block over and over until all the sights and sounds are no longer scary. Try going at night or early morning when the area is more quiet. When you see your dog offering you calm signals, such as relaxed tail, ears and body posture, reward profusely with praise and treats. Do this at home if you notice calm behavior as well. (I didn't even calm down at home.)

Once your dog is comfortable in an area, then you can teach loose-leash walking. If you get pulling with your nervous dog, use the normal tips for pulling to smells but recognize when your dog is pulling because he is nervous about a sight or sound. At that time, you have to stop your loose-leash walking training and start training him to be comfortable.

It certainly makes your job a little harder, but my mom can tell you from experience, the first time you see your dog show a calming behavior (mine was finally relaxing my tail), it is 100% worth the work. She still tears up when she thinks about it, like right now.

Love, Muggsy