Dog Owner Question: How to train a loose leash walk?

Boone, a client's dog, walking through York's Marketfest
with me.

I am sorry to inform you, I can't even summarize this in a short article with a quick tip.   That being said, if you are willing to do the work and practice it is not hard.  Loose leash walking is one of the most common things asked for by dog owners.   This is one of the fastest and easiest things to start in dog training, but you do actually have to train and teach your dog how to do it.   It is not going to get better if you try and wait it out (or you will only get there when your dog becomes geriatric).   When first training basic obedience, this is usually one of the first things we work on from day one.   Then it is practiced and maintained going forward as the rest of obedience is built upon loose leash walking.

What exactly is loose leash walking?   When people talk about this, they are not usually talking about the more formal command "heel".   However, it means that the dog can walk on the leash without going to the end of it and pulling or putting pressure on the leash.  The dog has learned and knows how to walk on a leash in partnership with their owner.

Good boy Boone enjoying Marketfest with me.

Loose leash walking is a very important skill for a dog to have.   It allows the dog to go to more places outside of the home, and makes the walks enjoyable to BOTH the owner and the dog.  It builds confidence and impulse control, which you will appreciate even more so if you have a reactive dog.

Trust me, the dog is not comfortable pulling or lunging against their collar.    Dogs in general are much happier when the owner is not frustrated with them as well.   By teaching this to your dog, you are only going to improve their life as well as your enjoyment of bringing them out with you.

As for methods (or parts of methods, as a method is the whole process of teaching obedience via a plan) there are many:

1. There is the old stand like a tree when your dog hits the end of the leash.   Most dogs need a little more than this when they get older.   I find it useful for very young puppies to get started on this (among other ways).
2. There is the Mike Ellis type method for which will rely on your building a relationship based on engagement for you and your dog.   I have used this with my dogs, but not as the only method yet.
3. There is the long line method that I use for dogs six months and older that is based off the beginning of the Koehler method.    Of course the use for this is to build whole obedience skills with this as simply the start.  Generally, I find this a great way of laying a foundation not only for obedience but impulse control as well.
4. Personally, I like to train a formal heel and then loosen that up at a later date.  I find (for me) that makes the process a lot less frustrating and ultimately faster.  Plus, I use heel quite a bit anyway.  I do start heel with the long line above.

The things to think about when choosing a method are the following:

1. What are your specific goals?  Different owners have different goals that could effect the method of training preferred (for example they may later want to work in agility, free style dancing, or maybe they just want a nice family pet).
2. What is the temperament of your dog and are you having any other problems that you need to address?   Sometimes you can take your time training your dog, and other times other factors may make training an immediate safety need.  You also may need to take current behavioral problems into consideration.
3. How old is your dog or puppy?   Adult dogs and puppies younger than six months old are generally trained in a different way with different expectations.  Young puppies are not mature enough yet to give the same performance or perform to expectations of a mature older adult.
4. What is your dog mellow, hyper, or fearful?   This may also effect the method you wish to adopt going forward.   
5. Who else regularly interacts with your dogs and do they have any special needs?
6. What is the dog owner's health and activity level like?  There are some training methods that require more physically of the dog owner than others, especially in the first few weeks or months.

My newest dog, Shana, has been brought up on two methods or two modified parts of two tweaked methods.   Here she is doing the more formal, fuss or focused heel.   This really helps with the more informal loose leash walking.  The video below is more the Mike Ellis type of engagement training.

There is a lot to think about when choosing the method for your dog.   It is best to have a professional dog trainer walk you through it, if you are not already familiar with some of these methods and concepts.

In the video link above, Boy was taught to do a loose leash walk in about 7 to 8 days.   Then his performance continued to improve as his training was continued and maintained.   Boy had some serious behavioral problems and fear in general.  So if a dog like Boy (who was fearful and moderately aggressive) can be taught and learn, then it is super easy to teach this to a dog without behavior problems.

The final outcome of loose leash walking should look something like this:)