How to Hold the Leash During Walks featuring Penny

Meet Penny!

Penny is as sweet as they come. She is a gentle, lovable, cuddly 8 year old chocolate lab with owners who give her all that love right back. It wasn’t until they moved to the city, that they realized Penny had a problem. She pulled hard on walks. In fact, she pulled so hard, she even knocked her owner to the ground! 

In a case like this, we teach a solution called My Walk; a game designed to show Penny she must listen to the rules of the person holding the leash. The game is pretty easy to learn, anytime Penny pulls on the leash, the walk stops. Doing this teaching teaches Penny that she doesnt lead us on walks. Its "my walk" and she doesnt get what she wants by pulling.  

Learning how to handle and hold the leash on walks is the foundation.  It is especially important to hold the leash correctly considering Pennys past history with dangerously pulling so hard.

In order to prevent falling over, we hold the leash with both hands and stand with our feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. The idea is to use our center of gravity (our core) for strength. When we stop, we take a grounded stance, essentially, instead of using your arms, stopping the force of the pull with your entire body. 

Additionally, if we hold the leash with both hands and rest our arms on our body, we can depend less on our shoulders and more on having good balance and a strong foundation when she starts to pull.

It takes practice but if you are conistent shell learn who’s walk it really is: its your walk - not hers! 
 

For a complete explaination on  How to Hold the Leash and My Walk, including how to interrupt unwanted behaviors and how to walk a dog who doesnt want to walk - please visit Zen Dog Training Online.