You need to train yourself first

Our dog needs training to walk with a loose leash. That's a given. Or is it? We would argue that we people need the training first.

That's because the behaviour of our dog and the quality of our walk hugely depend on our own actions. In most cases of dogs pulling on the leash, no training for the dog is necessary - it's the humans who can make several important changes to help their dog. Let's take a closer look at what we can do to drastically improve the walks:

• The choice of equipment

One thing we can control is what our dog wears on walks. They need to be comfortable to be able to stay calm and not pull. They also need a long enough leash to have enough space to move freely. Choose a well-fitted Y(H)-shaped harness and a long simple leash of minimum 3 metres (10 feet) to give your dog the best chance of enjoying their walk.

Explore all the Smiling Leash articles on the appropriate equipment here:

• Leash handling

Of course, a longer leash is harder to handle. The best long leash handling skills help our dogs feel unrestricted and able to move naturally, which contributes to how calm they feel. That's why we have to learn and practise soft leash handling, without pulling ourselves. It can take some time and effort, so if you are new to a long leash, we recommend starting with 3 or 5 metre lengths and then proceed to even longer lines. It won't take long to see the results of your efforts - your dog will feel more relaxed on walks!

Good leash handling also entails knowing how to use our body language, which brings us to the next point.

• Your body language and speed of walking

Our dogs are amazing because they evolved to understand us very well. They are very sensitive to the meaning of our movements and voice. Check yourself: do you tend to talk a lot and move fast? Being calm, walking very very slowly and talking less will have a calming effect on your dog and will enhance their ability to remain relaxed during the walk.

This includes giving cues and commands to your dog, even positive reinforcement methods will distract dogs and prevent them from thinking and processing the world around them in a calm way.

Controlling our own body language and speed of walking is probably the hardest part for us humans, but practice makes perfect! Pro tip: if you think that you walk slowly enough, try walking even slower.

Try staying quiet and slowing down today, see what a great effect it makes on your dog and do it more often to help your dog stay calmer.

Learn more on how to use your body language here:

• The choice of environment

Pulling on the leash is often a result of stress. Choosing a quieter environment with fewer sounds, passers-by and moving things will increase your dog's chances of coping with the walk. If it's hard for you to always go to calmer places to walk, try changing your walk schedule to only go out in a quieter times of the day. It also helps to shorten your walk if the environment is too stimulating and your dog struggles to relax.

We all want to enjoy our walks together with our dog. That usually means we want our leash to smile and no pulling to happen. It's a wonderful goal to have! However, besides that goal we have very high expectations for our dogs: to always be calm, not pull and walk in the direction we choose. These expectations will very often get in the way of enjoying the walks and a trusting relationship with our dog.

Lowering the expectations and focusing on the appropriate environment, our own body language, making sure our dogs feel well and are able to cope will get us much further in achieving enjoyable walks than endless training.

We wrote about some unrealistic expectations in this blog post:

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