[stevieg12]

Hi all just wondering what your best ideas are to help your dog enjoy the leash more. Ill start off with mine and then you can all hopefully put your own.

I started by making sure my dog walked right next to me. Every time he strayed or pulled away i would stop and make him come back to me. Then i would start walking again. If he stayed next to me for a few seconds a praised him and gave him a treat. If he didnt i would do it all over again.

Hope it helps and hope many of you can post your ideas.

Thanks

[Birdie_M]

It depends on what your goal is. If your goal is just to help your dog enjoy the leash, then letting him sniff and explore are totally fine. If your goal is to help him enjoy the leash AND teach him to heel, then I think you're on the right track.

I work with my dogs to heel and just walk nicely. They are allowed to sniff and explore when I don't ask them to heel. I taught them to heel in a similar fashion to what you're doing. All positive reinforcement with treats when they get it right, and simply ignoring or redirecting when they get it wrong.

Have fun with your dog!