Description
6 Week Self-Study Course
This is the ULTIMATE Leash Walking course to teach your dog to relax and want to walk by your side when out and about.
How does this self-study course work?
After purchase you will gain access to the content immediately. You will need to first login by clicking the ‘My account’ tab in the main menu. Once logged in, you will find a link to the downloadable handout on the ‘My account’ page. To access the 6 weeks of video and written lessons click on the tab ‘Self-Study Courses’ and choose ‘Leash Walking CONNECTED’. The material will be accessible as long as dogmantics.com exists.
After reading the introduction, each week read and watch the tutorials on how to train the exercises for each week. The charts and quick reminders in the homework handout will help you keep track of how many times to work on each exercise each week.
About this self-study course
If loose leash walking was as simple to teach as stopping when your dog pulls and moving when your dog is next to you… most people would succeed with training their dogs to walk on a loose leash. For some dogs it is as easy as this, while for others it’s not. I believe the main reason people struggle with loose leash walking is that the pulling is the symptom of another problem, so no matter how hard you work at it the pulling keeps coming back. The main problem that I believe to be the cause of pulling is that the dog is over excited or stressed when out and about. This 6 week intensive program focuses on exercises that are designed to not only teach your dog to walk next to you, but also how to practice impulse control and calm down in order to get to the root of the leash walking problem. Each week you will be working on a variety of exercises ranging from working on a “Settle”, relationship building exercises like the “Recall” and “Attention noise”, “Leave it” exercises, and building the concept of walking at your side. Because the training is conducted with no forms of physical or psychological intimidation, all these exercises benefit any behavior modification program.
This self-study course is comprised of an introduction and 6 weeks of online written and video lessons explaining how to train your dog the weekly exercises. There is also a PDF handout to download with quick reminders of how to train each of the exercises. The handout also contains weekly charts to fill in, showing you exactly which exercises to work on each week and how many times to work on each exercise.
This course is perfect for anyone who has watched my Video on Demand on Reactivity or Harnessing the Hunter as it mirrors the leash walking methods used in both yet goes into more detail and explains precisely how to advance from week 1 to week 6 with the different exercises. I designed this leash walking course after receiving many emails from those who wanted a course that could help them know precisely what to practice each week, how many times to practice the exercises and when to increase criteria. During the 6 weeks you will be focusing on teaching new behaviors, increasing criteria, and taking your training on the road. The exercises are cleverly ordered so that previously learned skills set the dog up for the exercises in the next week’s lesson.
After 12 years of helping others with their dogs who pull on leash, I have refined this 6 week program for focusing on loose leash walking. Many of the techniques I use are based on the teachings I learned from my most wonderful mentor Kyle Rayon so many years ago, yet have withstood the test of time. Some of the techniques I have changed or added to, as well as come up with unique ways to train specific exercises.
Who is this course for?
This self-study course is for anyone who has a dog 6 months or older that pulls when on a leash. It is designed for those whose dogs pull from time to time as well as for those with dogs who pull like a freight train. The material is explained in a way that someone new to owning and training a dog can easily understand, yet the content should also be beneficial for even advanced trainers.
Because this is an intensive 6 week course focusing on leash walking for dogs who already pull, it is not suited for young puppies as they need a much broader initial education and socialization. Check out my ‘Weekly Puppy Insights’ membership which briefly covers basic leash walking with puppies.
If you have a dog who is so strong that you cannot control your dog on your own or a dog who can become overly fearful, reactive or aggressive, consult a trainer who uses intimidation-free training in order to help you with these exercises which can easily be incorporated into any behavior modification program. This will keep both you and your dog safe.