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This is your starting point or foundation block on which to build. When you are training your dog, you will have him on your left side. You will be using your left hand to make
the majority of the corrections. This may seem awkward at first, but you will become accustomed to having your dog at your left side within a few days.
The controlled walk is an exercise in which your dog is made to pay attention to you, your body movements, and direction of travel. Do not confuse this exercise with the "Heel" command. You are
not teaching your dog to heel, but you are teaching him to pay attention to your desired direction of travel. This is one of the most important steps in gaining control of your dog. Gaining your
dog's attention and respect are paramount. In a classroom environment, students learn this exercise, and are sent home to practice. At the next session, the owners are remarking about how much
differently their dogs are behaving. A lot of them say that this first lesson has seemed to calm their dogs a great deal. They find their dogs paying much more attention to them and no longer have to
drag their lagging dog or have their dog dragging them down the street. I like this exercise for these reasons: (1) it gives the handler a lot of confidence; (2) it brings the dog under control
rapidly; (3) your dog begins to respect you as a leader. When this exercise is performed properly, the dog will focus all of his attention on the handler, and, probably for the first time, the dog
views his owner/handler as a leader.
This exercise can be performed with the dog wearing his flat collar or his correction collar. Make sure that the flat collar is tight enough that it will not slip over the dog's head. It should be
tight enough that you cannot pull it off, yet have enough slack to allow for expansion of the neck muscles and breathing.
When a dog is first placed on the lead for a walk, he will do one of the following; (1) take off running with you being dragged behind; (2) try to escape the control of the lead by lying down and
refusing to move; (3) fight and/or bite at the lead; (4) try to run between your legs while cowering. These are all common problems and can be easily resolved.
Once the collar and lead are connected, you will not talk to the dog. Do not give any commands, verbal praise, petting, or reassuring comments. If you are frustrated, remain quiet. Keep your
frustrations non-verbal. Your dog should not hear any sound coming from you at this time. He must be taught to observe your body language and your choice of direction without any verbal direction or
comment from you.
Let us start with the dragger. This dog refuses to walk, fights/bites at the lead, or insists on lying on the ground. First, try coaxing the dog into walking toward you while he is wearing the
lead. Talk to him and encourage him to move in your direction. If he gets up and starts to come to you, do not get all excited. Just keep happy tones and allow him to move toward you, and when he is
within 2 feet of you, start walking backwards. This will have the dog trying to reach you, and you will be moving away slowly. Once the dog is reassured that no harm is going to come to him, you may
begin walking him in the proper manner. If a dog refuses to move at all, even after being reassured by the above exercise, you will have to use a more forceful approach, otherwise the dog will be
training you. This is not what you want, so you will have to show your leadership.
Begin by walking in a straight line with the dog dragging behind. Do not walk and stop to look back, but just begin walking with conviction. This sounds like a horrible thing, but the greater
majority of dogs will not allow you to drag them more than five (5) feet before getting to their feet and standing up. This can be compared to the child that decides it is not going to walk. They
will throw themselves to the ground and refuse to move. Usually, the parent will take one hand and drag them, causing them to stand, or they will pick them up and carry them. You will not be carrying
your dog around, so the only answer is to demonstrate your conviction and begin walking. Once standing, they will walk with some reluctance, but they will be walking. Do not jerk the lead, especially
if this is a puppy less than six months of age. You must remember that there is no talking to the dog at this point. He would not walk when you were talking in pleasing tones, so now there will be no
talking. This may sound cruel, but you are showing the dog that you have assumed control. When your dog realizes that he is losing this battle, he will give up and begin walking. There may be some
lagging (staying behind you) at first, but eventually he will walk at your side. He has to gain confidence that all is well, even though he is being guided around. Once the confidence is there, he
will walk willingly with you. You are teaching him that you have assumed control of the leader position and that you must be obeyed.
Do not talk to the dog, do not give any commands, and do not wait on the dog. Once you begin, pick out an object at a distance of approximately 50
feet, and walk straight for it. Do not talk, hesitate, or stop until you get there. When you reach your destination, turn to the right, choose another object, and walk straight to it. You must walk
rapidly and with conviction. You are not out for a stroll, but are training your dog. Step out with lively steps and at a speed that would be the midpoint between walking and jogging. This will have
you walking at a speed just above your normal walk. If the dog thinks you are going to hesitate or wait on him, you will have trouble getting him to obey you. He must perceive you as the leader;
therefore, you must walk with conviction and confidence. This exercise should not last any longer than five (5) minutes. If your dog is still fighting the lead, or is refusing to walk willingly, do
not console him. Take him to get some water, and release him from the exercise. Do not try to accomplish too much in one session, and don't chastise the dog for not complying its first time at this.
It is new to him and he is reluctant to give up control to you. When released from this exercise, spend some time playing with your dog. He is confused by the event that just took place and will be
unsure of your actions. Give him a chance to settle down and regain his confidence. This is similar to the manner instructions were handed out in the litter. He was removed from the litter, allowed
to do whatever he wanted within the limits of his boundaries, and now you are telling him that he no longer has that option. Be patient, it will happen.
The dog that tries to get between your feet and cower is a very submissive dog. Do not make any harsh corrections. Walk without speaking. If the dog tries to get between your legs while you are
walking, kick your heels in an upward motion, behind you, as you walk. Do not kick so hard that you will hurt the dog, but make it uncomfortable and awkward for him to get between your feet. Move
them upward in a rapid motion. This type of walk may feel a little uncomfortable and unnatural at first, but it will cause the dog to feel uncomfortable with your feet moving all around its head. It
will move out from between your legs in fear of being hit. You may hit your dog when you first start kicking up your heels, but you will not be doing it with a force that will hurt it. You want to
move your feet just enough to make that area an uncomfortable place to be. Once the dog moves from between your feet, you must gently guide it to the left side. Do not drag the dog to your left side.
Put enough continuous pressure on the lead to cause the dog to move to the left side while you are walking. Gentle, continuous tugs on the lead will help the dog to understand that there is no
pressure from the lead when they walk beside you, only a constant tugging (nagging) when they do not.
Now, here comes the puller. This dog decides that his walk is going to be fun, and off he goes dragging you behind him while you are yelling for him to slow down. You swear that you heard an
announcement somewhere out there that said "Gentleman, Start Your Doggies" and it is off to the races while you are being dragged behind. This problem is much easier to correct than the dragger. As
you begin your walk, the dog will take off out in front of you. What you will have to do is create slack in the lead. The best way to do this is to bring the lead as close to your body as possible
then place your arm holding the lead straight out and pull it back to you as rapidly as you can. At the same time, change the direction you are walking. When he realizes that you have changed
direction and he is being pulled, he will change direction, also, and will probably come running past you. The instant he passes you, you must pull on the lead and change directions again. When he
realizes you have changed again, so will he. Continue this each time he passes by you. Change direction, sharply and with conviction. If he goes north, you go south. If he goes east, you go west. Try
to make 180-degree turns in the beginning. Do not say anything to the dog during this time. Do not give any commands, talk, yell, chastise, or praise. Say nothing. The dog will go off expecting you
to follow, because he thinks he is the leader and in charge. Whenever you change direction, he gets to the end of the lead, and, "bang," you are going in another direction. Now he has to catch up
with you. Once he gets there, he decides he is going to lead. Off he goes in front of you, again. Bang, you change direction sharply, repeatedly. Each time he gets to the end of the leash, you
suddenly decide to go in the opposite direction. Make these changes with conviction and confidence. Your dog has to trust you as the leader. If you are not confident that you are in charge and walk
with conviction, he will not respect you. After a few of these rapid changes in direction, the dog will run alongside and look up at you. What the dog is thinking is, "I'll have to watch this guy. He
doesn't know what he's doing or where he's going." When he looks up at you, praise him by saying, "Good Boy, Watch Me."
With this type of dog, it usually takes about one (1) minute to convince them that you are in charge. Now you have gained control over the dog. Once you have his attention, you may make smoother
turns to keep his attention focused on you. Instead of 180-degree turns, you may start making 90-degree turns. The most important thing in this whole exercise is walking with conviction and silence. Do not talk to the dog at all. When the exercise is completed (10 - 15 minutes), you may praise and talk to him. Again, take
him to get a drink of water, release him from the exercise, and spend a few minutes playing with him. Within two days of this exercise, your dog will be paying much more attention to you when you
have the lead on him, and those walks will begin to be more pleasurable for both of you.
Continue working with the dog on this exercise for five days. Do not cheat yourself or your dog. If you want to work your dog more than once a day, be sure there is a four-hour break between
training sessions. Do not overwork your dog. To work him in less than four-hour intervals, or to work him beyond the point of learning, will make him tire of the training, and he will rebel.
Releasing your dog from an exercise is a formality that is often omitted. When the dog is no longer in a formal training session, and it's okay for him to run around and play, give him a command
word so that he will understand that work time is over. Whenever I finish a training session, I replace the chain collar with the flat collar and give the command "Free Dog." When given this command,
I allow the dog the freedom to run, play, and do whatever he enjoys. It just lets them know that they are back in control of themselves, and are allowed to go about the business of being a dog. As
you progress in your training, he will understand that when you give him commands and directions, he must obey regardless of what collar he is wearing.
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