Printable Leash Training Checklist (Stop Pulling)

Back to home Home Printable Checklists Leash training Printable Leash Training Checklist (Stop Pulling) Loose-leash walking is built in short reps, not long walks. Work this checklist for four weeks and the walk stops being a tug of war. Print / Save as PDF Which leash training approach fits your dog? Three quick questions and you'll get the method, reward strategy and session shape that fit your breed and what's actually driving the behaviour. Find your approach 1 / 3 What breed is your dog? Border Collie Train the reasoning first Golden Retriever Lead with empathy and communication German Shepherd Give the dog a job and a clear structure Labrador Retriever Train impulse control as its own skill Other / mixed breed A general cognitive approach that works with any dog Leash training checklist Pulling is a reinforcement problem: forward motion pays the dog every time the leash tightens. The fix is to make position — not speed — the thing that pays, and to give the dog something to think about on the way. Set up before day one Fit a front-clip harness or flat collar — no retractable leash during training Use a fixed 1.8m (6ft) leash; hold it with a soft, low hand Pick a reward marker (clicker or a short word) and charge it indoors first Load the pouch with soft treats the dog can swallow while moving Choose one quiet, low-traffic practice route Every walk Start with 60 seconds of attention games before you leave the doorstep Mark and pay every time the dog's shoulder lines up with your leg Stop moving the instant the leash tightens — resume only when it slackens Change direction at least 5 times per walk so the route stays unpredictable Add 2-3 "find it" treat scatters to let the nose work Give a release cue for sniffing breaks so sniffing becomes a reward, not a theft End while the dog is still succeeding, not once they're over threshold Four-week progression Week 1: 5-minute reps indoors and in the garden only Week 2: quiet street, same route, 10 minutes, high pay rate Week 3: add one mild distraction (parked cars, distant dogs) at a workable distance Week 4: vary the route; thin the treats to every third good stretch Only add distance once the dog can hold position for 20 unbroken paces Troubleshooting checks Dog pulls only at the start? Do 3 minutes of warm-up drills before setting off Lunging at dogs or bikes? Increase distance until the dog can still eat, then work there Dog freezes or refuses to walk? Check gear fit and pain first, then reduce novelty Zigzagging with the nose down? Schedule a dedicated sniff walk separately Good with you, terrible w

ith someone else? Every handler must run the same rules Read the full guide: How to leash train a dog Want this tailored to your breed? Border Collie checklist pack Golden Retriever checklist pack German Shepherd checklist pack Labrador Retriever checklist pack Other checklists Potty training Barking Recall Chewing Alone time Based on the work of Dr. Brian Hare & Vanessa Woods Every Dognition guide, assessment, and blog post is grounded in the research and methodologies of Dr. Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods at the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Their work established that "smart" isn't one number — dogs think across five distinct cognitive dimensions, and the best training matches the method to the mind. Book · 2013 The Genius of Dogs How dogs are smarter than you think — the founding text on canine cognitive science. Read more Book · 2024 Puppy Kindergarten The Duke Puppy Kindergarten study — how the first 16 weeks shape a dog for life (as covered by The New York Times). Read the NYT feature