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Walking your dog should be one of the most enjoyable things you do with you dog but only if he has proper leash walking etiquette. In today's episode we will not only explore how to walk your dog politely on a leash, but we will review several popular leash training tools and which one is right for you. 

What are the pains of leash walking your dog?

• Pulling puts the dog in front and in the decision-making processs. It's not only embarrassing but dangerous to both you and the dog. The dog is walking you!
• Lunging at other people and dogs - the dog is out of your control.
• Barking

The #1 Cause of Pulling - Incorrect Position

• If the dog is starting out in front, he is in charge and you will have no control. If he is in front, he is not taking your lead.
• Leash walking is all about POSITION.
• The dog should be an arm's length (18 inches) behind you.
• The leader always goes first.
• Dogs who are behind you will become less reactive.
• They will learn to follow you - just like they followed their Moms as puppies.

• When we walk our dogs BEHIND us we eliminate most of the pains of leash walking.

• Learn how to teach your dog "Let's Walk".

Tools to Help You Walk Your Dog - Which One is Right for You?

•  A proper 6" leash which needs to be held correctly.
•  A collar - Flat buckled, choke, prong or martingale - the pros and cons of each and how to use them.
• A front clip or top clipping harness
• Some of my favorite tools are a Gentle Leader or Halti that work on the premise of "where the head goes, the dog goes".

With the right tools and teaching the proper positions, we can teach our dogs to walk politely and make getting out and walking with our dogs as enjoyable as possible.

Have Questions for Chris?

Take advantage of "Ask the Canine Master" where you can submit questions, videos and/or photos to Chris. He will do his very best to answer them for you. Become part of the show! Select questions will be answered during one of the upcoming broadcasts.

Links mentioned in this episode:

>> Gentle Leader
>> Halti
>> Sprenger Prong Collars