Learn to Walk Your Dog With Greater Control, Understanding and Confidence

Walking your dog is about far more than simply attaching a lead and going outside.

Dogs can pull, become distracted, react to other dogs or people, become overwhelmed in busy environments, or struggle to understand what is expected of them on a walk.

LEAD TRAINING AND WALKING FOUNDATIONS gives you a practical understanding of how to develop better walking behaviour while learning to recognise what your dog is communicating throughout the process.

This 10-lesson course takes you from introducing a puppy to lead training through to understanding how much walking an individual dog may need.

You will learn how to build walking skills progressively, manage distractions, understand pulling behaviour, create appropriate distance, encourage calmness and adjust the difficulty according to your dog’s response.

The course includes:

1. When Should I Start Leash Training My Puppy?
   Learn how to introduce your puppy to the lead and begin developing positive walking habits from an appropriate starting point.
2. Why Does My Dog Pull on the Lead?
   Understand the different reasons dogs pull and learn why pulling should be assessed rather than simply corrected.
3. What Is the Best Way to Stop a Dog Pulling?
   Learn how to develop loose-lead walking by reinforcing appropriate behaviour and managing the environment.
4. Why Does My Dog Pull Towards Other Dogs?
   Understand excitement, curiosity, frustration and other possible reasons for pulling towards dogs.
5. Why Does My Dog Pull Towards People?
   Learn how social interest, excitement, attention and learned behaviour can influence pulling towards people.
6. How Do I Calm My Dog Down on Walks?
   Learn how to recognise increasing arousal, create appropriate distance and help your dog return to a more manageable state.
7. How Do I Walk a Dog That Gets Distracted?
   Develop your ability to manage distractions while encouraging your dog to remain connected with you without demanding constant attention.
8. How Do I Walk a Dog in a Busy Area?
   Learn how to introduce busier environments progressively and recognise when the environment is becoming too difficult.
9. How Long Should I Walk My Puppy?
   Understand puppy walking, development, activity, exploration and the importance of balancing activity with appropriate rest.
10. How Much Walking Does My Dog Need?
    Learn how to assess your individual dog’s walking requirements rather than relying on a fixed amount of exercise.

What This Course Helps You Understand

The course focuses on understanding the dog rather than simply controlling the lead.

You will learn to consider:

• your dog’s individual behaviour;
• motivation;
• distractions;
• environmental difficulty;
• distance;
• arousal;
• physical ability;
• appropriate freedom;
• recovery;
• progression.

You will also develop the GPK9 approach of:

OBSERVE → INTERPRET → DECIDE → COMMUNICATE → OBSERVE RESPONSE → REASSESS

This helps you make better decisions during everyday walks instead of automatically repeating the same instruction when your dog is struggling.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is suitable for owners who want to develop a stronger understanding of lead training and everyday walking behaviour.

It can be particularly useful for:

• new puppy owners;
• owners whose dogs pull on the lead;
• owners dealing with distractions;
• owners whose dogs become excited around people or other dogs;
• owners who want to improve calm walking;
• owners preparing their dog for busier environments;
• owners who want to understand their dog’s individual exercise needs.

The aim is not to make every dog walk in exactly the same way.

The aim is to help you understand your dog, your environment and the level of walking your dog can successfully manage.

Course Price

£14.99

A practical 10-lesson foundation course designed to give owners the knowledge they need to develop better lead skills, calmer walks and more informed walking decisions.