Doxie News Dachshund Blog

We had an amazing walk today. The leash was loose almost the entire time. I'm fairly sure it was culmination of all the things I've done over many months, so at the end of the day, I would say it just takes time. I'm off and on with leash pulling techniques because it's a lot of work and most of the time he doesn't pull that hard. Kody is just not a dog that's motivated to walk on a loose leash naturally, at all, to the extreme.

Last week Kody was really pulling harder than usual, the kind of pulling that throws you out of balance. He's perfect at "right here" (following me on command) but he just goes right back in front when he's done. So I just started the technique of just slowing down or stopping when he pulls. We do it calmly and gently, as if I'm training him that pulling on the leash is a brake pedal. If he pulls a little we slow down a little. If he pulls a lot, we stop. But always gently. And we always stop when he wants to stop. That's fine with me. At first he didn't think it was that great, but it kept me from getting "Kody legs", so I decided I had to keep doing it for my sake.

Well today it's really nice out and he was almost perfect. For a block or so he was walking right next to me, totally his choice. I was amazed.

I don't expect it last, necessarily, but I think every best day shows that progress is happening.