Early in my career, a trainer friend joked that she was going to write a book called “Mastering Loose-Leash Walking in Only Two Years!” It’s funny because it’s true – or can be. Modern, dog-centered loose-leash walking is not the single, homogeneous behavior of simply trotting by your side, but rather one of the most complex things that we ask our dogs to do with us. It’s an improvised dance that involves two parties making decisions moment by moment, in response to each other and an ever-changing environment. Like any improvised performance you would want to watch, it requires a suite of interlocking prerequisite skills, for both handler and for the dog, that need to be generalized across many situations. In this session, Kiki will talk about what equipment may facilitate this learning from the get-go and why (spoiler alert: a longer leash for almost all types of walking); organize and break out critical component skills for both dogs and handlers; and discuss how to teach some of the ones that she thinks are often overlooked.

Sponsor:When Hounds Fly
Speaker(s):Kiki Yablon, MA, KPA CTP, CPDT-KA

Contact: Client Experience
 Email: info@whenhoundsfly.com
 Phone: 416-890-5928
 Web: https://whenhoundsfly.com/