Loose lead walking is a key skill when it comes to working with on-lead reactivity. It will help your dog to be calmer on their walks, more responsive to you and create a more comfortable experience for you both.

A simple way to teach this is using 300 Peck.

Start with your dog beside you on a loose lead. Take one step forward and if the lead remains loose, reward. Then take two steps. If the lead remains loose throughout, reward again. Build up a step at a time.

If the lead tightens at any point, stop moving and reset the game. Restart your count from one, before building up again a step at a time.

The only thing that matters is whether the lead is loose. Your dog can be slightly in front of you, slightly behind, on your left or right, looking at you or sniffing - if they are on a slack lead always reward after your target number of steps.

Be patient. You will probably find that it takes a while to build up to ten consecutive steps with your dog on a loose lead. Don’t feel frustrated as each time you start over your dog has the chance to get reinforced more often and this helps to strengthen the behavior you want.

Over time you will be able to take more and more steps between rewards and your dog will walk beautifully on a loose lead throughout. As the numbers build, progress will get quicker, but no matter what number you’re on, if the lead tightens, you must start again from one.

Be consistent with this approach and you will quickly make progress. When you and your dog reach 300 steps without the lead tightening, you have mastered loose lead walking!