Donzi’s Guide to Training Your Human: Loose-Leash Walking

Donzi here. 👋

Yep, I was named after a Donzi — a pretty cool and pretty FAST boat.

Unfortunately, I was assigned a human who is…

SO. VERY. SLOW.

So naturally, I’ve been working on her.

Our current lesson is something Mom calls “loose-leash walking.”

Personally, I think we should call it “teaching your human how to properly dispense treats while walking.”

Here’s how the training works.

I give her a nice little “U” in the leash…

TREAT. 🦴

Good girl, Mom.

I stay close and check in with her…

TREAT. 🦴

Excellent. She’s catching on.

Then sometimes I forget myself and get a little too far ahead.

The leash gets tight.

Mom stops.

We just stand there.

Apparently forever.

So I put some slack back in the leash or come back toward her…

And suddenly…

WE’RE MOVING AGAIN! 🎉

See?

Positive reinforcement works on humans too.

Of course, she needs a lot of repetition.

Walk.

Pull.

Stop.

Come back.

Walk again.

Pull.

Stop.

Come back.

Honestly, she is exhausting.

But eventually we get that nice little U back in the leash and we’re cruising again.

And when I do an especially good job training her, I might get a treat, a “Good boy!”, a little loving ❤️ or even permission to stop and sniff.

Mom calls sniffing a “life reward.”

I call it checking my messages.

She seems to think she’s teaching me how to walk nicely on a leash.

That’s adorable.

I’ve taught her to carry treats, stop when I pull, give me loving and let me sniff things.

Her training is coming along nicely.

We just don’t see any reason for her to graduate yet.

A Final Word from Donzi 🐾

So, humans, here’s what I’ve learned about training you:

When we give you that nice little U in the leash, let us know we’re doing a good job.

Maybe it’s a treat. 🦴
Maybe it’s a “Good boy!” and a little loving. ❤️
Maybe you let us stop and check our messages at that REALLY important bush. 👃

And if we forget ourselves and start pulling?

You stop.

We figure it out.

We put some slack back in the leash.

And off we go again.

No big drama. We just keep practicing.

Remember, we’re learning what you want from us…

and you’re learning what works for us.

It may take a little patience on both ends of the leash.

Especially ours.

Humans can be VERY slow learners. 😂

But don’t worry.

With enough repetition, positive reinforcement and treats…

we can train you. 😎

Love,
Donzi 🚤

Human Training Specialist — Loose-Leash Division