The same as marijuana is considered a "gateway drug" loose leash can be considered a "gateway behavior".
It is very unusual to see a dog that walks nicely on a leash that has any behavior problems.
If you are struggling with your dog, don't try and train loose leash. Just make it happen. Pulling is forbidden, so don't allow it, ever, past the age of about twelve weeks.
A trainer once said to me "Why would you allow that to happen?" While the comment stung at the time, he could not of been more right. While I did not possess the solution to the problem, I lost all of my presence and belief that I could stop it. My defeat, in turn, made the problem exponentially worse.
Sometimes I need to find my inner little-girl, stomp my feet and say "You will not". As a kid I had much more determination to not allow something I didn't want. Yet as an adult, defeat can sometimes overwhelm us. We all need to find that inner determination, which in turn gives us mental-presence. We need to quit being victims, allowing our dogs to do stuff to us. Rather, we need to be determined leaders, stand tall, and take control of the situation, even when we have no clue how to fix it!
Monique Anstee
Victoria, BC
