Do you work with puppies?

Yes. Puppy Foundations can cover crate comfort, potty routines, leash basics, confidence building, bite inhibition, settling, early socialization, and household manners.

Do you work with anxious dogs?

Yes. Confidence and real-world training is available for anxious or sensitive dogs. The pace is slow and practical, with careful exposure to new places, sounds, surfaces, people, and routines.

Do you offer dog walking?

Sometimes, but Trail & Heel is training-first. Real-world practice walks may be recommended when they support leash manners, confidence, exposure work, or better routines. If you only need basic dog walking, I may not be the best fit.

Do you offer board & train?

Yes. Board & train is available on a limited basis, by consultation only, for appropriate dogs and focused goals. It includes structure, practical training, and a careful owner handoff.

How much does training cost?

Pricing depends on your dog, your location, the goals, and the type of support recommended. Start with the free consultation, and I will give you a clear recommendation before anything is scheduled.

What tools do you use?

Trail & Heel is positive first. Training starts with clear communication, reinforcement, management, and appropriate equipment for the dog in front of us. The plan depends on the dog, the goal, and what helps the family follow through safely.

Do you work with aggressive dogs?

The focus is puppies, manners, obedience, leash skills, confidence work, mild to moderate anxiety, and family-dog routines. Severe aggression or active bite-risk cases may need a specialist or veterinary behaviorist first.

Are vaccinations required?

Yes. Vaccination records may be required for real-world practice walks, board & train, and ongoing support. We will talk through requirements before anything is scheduled.

← Blog

June 14, 2026 · 3 min read

My Quick Tips for Loose Leash Walking

By Andrew · Trail & Heel

Start easy

Control the environment.

Start inside the house, then the yard, then an empty street, then add distractions slowly.

If your dog can't follow you in the living room, they definitely aren't ready to do it next to squirrels, dogs, kids, cars, and ten thousand smells.

A dog practicing calm leash skills around store distractions

Use food

A hungry dog is a trainable dog.

I'm not saying starve your dog. I'm saying don't feed a full meal and then wonder why they don't care about your treats ten minutes later.

Use food your dog actually wants.

Get the crazy out first

Don't use walks for exercise until your dog is reliable on leash.

If your dog is exploding with energy, they're not in a great state to learn leash manners. Play first. Tug, fetch, long line play, whatever is safe.

Burn off the first layer of chaos, then practice walking.

Make it fun and keep it positive

Keep your dog on their toes.

Turn around. Change direction. Stop. Speed up. Slow down. Reward when they notice and follow you. If you're boring, the environment will win.

Conversely, if you're getting frustrated and pulling your dog back, you could be doing more harm than good.

Reward what you like

Reward when your dog is watching you, following you, and staying connected.

A lot of people only react when the dog is wrong. I want to catch the dog being right.

Early on, that might mean rewarding a lot. That's fine. You're teaching the pattern.

If they hit the end, turn around

If your dog disengages or hits the end of the lead, turn around and go the other direction.

When they run back to you, reward them.

Just be careful with your timing. Some people accidentally reward the dog for leaving and coming back over and over, instead of rewarding the dog for staying with them.

Early on, reward the comeback. Pretty quickly, start rewarding the dog for staying connected before they hit the end of the leash.

Keep it short

I'd rather have five good minutes of loose leash walking than thirty minutes of the dog practicing how to drag you down the street.

End while it's still going well.