You will be walking between two points for this exercise, 40-50 feet apart. Your dog should be on a 15 ft long line, and be wearing a properly fitted martingale or choke chain (or wearing a long slip lead).
The goal: keep your dog within a 3 ft radius of your left hip.
Start standing on the leash close to your dog. The dog should have enough slack to stand comfortably next to you, but not much else.
Have your right thumb in the hand grip, and fold the leash into a series of 3 foot loops until there is approximately 6 ft of slack left. Hold all of the leash in your hand, and stack both hands at your belly button. The rest of the leash belongs to the dog. Make sure the excess leash is draped off your left side, between you and the dog.
Step off with your left foot and head towards your first end point. If your dog leaves the 3 foot radius before reaching the point, make a turn in the opposite direction of your dog. If your dog is paying attention, they will turn to follow you. If your dog is not paying attention, you both will continue in opposite directions of each other until you run out of leash. You must be moving when this happens. Do not stop once you get to the end of the leash.
If your dog returns in your direction, meet them in the middle and continue towards the original goal.
If your dog makes it all the way to the end of the leash, let go of a 3 foot loop and continue in the opposite direction. If your dog is still not paying attention, they will reach the end of the leash again and be given another “pulse” at the end of the leash. Repeat as necessary. Once the dog is moving in your direction, continue towards the original end point.
When you reach the end point, stand on the line. Choose a new end point and begin again.
What if the dog still isn’t paying attention, and I already dropped all of my 3 foot loops?
If the dog doesn’t respond to either correction, and you have no more slack left to create another “pulse,” move closer to your dog to create slack, and pick up loops as you approach them. Once you have a few loops again, move away from your dog like you did originally. This should give you several more chances to convince them to change directions. Repeat as necessary.
What if there are distractions?
Continue like normal. Do make an effort to keep your dog from reaching the distractions as doing so will be a reward to them for leaving you.
Keep these sessions short (15-20 minutes), and practice in various locations throughout the week.
Video Examples