One of the most valuable tools for training your dog is their leash. A leash isn't just an anti-running away device- when used correctly we can communicate a multitude of things to our dog through the leash.
A huge benefit of using your leash as a communication device is that it can help us to start teaching them follow-through. It is not uncommon that a dog gets too excited/nervous/distracted that they don't want to take the treats that we brought. When this happens, we can still use our leash with the application and release of pressure to follow through with what we asked of our dogs. Leash pressure does not have to be heavy. The dog and situation dictactes how much pressure is used. It is also very important that we are very careful with our timing. Pressure comes on as soon as the dog makes the wrong choice, but that also means that the pressure needs to be released as soon as they start making the right choice. Again, this is another way we can communicate with our dogs so it's important that we aren't sending them mixed messages.
Using the leash as follow through is one of our favorite ways of fading out of constant rewards. Eventually, a dog should get to the point where they don't have to be rewarded after every behavior, or we don't have to even have food on us. Usually, when we first start this process, a dog is hesitant to do the behavior because they know we don't have any food. If this happens, we can follow through with leash pressure, showing the dog that even though the food isn't in front of their face, they still have to do the thing, without bribing our dogs.
Many people we see struggle with their dog because they have never taught their dogs proper leash mechanics (a proper pressure on/pressure off system) or worse, they have desensitized their dogs to pulling into leash pressure! If your dog understands how to yield to leash pressure, it is a great way to have loose leash walking- including past distractions and can aid in many other behaviors. It allows us to reinforce our expectations while fading out of primary reinforcers like food and it allows us to get compliance readily while we are in distracting real-world environments.
We do have to be mindful when using leash pressure, though. All dogs are individuals so the amount of pressure we use is going to be dictated by our dog. There are some breeds & personality types that may have a bigger reaction (possible redirection) when we first start using pressure. If this is the case, we need to teach our dogs how to give into pressure more mindfully before we start using it in other areas of our training. However, this is important skill and makes these types of dogs safer to handle as well as they do not panic over pressure as they learn how to be yield to pressure.
Leashes can communicate just as much, if not more, than rewarding or witholding rewards to our dogs. We should be using both systems to provide the most clear communication to our dogs. As with anything, timing is very important!
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