The #1 Mistake You’re Making with Your Leash (And How to Fix It in 60 Seconds)

If you hold your leash like this, you're making the number one leash handling mistake. And what's crazy is most people have absolutely no idea they're making it. My clients pay me thousands of dollars for me to train them and their dogs. And one of the very first things that I teach them, I'm about to show you in this video. The good news, this takes less than 60 seconds for you to fix. In this video, I'm going to show you the two leash holding methods I teach to every single one of my clients and how they can immediately give you more control while you're on your walk with your dog. And by the end of this video, you'll probably never hold your leash the same way again. No matter which of these two methods you use, you're going to dramatically increase the amount of control that you have over your dog on your walks. When you hold the leash correctly, there's three important things that happen. Firstly, you gain better control over your dog while on walks. Second, you're able to better communicate with your dog when you're training. And thirdly, you gain more freedom in maneuverability while you're out walking with your dog. It's a very small change, but it makes a huge difference for you and your dog. For example, you can carry your drink while on a walk, open doors, or be on your phone with your other hand because you have absolute control over your dog's leash using one of these two methods. Remember, a leash isn't just something that's attached to your dog. The better you get at handling and controlling your leash, the better you'll be at communicating with your dog and building a good relationship with them. The first mistake people make when holding their leash is by wrapping the leash around their hand. Most people do this in an attempt to try to get a better grip and more control over their dog while on walks. The problem is that this actually reduces the amount of control that you have over your dog while simultaneously increasing the chances of you getting injured while walking your dog. I have seen personally people break their fingers when their leash is wrapped around their hand and the dog ends up pulling when they get startled, spooked, or chase after something exciting. So what should you do instead? The first method is what I call the scissor method. It's very simple, it's safe, and it works for the vast majority of dog owners and their dogs. In order to do this method, you simply take your left hand, make sure your palm is facing away from you, and then make scissors like you're playing a game of rock, paper, scissors, shoot. You will then cut the leash in half, rotate your palm facing towards you, and then make a tight, firm fist on that leash. By holding the leash in this manner with this grip, there's virtually almost nothing that's going to get this leash to come out of my hand because I have such a firm grip around that leash. But what makes this method really unique is that if I want my dog to be closer to me, I can shorten up the leash by just sliding my hand through it. Or if I want to give my dog some more freedom, I can do the opposite and slide my hand further up the leash to then allow the dog to move freely while on the walk. But most importantly, I maintain absolute control over my dog and my leash by using this method. Before I show you the second method, if you're getting value from this video, I want to offer you something special. I put together a guide called the five secrets dog trainers don't want you to know. Inside, I break down five simple concepts that will help you build engagement, control, and obedience with your dog. And the best part is it's completely free. You can download it simply by clicking the link in the description in this video below, or by clicking on the pinned comment in the comment section. The second method is what I call the over thumb method. This is a lot simpler to get started because you just grab the leash with your hand, put the tail end of the leash over your thumb, and then make a fist over that leash. Just like the other method, this method allows you to have complete control over your dog's leash while still having mobility to move the leash up and down and give your dog more or less freedom based on the situation. Now I want to hear from you. Out of these two methods, which one do you see yourself using in the future? Drop a comment below and let me know. If you found this video helpful at all, please consider subscribing to this channel and keep a lookout for other helpful training tips and videos that will be posted in the future. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.