If you’re trying to leash train your dog, I’m going to make a guess: you’re likely paying a lot of attention to what happens while you’re out on the walk, but you’re not paying enough attention to what happens before the walk.

This is something I’ve seen with countless clients, and it can have a huge impact on your leash training results.

If you take a dog that’s already bursting with energy, completely distracted, and absorbed in everything going on around them, and then try to teach them to walk nicely on leash, you’re basically training on hard mode.

I strongly believe that successful leash training begins before you even clip on that leash.

That’s why I recommend beginning each leash training session with three short warm-up exercises. These are the exact three pre-training warm-ups I recommend in my Stop Pulling: A 6-Week Step-by-Step Leash Training Program.

Together, these pre-walk exercises:

• Help burn off excess energy
• Build engagement
• Increase responsiveness
• Reinforce staying near you

One of the most overlooked pieces of successful leash training is engagement: how focused, responsive, and interested in you your dog is. An engaged dog is much easier to train! If your dog seems to forget that you exist the moment you step outside, they’re probably not very engaged with you yet.

These three pre-walk exercises are designed to change that.

The first two are more active and high-energy, while the third helps transition your dog into a calmer, more focused state before actual leash training begins.

Complete the exercises in this order:

1) Play

The value of playing with our dogs is often underrated.

Playing before leash training can help for three main reasons:

1. Take the edge off excess energy

Many guardians are trying to teach calm leash walking while their dog is already overflowing with energy, excitement, or unmet needs.

If movement feels urgent and rewarding for your dog, asking them to calmly walk with you is going to be much harder.

We’re not trying to exhaust your dog. We’re simply trying to take the edge off their energy so they’re in a better state of mind to learn.

2. Make yourself part of the fun

When we take our dogs out on walks, they’re entering an environment filled with interesting smells, sounds, people, animals, and much more.

Playing with your dog before training helps make you exciting and worth paying attention to. Instead of being the thing standing in the way of the fun, you become part of it.

3. Satisfy natural instincts

If chasing animals is one of your dog’s biggest leash-pulling triggers, then incorporating specific games and toys can give your dog an appropriate outlet for some of those prey drive behaviours.

I have a completely free guide explaining how I use play as part of my approach to dog prey drive training. You can grab that here.

Some of my favourite high-engagement ways to play are:

• Tug of war
• Frisbee
• Flirt pole

As a general guideline, play until your dog begins slowing down, panting, or voluntarily takes a short break. For some dogs this will take only a couple minutes; for others, much longer.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Wow… that’s going to take a while,” you may have just identified one of the biggest reasons leash walking has been so challenging.

High-energy breeds have higher physical needs, and meeting those needs before training makes learning dramatically easier. The good news is that active games like tug and frisbee are far more tiring than simply going for a walk, so this warm-up is still a very efficient use of your time.

Once your dog’s energy is in a better place, we’re ready for warm-up number two.

2) The Name Game

It’s simple, but incredibly powerful.

This game helps teach your dog to:

• Pay attention to you
• Respond immediately to their name
• Check in with you after investigating something interesting
• At advanced levels, return to you without being called

This is one of my all-time favourite exercises and one that I use with almost every dog I train, regardless of what we’re working on.

Start in a low-distraction space such as your yard, an empty field, or a quiet parking lot.

You’ll need:

• A handful of tiny treats (or your dog’s kibble)
• A loaded marker word
• A long line if the area isn’t fenced

🎥 Want to see this exercise in action? I demonstrate all three of these pre-walk warm-ups step-by-step in my YouTube tutorial, including real training sessions with Gus so you can see how quickly his engagement improves with practice. Watch the full tutorial here: Do These 3 Things BEFORE Dog Walks for Easier Leash Training

The Name Game Phase 1: Cued Recall

Step 1: Start with your dog close by and a handful of food. Place 2–3 treats on the ground for your dog to sniff, find and eat while you move a small distance away.

Step 2: Once they’ve found the treats, say their name. When they start moving toward you, mark that moment.

Step 3: Reward them when they reach you.

Step 4: Drop a few more treats on the ground and repeat this until your dog begins running back to you before you say their name.

Once your dog is running back to you before you say their name, progress to Phase 2.

The Name Game Phase 2: Fade the Name Cue

Step 1: Drop treats on the ground and move away (same as before).

Step 2: When your dog finishes the treats and looks up, don’t say their name.

Step 3: Simply wait for them to come to you on their own.

Step 4: Mark and reward.

This is where the exercise becomes especially powerful. Your dog is beginning to build the habit of voluntarily checking in with you, even after something interesting has captured their attention.

That’s exactly what we want on walks.

Every time your dog chooses to reconnect with you instead of staying absorbed in the environment, you’re strengthening a behaviour that will make leash walking dramatically easier.

Play this game for 2–5 minutes as part of every warm-up.

Training Tip: Avoid showing your dog the treat to get them to come to you. We want it to function as a reward, not a bribe.

3) Capturing a Default Heel

Whenever possible, I love using errorless learning. During this exercise, you won’t ask your dog for anything, which means they can’t make a mistake. Instead, you’ll reinforce desirable choices as they naturally occur.

This exercise builds a strong reinforcement history for:

• Voluntarily walking beside you
• Offering engagement
• Matching your pace

This exercise also teaches you to notice and reinforce small moments of success. I consider it an engagement warm-up for both dog and guardian.

In a fenced area or on a long line:

Step 1: Begin walking around casually, allowing your dog to sniff and move freely. Keep an eye on them, waiting for a moment of engagement.

Step 2: When your dog glances at you, say your marker word.

Step 3: Your dog will come to you for their reward. Give them a treat, then continue walking.

Step 4: After a few repetitions, you’ll likely notice your dog beginning to walk beside you for short periods of time without being asked to. Mark and reward that too.

Now You’re Ready to Start Leash Training

This warm-up routine will make your actual leash training sessions far more effective by shifting your dog into a calmer, more engaged learning state.

These are the exact warm-ups I teach in Stop Pulling: A 6-Week Step-by-Step Leash Training Program. As the dog’s skills improve, the program teaches you how to phase out this routine when your dog no longer needs as much preparation before walking.

The warm-ups aren’t the leash-training program themselves. They’re what set your dog up to succeed at the structured training that comes next.

Stop Pulling isn’t just a collection of leash training tips, but a complete roadmap that shows you what to train, in what order, how and when to make things harder, and what to do if your dog struggles.

Over six weeks, I’ll walk you step-by-step through teaching your dog the skills they need for frustration-free walks. Throughout the program, you’ll find photos, diagrams, troubleshooting help, weekly training plans, readiness checklists and integrated YouTube video demonstrations with real client dogs.

Happy training 🙂