Sarah Fisher explains how to train your dog to walk on a lead nicely using the Tellington TTouch balance lead.

Aptly named 'The Balance Lead', this way of using one lead to create two points of contact on the dog is fabulous at getting the dog walking 'in balance'. This helps to create a balanced, calm dog that walks to heel next to you.

The lead is a fantastic tool to help to control your dog when standing still for a while, perhaps in the street when you meet another dog or person and your dog gets a little excited. A balance lead can also help calm a dog when entering a situation where they may feel a little vulnerable.

Simply using the lead across the chest of the dog allows them to immediately be more aware of their whole body rather than just the front end. 'Front ended' dogs tend to be more out of balance and almost 'tipped' forward in their efforts and excitement to hurry and pull along their walk.

Some dogs will automatically walk to heel almost as soon as you put the lead on in this way, for others it is best to use this as part of a training programme tailored to helping your dog walk to heel and become better aware of his/her body.

This technique works very well alongside the 'Stroking the lead' technique and even when using a harness on a dog. See our other videos for more information about these techniques.