[MyPemCharlie]

On our walk this past Monday, we saw a beautiful sight. Charlie and I passed a young man and his rather huge dog. They were walking in fluid, relaxed unison, side by side. The six foot leash hung silently, lying still between them in a low-slung U-shape, having no purpose other than fashion accessory perhaps. The sun shone. The angels sang.

By contrast, I had shortened Charlie's leash to about two feet of strained nylon. It was but a feigned attempt to keep him beside me, pretending Heel. We walked quickly and choppily, as I had stopped and started, finally giving in. Let's just get home. My arm ached from the 2 mile battle.

I have failed my dog at the art of loose leash walking.

Three months ago with puppy immunizations behind us, Charlie and I left the safety and comfort of leash training in the backyard and ventured forth into the neighborhood. When we started, Charlie was good about staying with me and only needed a couple of corrections. Day by day, Charlie started pulling a little more. The change was so subtle, so gradual, that I hardly even noticed. He was getting worse, not better. Seeing the young man and his well-heeled dog on Monday hit me like a ton of bricks.

I now have a bad habit to break and a renewed commitment to learn the right way to walk my dog. No excuses for my lack of discipline (or competence). From now on, we will not take one step forward if the leash is tight. I will "be a tree" or walk backwards. I have relegated us to training in the backyard and on the driveway again. No distractions. I'm grounding myself until I learn better. We are making progress.

The questions: Has anyone else here trained your dog the wrong way to pull on leash, then corrected the problem? How much time did it take? I'm committed to fixing my mistake, but wonder if I'm looking at days, weeks, or months (with daily practice sessions).