Training uses
Rewarding a slack leash, one easy step at a time
Updated
Trainers who use treats for loose leash walking hand out many tiny pieces right at their side while the leash hangs slack. The spot beside your leg is where the treats keep appearing, which is the spot you want the dog checking. Pieces stay pea-sized, since a walk can take a lot of them.
Why do trainers hand out so many treats on a walk?
Because a walk is a long run of small moments, and early on, each one that goes well gets paid. The dog takes two steps with the leash slack, treat. The dog glances up at you instead of at the hedge, treat. That adds up to a lot of pieces in twenty minutes, which is why each one has to be tiny and quick to eat. A piece the dog has to stop and chew holds up the walk and fills the dog before you reach the corner.
The count has to fit the day. A walk's worth of cheddar is cheese the dog would otherwise have had at some other point, so it comes out of the treat budget rather than on top of it. Leash training treats are a plain budget question: many small pieces, counted against the day.
Where should each treat be delivered?
At your side, at the dog's nose height, while the leash is still loose. The AKC's rule is to deliver the reward where the behavior happens, its example being a sit paid while the dog still sits (AKC, 4 Tips for Training Your Dog With Rewards, opened 2026-10-16). For walking, the behavior happens next to your leg, so that is where the hand goes. A treat held out in front pulls the dog in front, which is the opposite of what you were paying for.
Pick one side and keep it. Which side matters less than being consistent, because a dog paid on the left one day and the right the next spends the walk crossing over to check. Bring the hand down to the dog rather than making the dog jump for it, and keep the leash hand relaxed while you feed.
Keep the piece out of sight until the step you are paying for has happened. A hand that hovers in front of the dog's nose with cheese in it becomes the thing the dog follows, and the slack leash stops being the point. Hand at your side, closed, and open only at the dog's mouth.
How do you keep the pay coming without stopping?
The pieces are already broken, and your hand is already near the pouch. Those two habits are most of it. Break a walk's worth before you clip the leash on and pour the pieces into a pouch on the side you feed from. A pouch on the far hip means each piece travels across your body, and the dog drifts across to meet it. Keep your treat hand in or near it as you walk, so a piece is between your fingers before the dog has finished the good step. It is the pit crew version of training: everything laid out before the car arrives, so the stop takes a second.
A treat that smears is the enemy here, because a tacky hand slows down and a pouch full of paste is a chore. Our cheddar is freeze dried in Malvern, Pennsylvania until it is dry rather than greasy, so the hand that feeds it stays clean through a whole walk. The carrying blog covers pocket versus pouch and what to do with the leftovers.
How do trainers thin out treats on later walks?
Slowly, and never all the way. The AKC's answer to when you can stop treating is that you never need to stop completely. As a dog gains experience you treat less often and lean on praise. The treats get saved for harder moments, such as passing a barking dog (AKC, When Can I Phase Out Treats During Dog Training?, opened 2026-10-16).
On the first walks the pay comes every few steps. Later it comes mostly at the hard parts, like the park gate and the dog behind the fence. Keep the cheese for those and let a quiet word cover the easy stretches. The cheddar is a treat and not a meal, so thinning it out gives some of the day's budget back. Our full training treats guide walks through fading in more detail, and the bites page lists the ingredient line, dairy included.
Questions
How many treats should I bring on one walk?
More than feels reasonable on the first walks and fewer later, and we will not give you a number because dogs and walks vary. Break a small handful of pea-sized pieces and count what comes home. Whatever got used comes out of the day's treat budget, so a heavy walk means a lighter evening.
Should I treat when my dog looks up at me?
Early on, yes. A glance up is the dog checking in with you instead of the hedge, and trainers pay it at the side so the check-in and the treat happen in the same place. Later you thin that out like everything else and pay the glance with a word. Keep the piece tiny, because check-ins happen a lot on a good walk.
Does it matter which side my dog walks on?
Only that you pick one and stay with it. Left is traditional, but a dog does not care about tradition. What the dog notices is where the treats show up, so the side you feed from is the one to be consistent about. Choose the side that suits your hands, then keep it.
What if my dog pulls toward other dogs?
Add distance. Pulling toward another dog usually means the other dog is more interesting than anything in your pouch at that range. Cross the street or wait at a gap until the leash can go slack, then pay. If it happens on most walks, or your dog seems upset rather than excited, ask a qualified trainer.
Can I use cheddar on walks in warm weather?
Yes. Freeze dried cheddar is a dry, crisp piece rather than a soft cube, so it does not melt in a pocket or go greasy in a pouch on a warm afternoon. Keep the bag closed between walks and somewhere cool and dry, as our listing says. Crumbs at the bottom of the pouch go over the next meal's kibble.
Should I stop walking when the leash goes tight?
Many trainers do, and the idea is plain: a tight leash means the walk pauses, and a slack leash means it moves. Stand still, wait for the leash to ease, then pay at your side and walk on. The treat is for the slack, not for the stop, so it arrives once the dog is back beside you.