The picture on the top illustrates the proper way your dog should walk with you when taken on walks. If you would look at the picture, you would notice that the dog is NOT leading the owner, instead it is being led, and as you can see, there is NO tension on the leash as well.
This is accomplished when your dog has been trained to walk on "HEEL". This command means that your dog walks parallel to you and SHOULD NOT walk in front of you or lead you. Why is this important? This is because when your dog starts leading you, it will start pulling on the leash and as a result, it will be you who is then taken on a walk! By this time then, you will have no control over your dog.
Losing control of your dog when on a walk can be potentially dangerous as this may cause you to stumble and fall. A greater risk is that when your dog leads you, and if there are other dogs on the road you're walking on, your dog may end up in a fight and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. As you can see now, taking your dog on a walk is not just a thing of leisure or pleasure only, you have to know how to handle your dog. As such, the command "HEEL" will be the first of the commands taught to your dog once it enrolls into Bethel. Once your dogs learns this, it will be your turn to master the skill of taking your dog on a walk.
You may think that it is not as tough as it may seems, but let me assure you that, many new time dog owners are led by their dogs. This is why, you will be briefed on simple, correct and effective handling techniques, as the wrong handling will eventually be one of the reason that might cause your dog to relapse.