We will begin with teaching our dog to stand by our side inside in a very easy environment.

Note that we train with a rug since the floor is a bit slippery. I do not want my dog to be distracted from her job by slipping around.
If you have hardwood, tile or vinyl plank floors, it is best to put something non-slippery down to make sure your dog can work with the best possible surface.

By building a a reinforcement history for staying by our side, and starting this in settings that are fail-proof, our dog will be much more successful in later outdoor leash walking exercises.
Even though the situation will be different, the dog will remember how much it paid off inside to stay by our side and seek out this position faster and with more confidence.

Make sure your dog is really good at this exercise before continuing.