I agree there are much better ways to bring a dog in shape than walking, and they are outlined in my keep, but I do think handwalking can bring a dog in excellent shape IFF the dog is a puller and is wearing a harness.

My Pretty Boy dog won over G. Long and M. Pinkerton in 2:42 on nothing but handwalking ... these were veteran dogmen and it was the first match for the guy who had Pretty Boy ... but he followed the handwalking regimen of a veteran dogman in GA who was a big believer in handwalking ... IFF the dog would pull hard ... which Pretty Boy never stopped doing.

Jack