Walks: Are They For You? Or The Dog?

A common reason people call me is that they want to be able to walk their dog without being pulled down the street.  They tell me that their dog has zero leash manners, and now they hate taking their dog out on leash.

When I arrive for our first session, many of these people will tell me they have a problem because they never “made the dog walk right next to them” or they “let the dog go out the door first” but they are ready to change those habits to get better walks with their dogs.

I am here to tell you- those reasons are not why you have a problem. Your problem stems from lack of consistently communicating to the dog what you need them to do in order to have a good walk.

Dogs are not born knowing how to walk on a leash the way we want them to, so it is our job to show them how to walk nice on a leash!  This means a LOT of consistent, regular training on what your expectations are. Too often, people let the dogs pull most of the time, but sometimes it bothers them and they enforce good leash manners.

On my walks, I like my dog to be using the leash length I give her to do dog things.  I want her to sniff bushes, paw at something interesting on the ground, and take in her environment.  When she stops to smell something, I stop with her until she is ready to move on. Why? Because the walk is for HER benefit, not for mine.  I want her to do what she enjoys on our walk. If she feels like a brisk walk, thats what we do. If she wants to meander along, we meander. As long as she is not pulling me or going into the road, I let her do what she wants.

If I made her walk next to me the whole walk, she is not going to get much out of it.  30 minutes or an hour of walking at a human pace right by my side is not going to be real “exercise” for her. But sniffing, pawing, and peeing on things will let her use her mind and experience the world the way a dog wants and needs to in order to be fulfilled.

That being said, she also knows how to heel on command if I do need her next to me in a busy area. She knows how to stay close when we go running on leash.  She knows a “lets go” command if I do not have enough time to let her spend 5 minutes smelling everything that crosses her path. But when I take her on a walk, I always try to give her enough time to do her dog thing. I also often do “dog directed walks” where I let her pick where we go (within reason) and just follow along as she explores the neighborhood.

There are many options for teaching good leash manners, and all you need to do is find what works for your dog!  While working on leash walking, you can use a front clip harness, such as the Balance Harness or a head halter to make sure the dog does not pull you over!

What challenges do you have when walking your dog?