I am not going to lie. I am a fair weather dog walker. There I said it, and I will be the first to admit it. Not for my job of course. I walk in sunshine, rain, snow or hail. I walk when I am sick, I walk when I am tired and I walk when I am hurt. For my job, I walk no matter what. But when I come home after a long day of walking other peoples dogs, and look at my own pack of dogs I admit, if it is miserable out or I don't feel great, I skip the walk. Kinda sucks for my pack huh? But now that the weather is warming and there is more daylight I am trying to commit to walking my pack more. Nothing starts your day off better than a nice morning walk. There are so many good reasons to walk. Exercise and health being one of course but there are more maybe less obvious reasons. I use the walk to see what side of the bed a dog woke up on. It then sets the tone for the rest of my day. Most times if I go to a new clients home to discuss correcting unwanted dog behaviour, whether it be barking, jumping or chewing, more often than not we start off with the walk. I like to think of the walk as the fundamental groundwork to every canine relationship. And most often than not, my clients will admit to not spending alot of time walking the dog, and those that do, do not practise a structured walk. Quite often we are only walking the dogs to allow him to do his business, or we are on our way out the door to work and only have a few minutes so we let Fido run to the end of his flexi leash and run back and call it a walk. Some feel the smaller the dog the less of a walk required. Their little legs have to move 2X as fast anyway right? Walking around the house and yard should be plenty of exercise. Or we let the dog drag us down the street because well you have been away all day and you want your dog to "have fun". I have heard it all. But here is what I know. Almost every dog LOVES to go for a walk. And if you can throw in an unfamiliar street or two it is like winning the lottery for your furry friend. And if done with some structure the walk can help build a better bond with your dog. Now I know what you are thinking. You thought a nice chunk of your cheeseburger would build a better bond with your dog. True enough but this works too and it better for the both of you. Now there is a wide variety of dog equipment available to use now a days. Everything from flat collars and leashes to training collars, head harnesses, body harnesses, anti- pull products etc. All of which I will go over in a future discussion. I personally have a "less is more" kinda philosophy when it comes to walking but every dog/human is different. You have to find a product that you and your dog are comfortable with. Walks should start off with you in control. You should never let your dog yank you out the door.( incidently you should teach your dog that an open door does not mean he can run out. It is for his own safety) Your dog should follow your lead. You get to decided the path and direction of the walk. You get to decide the speed, when you stop and when you start. You even get to decide when the pee breaks are. Now your whole walk doesn't have to be this structured. You can allow your dog some slack to pick up the daily doggie news in the neighbour hood, but you should always start and end your walk with structure. Coming back home, you make sure you are in the lead. Enter your home first and invite your dog in. He who enters first runs the house. Trust me he will appreciate it in the long run. For a dog, running a household of humans is very stressful work . Too much work for most dogs. So take the pressure off. Let your dog take the follower role and you both will be better off.
For more tips on walking your dog and starting your journey to a better relationship, please feel free to contact me.
Walk on.
Tracy
