I used to walk my dogs selfishly and thoughtlessly. Now I plan each walk carefully to maximise its success and enjoyment for all of us.
Before it was really as much about us getting out to enjoy the seaside or the woods. Of course I told myself it was for them and seeing them enjoy themselves was very cheering…
…not so much when we lost them
…or when they stole another families ball
…when they reacted badly to another dog they didn’t know
…when they pulled us over on a wet slippy pavement
We tie a dog to us on a lead and think we are doing them a favour!
Learning dog listening means learning about how our dogs think and discovering what really makes them happy. We do all this at home in a safe place – the walk out of the front door is the cherry on the icing on the cake.
When you have a nervous reactive dog or its the first walk with your puppy we plan a walk for success. It starts in the house, through the front door and then onto the street. I teach owners how to behave with their dogs but everyone can plan a more successful walk.
Do the walk without your dog, but think about what your dog is seeing, hearing and might do when you walk around your neighbourhood. How can you make it easier for them? Think about:
Field of vision – which side of the road is better, quieter, has some drives you can walk into to get away from another person/dog
Blind corners
Alleyways where dogs/surprises can come out from
When is the best time of day to achieve a successful walk with minimum other people /dogs out and about
The best route, fastest way home if it goes wrong
When might you tense up, how are you going to stay calm?
It might be that your first walk is only 2 mins, out of your gate and then straight home again, build up slowly for you both.
Each walk out needs to be a good positive experience.
EG. My local on lead walks : My gate to our road is in the middle of two stress points – if I walk one way its past a corner shop where other dogs are often tied up, when I walk the other way its past a cafe that usually has people sitting outside with dogs under tables – both ways are highly stressful for my reactive dog.
I have had to work really really hard at keeping my pulse rate low and crossing strategically to the other side of the road and behind parked cars to keep Lupin calm.
I have a blind corner with a high wall so I can’t see. I always cross the road before this to be able to see if anyone is at the bus stop round the corner!
There is a hill, at the top is my Dads house where I always let the dogs off to run – so as we go up the hill the dogs start getting excited. I had to zig zag up the road to keep them calm so I could stay in control.
Socially distancing is really going to help you as you walk your dog as no-one will think you weird as you cross the road to avoid them. When I started work with my dogs in 2019 I even had a Dog in Training please ignore me hi-vis vests made for us to wear!
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