It's a Walk in the Park
Does this sound familiar: "Okay, buddy, we're going on a walk. No pulling, no craziness. Just walk like a normal dog." Almost immediately, your dog darts out the door, flagging you around the neighborhood. You instantly regret this decision and start thinking, "Mmm, how about we skip the walk, and I'll just let you run around in the backyard," or "I'll just take you to the dog park to let out all the crazy." The truth is that if your pup isn't calm and collected for a walk with you, he's definitely not going to be calm and collected walking into a dog park with other dogs, which may likely lead to a bad experience for him, you, and other pets and owners. If you relate to these scenarios, don't feel bad! Proper dog walking is one of the most common issues pet parents have; it quickly becomes a source of frustration, anxiety, and fear for many dog owners and their dogs. So, what can help tackle this seemingly impossible responsibility?
As I mentioned in my article last week ( Why so Anxious?), there is no quick fix or a "one thing" trick to making your dog walk calmly and behave properly while on a stroll, but there are a few factors that contribute to building a calm and confident dog. Regardless of training classes, obedience schools, and pet supplies available to aid in dog walking, none of it is effective if we, as dog parents, don't promote consistency, discipline, and affection at the appropriate time in our home without pets. And, if we think about it, nothing would function properly without consistency, discipline, and affection or praise: a workplace, a family, a marriage, friendships. Can you imagine clocking into work not knowing who will show up, if there's enough work, if the boss will change his mind for the thousandth time? There's no HR, no direction, no boundaries, no recognition, and no procedures set in place. Some of you might work in a place like that now (been there, done that, no thank you). Does it not cause you a crazy amount of stress and anxiety? Now, imagine your dog!
Now that we can relate a little, we can better understand the importance of our pets needing discipline, consistency, and affection at the proper time. Think of how at ease you feel working in a job where there's assertive leadership with consistent, helpful direction and appreciation for your hard work. That's what our dogs need: a calm, assertive leader to make them feel at ease when it's time for a walk. What personally helped me to be what my dogs needed, specifically Rex, was watching Caesar Millan (lol). No joke - it helped me so much understand Rex better, and then I just jumped right into applying what I was learning. I was by no means perfect, but simply starting helped me to become an accomplished, balanced pet parent, and it was an immense help to Rex and other dogs and pet parents I've helped along the way. So, Caesar Millan, if you ever see this, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with the World and for being true through and through!
Okay, so now that we understand being calm and assertive starts with us, we can implement some tools that help us train our dog to properly behave and walk calmly on a leash. Let's start with a tool that I will forever stand by because of its effectiveness and literally being the ONLY thing that helped me with walking Rex. A Head Collar. It's also known as a haltie or head halter. Basically, it is like what we put on horses to lead them (where my horse peeps at?!), but for dogs. I bought mine years ago, when we first got Rex, from a pet store, but it's almost exactly like this one: Head Collar for Dogs, No Pull Head Halter.
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I actually like this one more because of the reflective strip it has on the bridge of the muzzle, making it great for evening walks, too! It has a secondary securing clip that attaches to your dog's neck collar, so you know he won't slip out of your reach. Just as with horses, if you control the head, you control the whole body. Rex is a big boy mixed with a King Shepherd; he is a shepherd through and through. It was literally like walking a pony that wanted to run and pull in every direction. The head halter gave me a lot of leverage over him, and anytime he tried to pull, he ended up facing me, which took away his ability to go where he wanted. Instead, by having control of his head, I had the control and using this properly and consistently, Rex learned that pulling doesn't get him anywhere. It did take some time for him to become accustomed to having this on, but patience and consistency paid off!
As we worked at this together, I began implementing silent affection or praise by simply enjoying the moment, smiling, and eventually incorporating treats. "Why silent affection or praise?" you may wonder. Praising in a high-pitched voice and excessively petting when our pup does what we want is hard to resist, but it will ultimately set them back by creating too much excitement, distracting them from the "work mode" mentality. Trust me when I tell you this: dogs pick up on our emotions and feelings. They can sense when we are sad, anxious, relaxed, frustrated, happy, etc. We don't have to physically or verbally express our pride, they feel it. Like the saying, "It just feels right". They know how proud we are of them. I had mentioned ''eventually incorporating treats". This helps reinforce to our pup that, yes! this is what we want them to do! I recommend using something to hold the treats in instead of your pants or jacket pocket. Crumbs will be left behind, and your dog will likely become too excited to focus. You may find this fanny pack useful: Gobeigo Dog Treat Pouch and Training Clicker. It brings a clicker and a doggy bag dispenser, too! This pouch has strong magnets that keep it shut to prevent your dog from becoming distracted by the smell of tasty treats. It prevents spilling, and you may attach it using the belt loops or clip it onto your pant's waist.
Believe me, as a fellow dog owner and lover, I understand that training our dog to behave and walk calmly at our side is an undertaking. It doesn't sound like it, but it can be a real project that will take time, patience, and consistency on our part. It's actually an ongoing thing; there's never really an end to being the parent our pets need to be well-rounded, well-behaved, calm, and happy. So, I am not going to bombard you with any more tools because, frankly, it is simple. All our dogs need is patience, understanding, discipline, consistency, and love, and those things are not out of our reach. Only then will we be truly successful. It'll be a calm walk in the park.
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