How to walk a dog, seems like such a no brainer! Far from it, we’ve taken a free spirit and locked it up in four walls. Dogs bred for generations for such specific purposes as hunting, retrieving, chasing, rescuing, sled pulling and herding are not family pets. The world has changed and with that the function of human beings and animals. Dogs which had jobs are now play mates for children and companions. Dogs which were bred to hunt, sniff and burrow, are now asked to sit on a tiled floor and be excited about a half hour evening walk! The daily walk is the most important task in your dog care routine.
For a first time dog owner do not choose a dog based on breed, colour, size or sex, choose your dog based on the dogs physical needs. How much time and exercise does the dog you bring home require. Sit down with your family and put it down on paper (things always look more serious written down). How many hours a day does your family have – personally- no dog walkers and pet sitters- to spend with the dog and walk the dog.
It doesn’t matter how many dogs you’ve had or how many miles you’ve walked with them. What matters is that the dog walker is leash trained. We’ve spent an inordinate amount to time focusing on dog training, behaviour, and discipline. It’s time to focus on the other end of that leash. The untrainable human being.
The human animal is the toughest to discipline, because they presume each situation controllable. Unfortunately, the human mind is a uniquely vacuous space that becomes devoid of all common sense in a millisecond!
Every walk with your dog is different, never mind what you think you know from 3 dogs ago! Dogs are remarkable at learning how to get what they want out of us. Intelligent, intuitive and always a surprise when that leash clips on for a walk! If the walker is untrained, the dog knows it and will take advantage. It’s an amusing situation until your dog is frightened on a noisy, busy street and breaks away from the dog walker.
Walking Rules
1. The leash handle ALWAYS wraps around your wrist- always.
2. Use a regular old fashion leash
3. NEVER give your dog walker, or house help a retractable leash. For city dwelling dogs, the retractable leash is a safety hazard. Picture this, your dog walker is not paying attention and your dog takes off into traffic. The danger of a retractable leash is it offers no control over a situation or dog.
4. To give your dog some off leash time take them to a securely enclosed space. If you have none in your city, or at a reasonable distance from you, buy a training leash. A training leash is not the perfect solution. The leash allows your dog the space to roam and explore and all the while you are in control of your dogs safety.
Walking Facts, what to look for in your Dog
An article on the simple act of walking a dog could fill pages. We’re sharing notes from a talk we gave a couple of months ago on the importance of common sense tips for walking your dog. Please share the information. Make sure your dog walker is trained, never mind the dog, train the walker.
