WALKING YOUR DOG
Daina Beckman
Walking your dog is the single most important activity you can do with him to begin to restructure your pack and help him calm down. A proper walk or heel will help correct and prevent many problems. Dogs love to walk. Walking is psychologically healing for dogs. In the wild, dogs, wolves and coyotes walk for everything. They walk to get food, to get water, to get a mate and meet new k-9’s. They walk for everything in their life.
Please note that over exercising you dog is not a healthy walk. Please refer to the hand out on exercising your dog.
Your dog should never walk alone and he should not walk off leash until you have both mastered a proper psychological heel and then only after he has earned it. You should not walk your dog off leash until you have a RELIABLE recall and your dog will “sit” every time no mater how far away you are. Walking to a dog is like working at something you love. When you are working you are feeling at peace, looking forward to the end result. At the end of the job you feel content. Your mind is rested, healed. The walk does the same thing for your dog.
The walk also establishes the hierarchy of the “pack”. If you think of your dog only as a baby, he will be a psychological mess even if you don’t recognize it. Dogs think with the mind of a dog, not the mind of a little person. They view everyone in the house as part of the pack. Humans are the only species that follow incapable leaders. A dog will not follow an incapable leader. He will only follow a “calm, gentle and assertive & fair leader”. This is established with the psychological heel. If you are not leading, then your dog is. Pack hierarchy is a subject for another paper. I just want you to understand that you can NOT change the natural psychology of a dog. You can however teach him to think, and change the rules. This will change his analysis of the pack and your position.
The only collars I recommend are a martengale style collars such as a premier collar or a gentle leader. If you have a small dog I recommend a gentle leader easy walk harness. Other harnesses invoke the dogs’ instinct to pull against it. Both the Gentle Leader and Easy Walk Harness steer the dog from the front instead of the back as other harnesses and collars do.
Regular flat collars are for tags. Choke chains, and prong collars use painful punishment to correct the dog. It is better to lead with positive reward, than to use painful punishment with a dog. It is very rare that a pack leader in the wild would inflict pain on a lower pack member.
Your dog should be walked on a loose leash. The dog should be at your knee or behind you.
The first 15 minutes of the walk your dog is working for you, dogs enjoy this. He should not be allowed to sniff, pee, or wander in any direction. The leash correction should be GENTLE there is no need to snap the leash or pull sudden or hard on it. This is interpreted as a mean act by the dog and he will learn to dislike walking on a leash. Harsh leash snaps and hard pulls make the dog think you are a harsh and untrustworthy leader when the leash is attached. Among other things, harsh techniques can lead to aggression while your dog is on a leash. Psychological conflict behaviors or displacement behaviors may also show up in other areas.
Check the fit of the Gentle Leader or Harness and give your dog a treat for being good while you check.
Begin by having your dog sitting by your knee. Check to see that the length of the loop from the leash is correct under his chin. Remember not to slide your hand down your leg when you check the leash length.
As you take your first step say “heel” and keep walking. This is the only time you will give your dog a command. The only other times you talk to your dog during a psychological heel should be to praise him. You may have to use a sound occasionally to focus his concentration on you. Praise him occasionally when he is in a good working “zone”. Remember pack leaders do not talk to lower pack members when they are leading. Be careful not to give the heel command repeatedly.
If your dog is not “following your lead” turn completely in the opposite direction and go the other way. If he is lagging behind pick up the pace. Do not slow down. If your dog is still not getting in the psychological zone, turn and walk into him slightly bumping his face with your leg. Be careful not to tip over him.
The amount of space you use to practice the psychological heel should only be about 25 feet square. Keep changing directions, turn and go the opposite way, bump him with your leg, suddenly walk backwards so he is following you, have him sit periodically while you stand tall just in front of him and check the territory.
Once he is in the zone and you have practiced in your 25 ft. square box, try walking the length of 2 telephone poles. If he is not staying in the zone try using only a gentle leash correction WITHOUT giving the heel command. If he still won’t come back to following, turn the opposite direction. Lead until you are ready to give the release command such as “free dog”. For the last 15 minutes of the walk, let your dog sniff, pee, wander and explore. This is his reward for “working”.
Remember that leaders are confident, calm, and assertive. Keep you shoulders back, your chin up and think about something that makes you feel confident and assertive. Pick out something ahead of you and walk toward it. Don’t slow down and look to see what your dog is doing, that gives him leadership. You lead, he follows. You control where the two of you are going and how fast or slow. Your dog will follow your energy. If you are not calm, assertive and confident your dog will not follow your leadership. If you are nervous, fearful, unsure, angry, aggressive or lazy, your dog will not trust you as a leader and will take over the leadership position. Signs of his leadership will be that he is looking around, trying to sniff the ground, trying to pee, barking, getting ahead of you, bumping into you, moving off to the side or lagging behind too far. It is ok if he is walking just behind you.
When your dog is following you, his whole body will be facing straight forward, his tail will be either relaxed or raised slightly, indicating that he is proud. His ears will be somewhat relaxed. His head will be down. He will have a happy steady stride. He will occasionally glance up or toward your body to see what you want him to do next.
If you have any questions about the techniques I taught you to walk your dog on a loose leash; call and I will go over it with you.