How to go on a great walk
Going on a walk is one of the most quintessential parts of dog ownership. Walks are usually a dog’s only source of good exercise and we at The Naked Dog prefer walking in a neighborhood or on a trail to running wild at a dog park.
Walks expose dogs to the sights and smells of the world. Dog’s get to sniff around and check up on what is going on in the neighborhood since their last pass by that area. The yard can create a fishbowl effect, ramping dogs up even more and encouraging instinctive behaviors like squirrel chasing, alarm barking and fence fighting. A walk allows a dog to go on a journey and return home.
Walks are also amazing training opportunities! When owners call us with an issue, we always recommend more walks and exercise as part of the training solution. On a walk, a dog gets the opportunity to enjoy the world, but also has to be a good teammate by staying tuned into the handler and exercising patience when asked to, such as when walking out of the door, past another dog, or when they are asked to stand still during a poo clean up, or while chatting with a neighbor.
If we have not shown our dog what is expected from them on a walk, they will default to behavior that comes naturally to them. Not knowing how to guide a dog to be a wonderful walking companion, many people waterski behind a dog that is pulling, barking, dragging to smells or losing his mind with excitement when passing another dog. This behavior can be unpleasant for us and the result is that they get walked less. By becoming a good teacher to your dog and guiding them towards the behavior you want and away from the behavior you don’t, you can make your walks enjoyable and use them as a learning experience.
WALK GUIDELINES
Going for a walk should be your idea: If your dog is soliciting a walk, wait until they are calm to initiate the walk routine. This includes tasks such as putting on my shoes or getting the leash.
Don’t chase your dog: If they can’t sit calmly while you put on the leash,put the leash down and try again once they calm down. Take a deep breath and wait. Once your dog sees that jumping around isn’t working, they will get their brain in gear and try something else, like sitting or standing still. Then that behavior can be rewarded by the leash moving closer. The patience will pay off and your dog will realize being calm is the way to get out of the door.
The Mendota Slip leash: The leash we recommend must be positioned properly. The leash should be as high as possible on your dog’s neck, right behind the ears and right behind the back of the jaw. Pull down any extra neck skin or long hair to make sure the leash is flush on the neck. Tighten the leather stopper so only one finger can fit into the loop to ensure the leash doesn’t have room to slip down.
Leash Technique: Because the leash is positioned on a sensitive part of the neck, be diligent to not hold steady pressure. Default to having slack in the leash so it looks like a letter J or a sloppy S. If the leash is straight, apply ‘pulse pressure’ on it until your dog moves closer or stops pulling on the leash. This does two things, it makes it uncomfortable for your dog to pull, and it engages their brain making it easier to hold their attention.
Touches on the leash should always be used in conjunction with your voice, body language, movement, sounds, and your body position. The leash is one tool in our toolbox and should be part of a bigger conversation.
The moment the leash goes on, the walk begins! You should walk calmly to the door without your dog pulling you. It’s okay to walk back and forth a few times in the hallway to get it right. You are setting the tone for the walk and every step, even inside, counts towards your total distance.
A dog who pulls to the door won’t be able to get there since pulling will be met with a leash correction or change of direction. After a few tries, your dog will become mentally engaged, changing the tone of your walk before it begins!
Set a boundary at the door: Position your dog so you are between them and the door, say ‘wait,’ once, and then open the door. I can ‘pulse’ with the leash, but not hold, otherwise you are doing your dog’s work for them. Wait in front of an open door until your dog relaxes. When you do step out,ask your dog to wait again near the doormat. You want to be able to close and lock the door without being pulled on and you want to make sure your dog does not lose focus and mentally start the walk without you.
Project Leadership: From the beginning of the walk. Have a vision of the route you want to take, how you want your dog to behave. Exude a calm, confident energy, walking with a sense of purpose and direction instead of wandering aimlessly or letting your dog guide you. Picking visual points to walk to will help you stay on target and give you confidence that your dog will feed off of.
The great thing about having plans is that they can always change! Adjust as you go as your circumstances change.
Stay Present: Remain attentive and continuously scan the environment for possible distractions. This has the benefit of giving you a chance to see a potential distraction before or at the same time that your dog does.
Inwardly, you want to remain very aware of my dog, watching your dog in your peripheral vision and feeling your dog through the leash. Outwardly, you want your dog to be glancing up to you and witnessing you observing the environment.
Enforce the ‘Heel’ command: Ask your dog to stay within one foot of your knee or ankle, ideally keeping their nose or ear in line with your leg. It’s very important to give your dog the job of staying in a heel,showing them where you want them. You can do this by applying pressure if they go out of the heel zone.
If your dog pulls on the leash, swing your foot out to block them in front or ‘touch’ their rump in back.
Do the lightest leash correction you think will get a response, or use ‘weird walking’ techniques (changing direction, walking in circles, going backwards, changing pace, stopping and starting).
Dealing with Distractions: If you see a distraction (dog, bike, jogger, child) coming or sense your dog is getting distracted or activated, I do a light ‘pulsing’ correction, taking the slack out of the leash or using a ‘bouncing’ pressure to bring their attention back to you. The earlier you can catch a distraction, the lighter touch you can use. This tells your dog ‘I see that too and it isn’t a problem’ so you can walk on.
If your dog starts being reactive: Stay calm and continue walking, applying a variety of corrections to see what combination of cues at what pressure will yield a result. These include sounds or commands, touching the leash, foot taps, my voice, body language, movements, and energy. If you were to stop walking, your dog would have time to focus on what is distracting them and therefore become more reactive.
This is counterintuitive so you will need to retrain yourself to always keep moving if something starts to go wrong.
Greeting Others: This only happens if your dog is willing or able to calmly walk past. Early in the leash training process, if your dog is able to walk by calmly, you may want to wait until you completely pass the other dog and then loop back, or ask the other owner to wait.
If your dog can stay calm on the approach and both dogs (and owners) look willing to allow a greeting, approach the other dog only if your dog can do so calmly and without pulling. Read our article on reading and greeting another dog for more on this.
Stopping to Smell: Our dogs have amazing noses! They do not need to drag their nose as they walk or dive-bomb a smell to get a good whiff. If your dog drags you towards a smell, do not reward this behavior by stopping. You want your dog to sniff and enjoy the world, but at a time that is good for both of you and when they have politely indicated they’d like to. This is possible! I know it can be hard to believe.
Throughout the walk, note when your dog seems like he wants to pull over. First ask them to continue walking nicely, then offer them a spot to ‘sniff sniff’ or ‘go potty’. You want your dog to enjoy nature and the world outside my house, but make sure your dog is not dragging you during the sniff time, and instead you can walk together nicely to find a spot of interest. If he doesn’t seem interested in sniffing, we pick up the leash, go back into a heel, and walk on.
Back to the house: The same as leaving the house, your dog should be calm before you let them off leash. Ask your dog to sit and wait at the door and allow you to remove the leash before you release them and the walk ends. Getting back home can be exciting, too!
Walking in this way gives your dog the job of staying tuned into you and in a heel, even with distractions. This calm, slow, mindful kind of walk will be more tiring than a fast, impulsive, distracted one because it provides mental exercise in addition to the physical - just like how a long day at work with little movement can be exhausting. It also reinforces a calm, respectful mindset and creates opportunities to practice impulse inhibition. It isn’t about preventing your dog from enjoying what the world outside the house has to offer as much as being sure that we are practicing good manners and reinforcing a calm, obedient mindset instead of an impulse driven one.
Happy trails and get your dogs out there! Any dog can walk nicely, we swear, but part of the trick is instilling good manners at home.