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Are you the person in the park who's holding on for dear life as your dog takes you on a walk?
When a dog walks a person, bad things can happen. This is why so many avoid walking their dogs altogether because it's stressful, embarrassing, or both.
Still, your dog needs regular walks to burn off excess energy, use their noses, and enjoy time away from the regular routine of the house. It makes your dog happy and it shows in their behavior.
Yet, why does a dog pull, run, or cause chaos on a leash walk?
To better understand, there are two modes that dogs go into a walk.
In hunting mode, they are looking for something. Perhaps they want to find a spot to go potty. They may have picked up a scent that interests them and wants to find it. Maybe they are looking for food.
When a dog is in this state of mind, if they don't have good leash training, they will be highly reactive to their environment and more stimulated to other things instead of responsive to their owners on the other side of the leash.
In migration mode, they are just moving from one place to another. They're not looking for anything in particular or paying attention too much. They are just on the move.
We want our dogs to stay in migration mode. It makes for a much more enjoyable walk. Once the dog is trained on a leash to use its migration instincts to enjoy a walk, we can add other things that stimulate their hunting mode to teach them not to engage it.
In previous emails, I talked at length about trust and respect. If those are missing on a walk, your four-legged friend will likely ignore you for their desires, especially if they have a strong hunting drive.
To build trust on a walk, you need three things:
Know where you are going
Know how fast you plan to get there
What side do you want your dog on
When training your dog to walk correctly with you, don't "go with the flow" and allow your dog to pull. That means your dog is the leader. When they are the leader, they are telling you that trust is at a minimum. Therefore, they need to protect you because they aren't sure you will protect them.
You cannot allow your dog to dictate where you are going or how quickly you'll get there. You must create accountability by not allowing your dog to do whatever they want on a walk.
Remember, they are walking WITH you, not the other way around.
Talk soon,
Alan Carr
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