18/11/2021
Ah, the walk. Some people love it, some dread it everyday.
So why is there so much variation in feelings around walks? It’s simple, not all dogs are created equal. One day you’ve got the easiest dog in the world who happily trails behind at a jolly pace, and the next time you get a dog, its as if there is a sled race happening every time you go outside.
When I think about a walk with a dog there are a few key components.
1. Structured
2. Social
These two categories are what dictate what my dogs can do and when. Before we go on, its important to note not only the order I’ve placed these, but also that each has an important role.
The structured walk:
A structured walk is where we humans set an expectation for the dog. They will walk nicely, without pulling, without passing, without darting back and forth. I know what you’re thinking… “That sounds lovely BUT, that won’t work for my dog”.
Well, the truth is it can. The question is, how long will you let your dog practice pulling, passing and darting back and forth before you decide to provide the direction and boundaries required to achieve this structured walk?
For me, a walk is not about a destination and for a dog who is not understanding my expectations, there is a lot of work to do in communicating those expectations before we get very far up the road.
Ok… But dogs need to sniff, play, p*e. Right?
Of course! That’s where the social part of our walk comes into play.
The social walk:
The social aspect of the walk is also important. Dogs have needs, desires, instincts. And, if we demand only structured walking without providing for the dogs needs we will have a rebellion on our hands!
That being said, a walk needs to start with calm energy. A walk needs to start with focus on the human. Then, once this is achieved our dogs can explore, sniff, p*e and get their needs met.
So, how do we achieve this? Well, unfortunately there is not ‘magic pill’ It requires effort. There is not sugar coating it. If you’re feeling frustrated or having walks that aren’t joyful with your dog then you need to consider what investment of my time / effort in communicating what I want from my dog is worth the number of walks we will have over the next 10-15 years?
Lets get right down to the numbers…
Lets say you’re like the average pet parent who walks their dog twice a day. That’s 14 walks per week, times 52 weeks. That would be equal to 728 walks per year. So over the course of a conservative 10 year period you will take your dog on approx. 7,280 walks!
Whoa! Seven THOUSAND walks… if you’re taking your dog for 20 min walks that would be equal to over TWO THOUSAND HOURS of walking.
So lets imagine that you had to dedicate 10 min a day to teaching your dog how you’d like them to walk? Whats the investment?
So if it took you even 6 months to get this sorted at 10 min per day you would be looking at an investment of approx. 30 hours of training time.
So for an investment of 30 hours you can have over 2000 hours of awesome walks? Hmm. This seems like a no brainer to me!
What will you do? Will you carry on with your walks the way they are? Or will you invest in your own happiness and reap the rewards of a small investment?
Don’t spend another minute letting your dog practice the pulling, darting, sniffing routine on your walks. Ask for calm, expect calm, teach calm and you will surely achieve calm walks.
Happy Training!
