All Who Wander Dogwalking

There are four primary focuses to the All Who Wander experience: Street Training, Socialization, Stress Relief and Pack Bonding.

Street Training: This involves the basic habits necessary to ensure safety on the streets while on a walk, as well as the niceties of proper leash behavior. This includes, but is not limited to:

- correction of incessant pulling

- Staying in a proper corridor of safety while navigating; for example, maintaining proper distance from a busy street while allowing room for others to pass on the sidewalk

- Pausing and sitting at every corner before crossing

- Maintaining a pace relative to the handler, a steady gait moving in a line parallel to other members of the pack

Socialization: a very basic definition of this term is how confident and relaxed the dog is in relation to people and dogs. Walking in a pack of confident and relaxed dogs, all calm energy moving in the same direction, is one of the better ways that I’ve seen fearful dogs ease into a more positive attitude. Desensitization to external stimuli is also a byproduct; triggers like plastic bags, men with beards, loud children and bicycles (four common examples) are not nearly so threatening when you’re in the middle of a pack who aren’t collectively reactive to these stimuli.

Stress Relief: the experience of boarding, no matter how well-adjusted the dog, will usually lead to stress symptoms and these stresses will generally reflect in their behavior in pack. Walking in a pack outside of the yard strengthens their resistance to these stressors, it lets them get some outside air and grass between their toes, as well as some structured exercise. It’s amazing how something so simple and basic can strengthen the dog’s experience while boarding!

Similarly, the experience of daycare on a regular basis can bring out stress and reactivity on the dog. If a dog is growing increasingly uncomfortable with regular attendance at daycare, a structured walk can freshen the experience and bring balance to daily life.

Pack Bonding: bringing structure to a chaotic group of dogs during a walk has been one of my greatest skills and joys, and even more, it brings a bond to the group that turns them into a contented whole. The strengthening of ties within a pack, helping them to gain confidence in themselves through each other, increases the dogs overall experience and satisfaction.