29/11/2025
Walking your dog doesn't need to be so frustrating!
There's this idea in 'Dog Culture' that we MUST take our dog for a walk every day, and if you don't then you must be a bad owner.
Being able to have a leisurely stroll with your dog is a simple pleasure, one that so many owners yearn for but is anything BUT leisurely (I understand the feeling as I've been there myself).
So many dog owners are struggling on walks - with reactivity, fearful dogs, or just simple leash pulling. It can be exhausting and if you're reading this and can relate, you know the guilt you feel at dreading the walk when you know they 'need' it. BUT... DO THEY?
A fulfilled dog needs:
🐕🦺 Physical exercise
🐕🦺 Mental exercise
🐕🦺 Time to just be a dog/freedom
🐕🦺 Play
🐕🦺 Rest
All of those needs can be met without putting the leash on and pounding the pavement for 10 blocks. In fact, your dog's behaviour and your relationship with them will probably improve if you take the pressure off yourself and stop doing it.
Here's why:
🐕 Leash pulling is self-reinforcing:
If your dog drags you to everything they want to sniff or investigate then they're being taught over and over that behaviour is how they access these things. Tension on the leash is how they get what they want.
🐶 INSTEAD: the script needs to be flipped so they learn pressure on the leash means they stop, or you want them to FOLLOW YOU, not move toward what they want.
🐕 Separate training from exercise:
Dogs can't learn new skills when they're over-stimulated and distracted. The more distance you cover on a walk, the more distracted your dog will likely get. If you walk your dog to a park then that's a HUGE distraction (I bet they walk better on the way home, but fatigue isn't training)
🐶 INSTEAD:
practice loose leash walking during a 'training session' and if your dog pulls the second you walk out the front door then practice inside your house, then when they're doing better there open the front door and STILL practice inside, then in and out of the front door, then the path to your house etc etc etc. This will tire your dog out, I PROMISE. This is mental exercise and mental exercise is just as tiring as physical exercise.
🐕 Provide physical exercise in other ways:
As above, trying to train your dog AND give them exercise at the same time isn't going to work very well. It's like getting children to learn their timetables at Disney Land.
🐶 INSTEAD:
put them in a car and drive them somewhere quiet where they can run around (on a long line if they're not off-lead reliable). This is great for reactive dogs too. Find places where not many dogs go. Industrial estate parks or the back of some shopping centres where there are empty fields.
🐕 Have a plan and work smarter not harder:
So many of my new clients have tried all the tools, treats, obedience commands etc, but none of it is working. The problem is there's almost always a lack of clarity in the techniques and a lack of clarity paired with an over-excited dog doesn't work.
🐶 INSTEAD:
provide CLARITY through learning a clear and consistent strategy that you can easily teach your dog for five minutes twice a day (yep: FIVE MINUTES, TWICE A DAY. Dogs learn better this way and you'll both enjoy it more!). Clarity in communication, clarity through controlling distractions to keep your dog calm and focused!
There are numerous techniques to teach calm, loose-leash walking and what works best with each dog/owner combination can differ. But if there's one thing to remember from all of the above it's this:
🐾 SLOW IT DOWN TO GET THERE FASTER
Take the pressure off yourself AND your dog. Forget about social norms. If walking your dog isn't helping improve their behaviour or mindset - don't do it. Meet their needs in other ways while you focus on implementing a clear training routine that you can enjoy with your dog.
🖤🐾
