There is a reason that no matter the behavior we are called into deal with that we always start by walking the dog. Actually, we start by entering the home and totally ignoring the dog. This is something that few dogs have ever experienced. It immediately causes them to focus on us. Dogs that are typically jumpers don’t jump up on us and often just sit or lay down at our feet. Then it’s time to put the Immediate Correction Lead and leash on.
We lead them to the door, and without saying a word, make them stay while we walk out first and with a gentle tug we are on our way. The slack in the leash is our slack, not the dog’s. The removal of the slack in any direction on part of the dog is immediately corrected with a tug on the leash and then right back to being loose. In the first few minutes, the dog could experience anywhere from 20-50 immediate corrections always ending with a loose leash. The dog is kept in the heel position (we teach the dog walking on the left with anywhere from their shoulder to their nose even with your left knee). This position is actually quite natural since it allows them to use their peripheral vision to see where you are looking. We also don’t look or talk to the dog while walking. All corrections are done by touch because your eyes process information much too slowly to achieve consistent corrections. This is also effective so as not to send mixed signals to the dog by correcting them to ignore something in the environment and then having them catch you focusing on what you are training them to ignore.
Dogs communicate using sight, movement, and space. Whoever gets the others to follow them is the pack leader. The foundation of all obedience and behavior modification is attaining a consistent loose leash walk.
Training over 2000 dogs means that we have received over 2000 submissions for training. For me the two most important and telling questions of the submission are whether you have a fenced in yard and if your dog gets walked. Dogs that have a fenced in yard get walked much less than those that don’t. It’s just the truth.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have owners who walk their dogs for many minutes or miles, unfortunately not on a loose lead. As far as I am concerned, this is worse than a dog not getting walked at all. Whether at a dog event or just driving around town, about 90% of the dogs I see are walking their owners. Whenever you let your dog walk in front of you, the dog interprets it as you putting them in front of you, and to the dog that means they are in charge. The ramifications range from having a dog who sees you as an equal or lower than they are in pack status all the way to a dog that becomes leash aggressive because he barks, growls, or snaps to keep people and dogs away from his pack. In either case, this is the leading cause of anxiety in dogs and anxiety is what causes the most costly and dangerous behaviors. Not all dogs make good pack leaders for dogs, much less a human pack. When we encourage them to see themselves as such by not leading them, we cause overwhelming anxiety that any of us would experience if forced into a job we were not mentally and physically able to do. Your dog wants to be an employee, not a boss.
A structured walk performed the way I explained in the beginning of this article for 15-20 min a day will exercise the dog both physically and mentally as well as condition the dog to focus on the handler and gladly accept their place in the pack. It is quite literally the difference between a dog that is balanced and relaxed instead of out of control.
How many more dogs would be adopted if when shown to perspective adopters were walking on a loose lead the first time they met? A dog that walks on a loose lead for one person will do it for anyone who handles the dog the same way. This is especially a consideration for larger breeds.
We start introducing puppies to the leash at 8 weeks. The younger they are the longer you will have a balanced dog. Too many people fail to introduce the lead with the misconception that the puppy that won’t leave their side will always be like that. As soon as they realize that you cannot keep up with them when they run away….the honeymoon is over.
As with all things in life, its not about what you do once in a while, it’s about what you consistently do everyday that seperates you from the rest of the pack.
We hired MCS … since the training our dog had greatly improved… she is receptive to her name and to her commands. She now walks on the leash next to me. Walking with a cane was a challenge before since Nelly was constantly tangling up in the cane posing a great disadvantage to me. Thanks for all you do and continue to do for the dogs and owners that need your guidance and support.
This is so awesome to hear. We love feedback like this. Thank you so much.