Dealing with “Momentum” in Dog Walking
Walking a Dog Can Be Challenging
One of the biggest Challenges we face as dog parents is being able to walk our pets from one location to another. Maybe its a potty walk, or a walk around the neighborhood foe exercise, maybe your attempting to bring your dog to the vet. Many times, until their is understanding, you get the dreaded PULLING on the leash. Have you ever had that moment where you are just so frustrated that your dog is being so uncooperative that you find your self bargaining with your dog? ; “Please, let’s forget that squirrel and get home- I’ll give you a treat”. Sound familiar? Many parents have found them in this specific position or something akin to it. Some parents have been “face planted” by their dog during a walk because of their pulling- because of their momentum.
The Momentum that can be found in walking a dog
There are two types of what I am labeling MOMENTUM when walking your dog. The first is Physical Momentum, the actual physical pulling exerted by your dog in the direction that they want to go. Sound familiar? The second is Mental Momentum. Think of this as the thought process behind most pulling situations. Dog sees the squirrel, Dog wants squirrel, Dog pulls. The Mental Momentum is the desire or need while the Physical Momentum is the action to achieve that want or desire. More on this later.
Dealing with Pulling (Physical Momentum)
There are a lot of different tools available in the marketplace to assist you in reducing the pulling, inhibiting pulling etc. We have all these gadgets, but does the dog understand what the expectation of a proper walk is? Do you the pet parent know how to teach that understanding? Well, if you got this far in reading this, I will assume the answer is either an emphatic No or “I’m just not getting the results am looking for” or something close to this. That is actually I good place to start from. Knowing you need help is the first step in getting help. So, let me help you. I frequently ask these questions to clients before starting the walking segment of our training sessions:
1- “What is your walking command”. Usually the answer is that they don’t have one or it’s “I say let go for a walk”
2- “How do you handle the dog pulling you, what do you say or do”? The answer I get is “That’s why I called you”
3- “What equipment are you using and is it helping at all”?
Walking Commands
Walking commands or instruction is absolutely necessary, especially in the beginning, in training. Dogs, while quite empathic in reading our emotions are not telepathic. They cannot read your mind. They don’t know why we do the things we do nor should they.
Here is a Key concept to remember- DOGS DO WHAT IS REWARDING FOR THEM.
Lets go back to the squirrel. Dog sees squirrel, Dog wants squirrel, Dog pulls to get to squirrel, Dog is partially or fully able to pull you to squirrel. Because the dog had success, even partially- they understand the pulling is rewarding. “When I pull I get to want I want”. Now, repeat this over and over and you get a Muscle Memory. This means the dog does it with little thought because its a rewarding action. Now the dog pulls whenever he/she wants because they have achieved some level of success. As the pet parent is holding on to the leash and holding on for dear life (depending on the size of the Dog).
So we start to give a command like “Walk” when we start our walk. Think of this as a logic tree if you are familar with the concept. Your dog is next to you at your side with a leash and collar on. I do tend to use neck collars or Holti type head harnesses over body harnesses. This is a personal decision. I lead from the head, I steer from their head. Many people get a body harness because their dog chokes themselves while wearing a neck collar. Here is my answer to that “when you teach them to walk nicely on their neck collar, they will not pull” (not as much at least). This is why you are learning techniques to use when walking. OK, back to the logic tree:
1- DOG is walking with you once you have given your “Walk” as you start walking- great keep going
2- Dog is slightly pulling ahead. You wrist flick the leash in your hand backwards just a bit while you say “walk” you are back to step 1.
3- Dog is pulling forward and is ahead of you, too far ahead to do a wrist flick/command. So you turnaround and go in the opposite direction. If your dog is walking on your left then you turn to your right. You get the idea.
You are to keep moving and your job is to keep your dog on whatever side you choose. Forge ahead, wrist flick/command. Gets ahead, turn around and go the opposite direction with a slight wrist flick and command. Mind you, the wrist flick is NOT a physical correction. Its a guiding action to bring the dog where you want them to be.
In doing this myself, I usually am working the client’s dog in front of their home. I may only get a few feet before I have to either wrist flick and give verbal “walk” command or have to turn around and go the opposite direction while providing direction with leash and giving that verbal “walk” command. This is done for a few minutes (10-15) until the dog is becoming too tired or too hot. From personal experience, it can be fairly dizzying.
Here is a main point- PULLING GET THE DOG NOWHERE, IN FACT WHEN THE DOG PULLS- WE GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. Pulling does not equal rewarding behavior, quite the opposite (an example of what is known as negative punishment). I truly understand that every dog and every parent/client is different. That is why having a trainer like myself guiding you through these steps might be necessary.
A RULE TO FOLLOW- When are walking there is NO peeing, NO pooping, NO saying hello. We are walking, We are IN-COMMAND. You can introduce a “BREAK” command to illustrate to the dog that he/she is free to do other thinks like go to the bathroom. I usually address this by walking the with the dog with the “walk” command. As we are moving forward nicely, I periodically will allow slack in the leash while simultaneously saying “break” and stepping backward. This will start to show that the dog should be next to me while in “walk”, but move ahead when given “break”.
Making commands and expected behaviors simple is imperative to the success of training. K I S S- Keep it simple student.
Words of caution!!! We must be very aware of the pressure we are placing on our dogs necks while walking. Too much pressure on the front of their neck can be harmful especially for some breeds. When you are turning with your dog on a leash and collar or when you are redirecting them away from something- LOOK AND SEE where the pressure is on their neck. When I turn, I tend to bring my leash hand down across my belt so that any pressure on the dogs neck is on the SIDE of their neck. We are seeking to redirect their physical momentum not physically correct their behavior. REDIRECT NOT CORRECT.
Mental Momentum
Now our dog understands that “walk” mean to be next to you while we are going on our walk. Repetition is the key in making any command a muscle memory. Imagine being able to walk your dog with only a few commands when necessary to keep them right where they should be. What you have achieved here is the foundation of walking. Both you and your dog understands what is meant by a walking command. You both have a better understanding of your individual roles. You the parent guides while the the dog is guided. Now lets bring back that pesky squirrel. Dog sees squirrel. You feel the start of the pull or just knowing your dog and their desire for the squirrel, gives a command “Walk” with the wrist flick (in a direction away from the squirrel). A “leave it” command is also appropriate, if your dog understands it. Don’t give commands that the dog does not know. Dog starts to pull. You proceed in a different direction. Going after the squirrel is not rewarding so I may as well give up trying.
Here is the main idea of this post. Mental Momentum (desire/need etc) leads to Physical Momentum (pulling). Showing the dog how to walk properly can save you from losing the dog, not being face planted etc. A proper understanding of Dog Walking serves as a foundation from which to work from or go back to when there is that need to have a default. Deal with the situation before it is a problem.
Unfortunately, words don’t always take the place of in-person demonstration. Showing you a technique can take only a few minutes. Practicing that technique will take you hours. The pride and confidence of learning what you need to know will last a lifetime.
Would you like to know more or begin your dog’s transformation?
Contact me, Bob Burnell at http://palmbeach.sitmeanssit.com
Would you like to read more about similar topics?
Visit my blog page
Am not in your area? Sorry, good news is that Sit Means Sit has over 170 locations
Find your next trainer at http://sitmeanssit.com