Getting More Out Of Your Walks with Your Pup

This past weekend as part of the Dog T.I.P. program at the Stray Hearts Animal Shelter in Taos, NM the conversation gravitated towards the benefit (or lack thereof) of walking shelter dogs and even dogs that are already living in a home.

Erica and I discussed the benefits of walks as well as dispelling some common beliefs folks have about walking their dog.

Of course, we can all agree that taking a walk or a stroll with our dog is one of the healthiest ways of spending some quality time with our four-legged friend.  Not only do walks increase our health by keeping us on the move but, it can also have a very positive impact in managing stress.

I, for one, miss the walks that Laika and I took around our Berkeley neighborhood!  I don’t miss much of the San Francisco Bay area where I lived for 22 years, but I sure miss the many “routes” Laika and I had for our daily walks; especially memorable are the Spring walks!  Just being able to take in all the aromas of whatever happened to be in bloom that particular morning.

So yes, of course, just a simple stroll as described above can do wonders. But wait!  There is so much more we can do in order to get more bang for our walking buck.

Here are some guidelines that I follow with my own dogs and that I recommend to my clients:

1. Make sure your dog is fitted with the proper “attire/tool” for the walk.  If using a harness- which has many advantages to any other tool one can use, please make sure it fits your dog properly.  I have seen so many dogs trying their best to walk with their owners only to be impaired by the shoulder strap being so low on their front legs that it makes walking almost impossible.  The same goes with a tightly fitting harness which can chaff your dog’s underside.  Please follow the recommendations for proper harness fit for the particular harness you use. Avoid, avoid, avoid clipping your dog on a collar! Any collar if your dog pulls.  Every time you allow your dog to pull (yes, we are to blame for our dogs pulling- sorry folks!) your dog is getting literally choked in the process. So either teach your dog to walk on a loose leash so that there is no choking or use a front-clip harness to help with the pulling.

2. Allow your dog to sniff at his heart's content!  This is one, if not the most, important benefits of walks for our dogs.  As Alexandra Horowitz mentioned: “Dogs smell the world as we see it.” Allowing plenty of sniffing doubles as mental stimulation for our dogs since the area of the brain for this activity is actually quite large in dogs. In a pinch we can use sniffing as a “life-reward”: Your dog walks nicely on a loose leash and you reward him with a sniff.

3. If your pup has some basic obedience (sit, sit/stay, downs, leave it, etc.) under his belt, practice by peppering some of these behaviors when you are both out and about. Nothing wrong with having dogs sitting to cross a street- that is awesome!  But why not expand the repertoire so that your dog has to work a bit harder during the walks thus increasing mental stimulation as well as solidifying some basic stuff all dogs benefit from learning.

4. Be polite with other dog owners, but prevent your dog from greeting other dogs while on leash.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, on leash greetings are very cumbersome for both parties but especially so for dogs.  What I recommend instead is to click and treat your dog for spotting other dogs on the road as you move on.  In this manner you are teaching your dog several things at once:   A.) We don’t say hi to dogs while walking on leash so there is no confusion for your dog as to why today we did say “hello” but not yesterday, creating expectation and even possible frustration when not allowed for whatever reason an interaction;  B.) Your dog is getting conditioned that dogs in general and in particular when seen while on leash, mean good things for him or her, and C.) Your pup will continue to offer eye contact because you have wisely paired the sight of another dog with a click and a treat.

5. Last, if your dog can handle not being in the move and just taking a break while watching the world go by, you are teaching your dog to relax in the presence of lots of stimulation. Not all dogs can do this.  If you are going to give this a go, just start by making this easy and enjoyable for your pup.  Begin with just waiting somewhere out of the way and the elements- if harsh, for a minute or two at a time.  Eventually you both might be able to just relax for up to 10 minutes or so.


Another cool advantage of working with our dogs while on walks, instead of just walking at the pace of a snail (at least that is what most of our dogs think we do!), is that your pup will become tired faster.  If your goal is to give your dog some physical stimulation, you will need to find another activity where your dog can truly work some pent-up energy out as walks rarely do this for most dogs.

Making Sense of the World

Dogs notoriously make sense of their environment by predominantly using their sense of smell and sight.

Their top priority always being the one of safety - of being safe. Their world is basically divided into two categories: safe and unsafe. After the dog has decided that a certain thing, person, etc. is safe, their next question is: What’s in it for ME?

There goes the popular theory that dogs do things to “please” us. Really, nothing could be farther from the truth. This goes back to a living organism: strive to survive.

In case you are feeling a tightening of the chest as to my suggesting that your adorable pooch could kind of care less about making you happy, let me state that dogs DO form bonds with people, :) but that is ultimately a different thing than doing things to please us as their ultimate goal.

Now back to the topic of making sense of surroundings. Most dogs have a difficult time with transitions. I guess the same is true of some people. I am defining transitions as any notate change in the immediate environment. Perhaps it has to do with the dog once again having to ascertain the safe/unsafe nature of the novelty.

For some, transitions are hard because they were not exposed positively to the given circumstance from a very young age, so now the experience is not a positive one.

The case of a very fearful shelter dog that I had at home for several weeks comes to mind. One of the most difficult things for poor Louie was getting in and out of the car. Once in the car, he was fine - I even think he enjoyed the ride. So it took me a very long time to work with him in getting in and out of the car.

Once we are aware of circumstances in which our dog might need a little bit of help, the best thing we can do is to slow down the process.

Slowing down the process means that we will give our pup ample time to take the scene in. It might be that you stop at the front door and let your pooch take in all the smells that abound, perhaps opening the door a bit to investigate further and letting your dog walk in on its own, instead of you pulling on him because you live a frantic life and you are late for your appt.

For some dogs it might even require that we take the time to make special quick trips to the vet just to say "hi" and having the staff doll out special treats.

I suggest slowing down the transition if the pup seems uneasy when entering new environments such as the vet clinic, groomer, a training class, etc.

Take mini-breaks with all activities surrounding animal husbandry such as grooming, nail and hair trimming (make sure your vet or groomer if using one is doing this- if not, I suggest finding a new one), when putting any “equipment” on your pup for the first time or as long as the dog is not comfortable with the item. This includes, harness, head-halters, muzzles and the like. Learn to chunk-down the process! Better yet, teach your dog by pairing any of these possible traumatic experiences with good things for him or her.

Take it slow too when medicating your dog if doing this by mouth. I make it a habit of allowing my dogs to smell the pill, the brush, etc. first and then slowly pilling while I am soothingly talking to them. Of course, I follow any “nasty” yet necessary procedure like this with a tasty treat. It is my way of thanking my dog for putting up with the intervention and to make the process easier for them one step at a time.

Allowing our dogs to smell on walks- even if this means cutting the walk short. Smelling is one of the most salient senses in our dogs, not only will being allowed to smell at will provide with much entertainment, but also it will wear them more than almost any amount of physical activity.,
Slowing down the process for our dogs is also good for our souls. It is the perfect opportunity to practice the art of taking time for what is valuable in our lives; it is in essence exercising respect and empathy for our dogs.

An interesting exercise would be to observe and analyze the circumstances that make your pup uneasy. I can guarantee that you will come up with a few. Once these are known I suggest coming up with ways by which you can make all these circumstances and transitions – should this be the case, easier on your dog. Perhaps you can make some changes in the environment, or just giving your dog more time to get acquainted with what concerns them, removing your pup from problematic situations before they become a stressor.

The kindness towards your pup will truly make a difference in his quality of life and don't we all want happy, thriving pups? I guess in that sense we are like our dogs… we do much of what we do out of self-interest.

NOTE: In order to help folks with coming up with some creative, effective and humane ways of helping their pups out, I am inviting you to submit your solution for helping your pup on my Facebook post here: https://www.facebook.com/CHACODogTrainingandBehaviorConsultingLLC/photos/a.176152399073789.35461.106862209336142/1706927355996278/?type=3&theater

We can all share, discuss and learn.

Anti-pull gear

As a continuation from last week’s post I want to review some of the most popular gear to help minimize (or not) dog-pulling on leash.

When deciding what kind of equipment to use, there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

1. Efficacy of the equipment 
2. Comfort level for the dog
3. Ability of the person(s) walking the dog in using the equipment appropriately
4. Good fit

Not all anti-pull equipment is as effective in helping with pulling.  Notice that I am not saying that the equipment will prevent or teach the dog not to pull; it will just make it less likely that the dog will pull in most circumstances with the most efficient equipment.

Of all the types of gear available such as: harness with front and back clip, prong collars, flat collars, martingale collars, choke chains and head-halters, the head-halter is hands-down the most efficient in curtailing pulling on leash.

Second best is the FRONT clip harness. 

Third is the choke chain. But, really?  Are we still resorting to this sort of equipment?  The choke collar even though it looks benign is actually “worse” than any of the other type of gear listed above. Not only is it really constricting the dog’s air passage when the dog pulls or the person corrects with a leash pop, but if not fitted correctly, (there is a right way and a “wrong” way of putting the end of the chain through the loop) it can indeed choke the dog!

Some people have problems walking their dogs on leash because for a myriad of reasons their dog barks, growls and lunges at either people and other dogs - or both. Now, if the dog is already engaging in this kind of high-arousal behavior(s) can you see how constricting the air passage will only contribute to more discomfort and the dog not being able to take a full (calming) breath?  Again, just try it on yourself:  Constrict your air passage and report back to me.

The Prong Collar: Even though it looks really “evil” it is less damaging and discomfort inducing than the choke chain. The problem with the prong collar is that dogs can develop a callus to the tightening of the collar making it ineffective. If this callous is not developed by the dog when the prong collar is tightening then the dog is experiencing at least discomfort, potentially pain and for sure constriction of air flow.

Harnesses:  A harness in my view is a good thing to use because it gets us off the dog’s neck.  Big bonus!  However, most harnesses are poorly fitted on dogs.  It could be that the harness is ill fitted because the person did not follow the sizing directions or fitting instructions.  Some, of course, are better than others.  In any case, back clip harnesses do NOT help with the pulling.  The same oppositional reflex (dog pulls, person pulls back dog pulls again against the pull felt) is in place unless the person is actively preventing the dog from pulling i.e.: teaching the dog to walk on a loose leash.

Front Clip harnesses are definitively a good option to lessen the pulling and one of my favorite solutions if it is fitted properly. Notice if the straps to the side of the front legs are preventing the dog from taking a full stride. Similar to us girls expected to walk with a very tight fitted skirt AND high-heels 

Flat and Martingale Collars: Again, not really indicative to stop the pulling or teaching the dog anything. If the person is exercising corrections these too are bad news for the dog.  In my view, flat collars should be used only in two types of scenarios:  Dog has learned to walk nicely on a leash – so the dog is not pulling and for ids.

Quick-Release Collars: They are worth mentioning here because as their name implies, they will come apart easily, if needed.

These collars are the only collars that dogs should wear when playing with other dogs.  There have been quite a few cases of dogs getting stuck in another dog’s collar and choking to death.  It is not a pretty scene and very difficult to right if it happens.

Head-Halters: The head-halter is similar to a horse halter.  It fits on the dog’s head and the leash clips to the bottom of the ring under the chin.  There are quite a few brands out there and while people should pay close attention to sizing and fitting for the brand they are using, they all work the same way.

The only drawback of head-halters is that there is normally a period of acclimatization for the dog.  If one is consistent and bites the bullet it is not long before the dog learns to be comfortable with the halter. 

The head-halter not only is the most efficient piece of equipment to stop pulling but in a pinch it is also the best tool to help re-direct unwanted and even dangerous behavior on leash, because wherever the head goes… the rest of the dog’s body follows. 

If using a head-halter people should be very gentle in maneuvering their dog. Absolutely no jerking of the halter – the position of it high on the dog’s neck can create damage. Head-halters just like any collar should never be used with a long line (sometimes called a drag line or safety line).

In summary:  My preferred recipe for success and the comfort of both parties, is for dogs (with no severe fear or aggression issues) to be fitted with a front clip harness while the dog is learning to walk politely on leash.  This gives the human-side of the equation some relief when they are not willing to practice loose-leash walking.
 
Second best and the only safe option for dogs that lunge at other dogs or people are properly fitted head-halters.