A Good Way to Walk a Dog

Taking your dog for their walks each day can be an enjoyable time for both you and your dog. The walk should be seen by both of you as two companions spending special time together and enjoy doing it. There are good ways to walk a dog, and bad ways to walk a dog. Knowing how to keep your dog under control and in motion means understanding your dog and how they interact with you. Following a few rules will help keep the daily walks enjoyable for both you and your canine friend.

Keep your dog close

As a general rule, keeping your dog under control is a requirement. This ensures the safety of you, your dog, and others around you. This also helps maintain the order of the household with you being the leader of the pack. You should try to keep your dog within a four foot radius of you, and attached to you in some way. The "four foot rule" allows your dog some freedom to explore, but also allows you enough control to pull the dog out of danger quickly.

Forcing the Dog

Never force your dog to move. Pulling on the dog collar, or pulling by the leash, will cause two negative things to occur; first, there is the possibility of damaging the trachea of your dog and possibly choking your dog. Second, behavior issues will develop because dog's do know when they are being abused and will eventually fight back or retaliate. Moving your dog with your foot, either by a hard push or kick, will also have the potential of internal bruising on the ribs or organs and cause behavioral issues. Your dog may also become afraid of you and at that point, all obedience measures will be met with a "fight or flight" response where the dog tries to defend itself from further abuse.

Moving the Dog

A good way to walk the dog and keep the movement going is by gently coaxing the dog. If you want your dog to move, try gently walking forward against the dog's side which will force the dog to move in that direction. Another method is to firmly grab the scruff of the neck (the backside of your dog's neck) with one hand, then lift up the dog enough so that their front paws are off the ground and then move the dog a few inches; this is how mother dogs move their young and it is remembered. Training the dog to respond to certain commands, without the threat of attack, will always provide better results. You don't need complicated commands; the use of the word "come" and three snaps of a finger works if it is used consistently. The trick is to use the same method every time so that your dog associates that method with the command to move in a direction you want.

Pacing the Dog

People most times, move faster than dogs when walking. This is often forgotten when people walk their dogs. A good way to walk a dog is to pace the dog, or set a pace which both you and your dog can handle comfortably. Smaller dogs, and older dogs, cannot move at the same speed as younger or larger dogs. Dogs will slow down with age; and keeping the pace relative to the age of the dog will help maintain an exercise routine the dog can handle. Your dog will let you know if they need to slow down; make sure you pay attention to this request.

Walking Emotions

Your dog will have one of two reactions when it comes time to going for a walk, depending on how you interact with them during the walk. A dog who loves going for walks usually has a master who likes walking the dog. A good way to walk a dog is to interact with it along the way; your dog will know if you are enjoying the time you spend with them and will look forward to that time each day. A dog which dislikes going for walks will usually be that way because it is a time of stress for the dog. Usually this means that either the dog is in constant pain while walking, or is under constant fear of you getting angry at them and attacking them either verbally or physically.