Don't Get Walked By Your Dog

We've all seen it & giggled. Someone getting dragged along behind their dog and you can't help but make the smug comment - "Who's walking who?". It can be an uphill battle if your dog was born with leader instincts or is an Alpha dog as we like to call it. But even an alpha dog can become a follower, given the right direction and guidance.
It's easy to see who the Pack Leader is - the one walking out front. This is best observed during off-leash walking but can also be seen on a regular leash (not a retractable leash). So if your dog drags you down the street and insists on sniffing everything in sight, then he is the pack leader and you need to correct this. As mean as you may feel, your dog should not be allowed to sniff everything he wants until you allow him. He should never drag you down the street - despite what you think, your dog is not just over-excited about the walk. He is exercising his authority over you & this relationship will never work. Not only are you showing everyone in your neighbourhood and at the dog park that you have no control over your dog should he decide to snap at something, but these people may develop a fear of your dog which will come through as negative energy. Your dog will sense this right away & could react aggresively towards it. Remember, dogs sense negative energy and interpret it as a threat or a weakness. They do not nurture weakness as we humans do. Instead they will act to eliminate weaker pack members for the overall strength of the pack.

Walking Your Dog

During a walk or run it is essential to maintain your status as Pack Leader. Dogs work on cues. These can be physical, visual cues but more often there are non-visual cues that they pick up on through your energy. I guess that may sound a little deep for some people, maybe even a little hard to believe? But if you assume the air of superiority & truly believe in your role, your dog will recognise the energy you are exhibiting and fall in behind you.

You are your dog's provider as well as companion.

Exercise

If you have to start work early, get up even earlier to make sure your dog gets some exercise before you head out for 7-8 hours. I know, I know, I can hear the sighs from here - 'Get up even earlier?!'. In reality, if your dog were in the wild like her ancestors, she would spend about 10 hours a day on the move with her pack. I'm only suggesting 30 mins - 1 hour in the morning. If you don't like exercising in the morning, then just throw her in your car and drive to the nearest dog-friendly park or beach. Let her run off-leash and wear herself out, it does help if there are other dogs to socialise with too (I call it the 'self-exercising' dog). Not all of us have the fitness to run with our dog for an hour or more, so this way they do it for themselves.

If these ideas do not appeal, then be prepared to spend some money on a dog walker. In many places you can either provide a trusted dog walker with keys to your house or leave your dog in an accessible area of your property. Your dog walker will come and collect your dog, walk her & return her for between $10-$20/day. This is the way to go if life is just too hectic to find the time to do it yourself.

In saying this, can I underline that there is really NO REPLACEMENT to taking your own dog out walking & running every day. It is all part and parcel of establishing yourself as Pack Leader. A dog walker will assume that role too and they will be the leader of all the dogs out walkign each day. It is the only way to maintain control of the pack & be certain, in the case of off-leash walkers, that they will all return to the walker at the end of the day.

I know I'm probably pushing it now, but when you come home from work once again, your dog needs another, this time longer, energy-burning walk. And this time it needs to be you that does it!