Why is pulling the leash so wrong ?

Yelling, pulling, running, ashamed, oh my …

Strange owner’s habit during daily dog walks

I just came back from outside. Here in Canada, it’s so freaking cold. Minus 30 degrees to be exact, in March… and i can even feel the super cold freezing at the tip of my fingers. It’s a pain but it’s worth it for the sake of my dogs.

 

Walking dogs is one of the most important things you should schedule in your day for physical and mental health. Not just for you but for your dog too. If your dog tends to be aggressive or look depressed, it might be because your dogs need exercise outside to drain the energy and keep the mind stimulated.

I was walking in the forest near 9 pm. The moon was so bright making it look like the day time, it was so beautiful.

 

 

But on the way back home, we crossed another dog. A Shepard. I really like this dog. Unfortunately, people tend to fear this race due to the size and myth that Shepard is aggressive which is not true obviously.

So we were walking and as usual, my 3 dogs start to bark. I know it’s annoying but i am not the type of person to turn my dogs into submissive dogs. I prefer they enjoy life as long as there is a balance in barking.

Then, a few meters away from the Shepard, he started to do the crying/barking thing. Normally, i know this attitude is because the dog just wants to come closer and want to meet my dogs. It’s normal to me and i even feel it’s a pity for the dog. Kind of “I feel the dog is lacking affection”. So, i kept walking with confident attitude because this is what you have to do normally but the problem is closer we were, more stressed the owner was because his dog was trying to come closer to us while he was pulling the leash to stop the Shepard. In short words, it’s like he was saying to his dog, stop barking or we won’t go say hello. I know, some people will say it’s ok but there is a better way to handle this situation.

But, do you know why his dog was barking more and more?

Because the owner was pulling the leash.

 

Pull the leash = Dog Barking = Dog become crazy

 

Yelling at your dog = Dog Barking

 

Solution = Follow the river, calm, but don’t go opposite

 

You know we all do that. The dog started barking then we pull the leash and start shouting “stop”, “no”, “bad girl”, “bad boy” …

Problem is more you pull the leash, more your dog is pulling as well and it becomes madness.

If the “sitting exercise” is not working, then all you have to do is to when you cross another dog is keep the leash shorter and walk slowly to the other dog. If you stop walking and pull the leash, your dog will only bark higher and pull stronger. Just do the opposite, “follow the river”. Just walk slowly to the other dogs and your dog will calm down and do what they all do … smell at each other and go back to their routine. It’s very simple actually. Don’t feel ashamed of your dog or even scared. With time, you can practice the sit exercise but in the meantime, this works very well, at least for us so I guess it will for you as well.

In the end, I felt very bad because the owner turned back home and the dog didn’t have his daily walk, just because the owner was ashamed of his dog cry/barking thing.

I will never stop my daily walk just because my dog starts barking, it doesn’t make sense.

Actually, if they bark like this, it’s a sign they need much more exercise so i start jogging with the 3 dogs and then, they become like potato and even ignore the other dogs 😉

The conclusion is, your dog is no different than kids. They all want to say hello, touch and smell each other and then once it’s done, they go back to their stuff. Simple as that. Let’s not forget the whole point of walking dogs is to drain their energy so once back home, they are calm, relax and it’s really working!

Skip one day and you will see the difference.

99% of the time, the dog’s problem is from the owner attitude.

Please try this and you will see, walking your dog will become much interesting for your dog and more pleasant for you as well which is important. Walking dogs should be fun, not a task 🙂