MASTERING THE WALK
Walking correctly with your dog will be the most important skill you can master if you are seeking a deep, lifelong connection.
Always begin the walk with calm-assertive energy.
Don’t chase after your puppy with the tool you are using, be it a simple leash, a harness, or a Halti. To your puppy, the tool you’re using is an extension of your own energy, so it should have a pleasant (but not overstimulating) connotation. Let the puppy come to the tool, not the other way around.
For your very first walk with your puppy, wait at the threshold of wherever you are leaving from, be it a shelter, your car, or your home. Make sure your puppy is in calm-submissive waiting mode beside you, and then step out the door first. Ask your puppy to follow. Whoever leaves the dwelling first, in the puppy’s mind, is leading the walk. You want that leader to be you.
Hold the leash in an easy, relaxed manner as if you are carrying a purse or briefcase. Hold your head high, put your shoulders back. If your puppy begins to pull, pull up lightly on the leash, then immediately release the tension once the puppy gets back into line. Keep the tension loose at all other times. Your puppy should be walking beside or behind you, not pulling to the side or dragging you from in front. If your puppy doesn’t get the concept right away, use an object, like a walking stick or an umbrella, to create an obstacle until she gets the picture. Gently put the object out in front of the puppy’s path in order to create a boundary that will soon become an invisible one.
If your puppy starts to wonder, gets distracted, or seems to balk at moving forward, use a bully stick, a palmed treat, or a scented toy and engage her nose. Then continue to move forward once you have redirected her attention.
If a puppy gets excited when she sees a commotion or another dog across the street, this is not s signal for you to get excited, too! Keep your focus and, most important, your calm-assertive energy, and continue walking. A slight side-pull correction on the leash will communicate, “Don’t get distracted, keep on walking!” If necessary, turn your puppy’s back to the commotion that is causing the distraction, and make eye contact with her. Wait until she sits, relaxes; then continue on with the walk.
When you and your puppy have had a successful ten-, fifteen-, or twenty-minute walk, then allow your puppy the freedom to wonder a bit on the end of the leash, to smell the ground (only if you are if a safe area and/or your puppy has completed her third round of vaccinations) or pee and poop. This is a reward. After about three to five minutes, return to your structured walk.
When arriving at your destination or returning home, repeat the procedure outline in step 3. Walk through the threshold first, then invite your puppy in after you. Remember, in your puppy’s mind, whoever goes through the door first owns that space! Make sure she is calm and submissive as you remove the leash.