The Magic and Science of Walking. (Part One)

I walk a lot of dogs every day. In fact, I estimate I've done over 35,000 dog walks since I started this business. In that time, I've managed to learn a few things: how to keep dry walking all day in a downpour; how to get a pill into a struggling shih-tzu without getting bitten; how far I can drive on a gas tank pointing to "E". But the one thing I've learned that serves me best is how to get a dog to walk nicely on leash.

It's one of my main dog rules: Don't pull me down the street. I don't want to come home at night with my arms longer than when I left home in the morning. 

And everyone seems so delighted and surprised when I do it. "Rover never behaves that well for me!" they gasp in wonder. One client showed me her entryway closet full of collars, harnesses, leashes, and gadgets and said "Use whatever you like. She pulls like crazy. Just try to control her the best you can. I'm sorry." 

So today, because I'm feeling generous, I'm going to talk about how I get my dogs to behave so nicely. Are you ready for this? 

I ask them to.

That's it, really. 

No, I'm not kidding. 

Meet Lisa and Curly, an imaginary woman and dog I've chosen to illustrate by this typical photo I found with a Google search. Lisa wants to go for a walk with Curly, so she's got Curly in a sensible flat buckle collar attached to a basic leash; all ready for a nice walk outdoors. 

Then they step outside, and...

Ugh, Lisa says, as she scrambles after her dog. Why is Curly like this? I hate this!

Curly doesn't have any idea this is wrong. Curly thinks this is what a walk is -- walks have always been like this for him. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable, with Lisa dragging behind him and he probably wishes she could run faster, but he gets to sniff all the good things, chase after squirrels and bicycles, and pee on things.

Lisa is miserable, of course, and I don't have to explain her feelings, because if you have a dog like this, you already know.  

Curly doesn't know that Lisa is unhappy. She's behind him yelling "Curly! Curly! Slow down! Stop it! Curly!" But she always does that, and Curly doesn't speak English so to him it's just exciting noise that adds to the fun. 

Lisa needs to ask Curly to do things differently. 

Remember a few posts back I talked about how to hold a leash? (If you don't remember, take a look now. I'll wait.)  Lisa needs to hold the leash using both hands. Why is this important? Because it gives her an advantage and it's SCIENCE. 

Newton -- yeah, the apple on the head guy-- tells us that the amount of gravity something possesses is proportional to its mass and distance between it and another object. In other words, when Lisa lets Curly have all that length of leash, she's increasing the amount of "pull" he can put on her. Curly can hit the end of that long leash with a pretty substantial amount of force. When Lisa shortens the leash and brings Curly closer to her, he is easier to control.

Look at this picture, at that short length of leash the dog has. He's being kept right by his walker's side, where he should be. He can still sniff and explore and relieve himself. He's not getting underfoot or tangled, and he can't use his weight to increase his forward momentum with as much force. 

That's the first step: Both hands. Shorten the leash. Keep your dog close.

Now I'm gonna go have some lunch and then walk some more dogs. Stay tuned for the next part!