Properly Walking Your Dog

If you are looking to purchase a puppy you want to make sure that you are committed to being able to dedicate time to that puppy. The more quality time that you spend with your puppy the better adjusted and trained he or she will become.

There are a lot of misconceptions that are pretty prevalent in the dog walking world. You have to make sure that you establish yourself as the dominant figure even when you are just out walking with your dog.

A great way to do this is to start by not allowing your dog to walk in front of you. There are a lot of people out there that let their dog walk in front of them and give the dog the feeling that he or she is in control of where you are going.

When your dog is walking in front of you it will feel that it is in charge. The leader always goes first and you want to make sure that your dog understands that you are the leader when you are out walking around the neighborhood.

If you allow your dog to lead you on the walk you will also be giving him or her more mental strain. When they are in front they have the responsibility of leading the pack and taking care of you throughout the walk.

If you go out on a walk with a dog because he or she is very high strung, but then you allow them to lead the pack, you will not be diminishing the mental strain. When you get back from your walk it is highly probably that he or she will be just as high stung.

You need to be giving your dog the proper type of exercise to allow their body to relax and get in a good amount of exercise. When your puppy begins to have pent up energy you may notice that he or she gets into a lot more trouble at home.

Making your dog heel is not the most important part of the walk. Even if your dog is next to you he or she needs to understand that you are in control of your walk and that you are going to call all of the shots while you are out walking.

Rewarding your dog throughout the walk is a great way to encourage positive behaviors. If you are only punishing the dog he or she may not know what you are expecting and can get frustrated and even confused.

If you want to introduce your dog to new dogs a pack walk is a great way to get this accomplished. Even if you know that your dog has had problems with another dog before you may want to try reintroducing them on a group walk.

It is important while you are on this walk to take the time to correct any poor behavior problems as soon as they occur. Finding a good balance of negative and positive reinforcement will help you get the dogs into order.

Keeping all of the dogs with you and heeling is important throughout the walk. If you allow a group of dogs or even just a single dog to pull in front of you he or she will begin to feel as if he or she has established dominance.

It is important that you keep the dogs under control throughout the walk. Never bite off more than you can chew by taking too many dogs out for a walk at once when you are not equipped to deal with all of them.

If you are going to be walking a lot of dogs you may need a second walker to be out with you. This may also depend on the sizes of the dogs that you are bringing together in a group to take out for a walk.

Some people do not have time to be taking their dog out for a walk as often as the dogs need it. You have to make sure that your dog is getting exercise somehow, even if you are not the one walking your dog.

When you are not going to be able to walk your dog you should hire a walking agency to come pick up your dog. They should be well equipped to handle your dog and instill good walking habits in your dog.

Taking the time to invest in a good dog walker can dramatically decrease the stress level you associate with having a new puppy.