Traditional dog walks are human-centric in nature; it's questionable how beneficial these are for dogs (especially reactive dogs - dogs that bark, lunge, growl or become fearful and overwhelmed in some situations). Making your outings more dog-centric will build a stronger bond and improve behaviour problems. A win-win! Read my top 5 tips below.
1. Choose the Right Environment for your Dog
The typical walk takes place in an urban or suburban environment – usually on a concrete road or pavement. This doesn’t offer the dog much in the way of a sensory experience. The narrow spaces these environments present can also be detrimental if you're working through Dog Reactivity Training as your dog may be overwhelmed and stressed by other dogs or people coming too close. Try taking your dog to places where there will be lots of smells and interesting things to explore. Somewhere that is somewhat away from the hustle and bustle of man-made landscapes is ideal. Think about forestry, grass, lakes and rivers, puddles and mud, beaches etc.
If you’re thinking places like these are difficult for you to access due to where you live or lack of transport, there are always things you can do. Every city and housing estate has some green spaces, parks, hedges and trees. Focus on what you do have rather than what you don’t have!
2. Put your Dog in the Driver Seat
Ok, maybe don’t literally do this! But allowing your dog to make choices is empowering. Dogs live in a world where they have so little control – their veterinary care, diet, reproductive choices, access to food and resources is all up to us. Even though we are making choices that are in our dogs’ best interest, never having any control over anything can be stressful. When we go for walks with our dogs on a leash by our side we are also inhibiting the way a dog would naturally explore and move.
Humans tend to walk in a straight line at one consistent pace. Have you ever seen an off-leash dog move like this? Dogs like to stop and go, meander and follow the direction of whatever interesting scents they are picking up, they will vary their speed from walk to trot to sprint. So next time you're out with your dog, how about you let them choose which direction to go even if it means moving back and forth or waiting patiently while they have a good sniff of that tree they find so interesting?
3. Engage with your Dog and the Things they think are Interesting
Often on walks, human and dog are tethered to either end of a leash with very little engagement with one another. They might as well be going on separate walks! If your dog sees something interesting, stop and show interest in it too. If you spot something you think your dog might like, point it out to them and encourage them to interact with it. It could be a hole in a tree, a pile of leaves or stick they’d like to carry. You can also stop and play short games with your dog at different intervals. If you're familiar with Dog Scouts at all, you'll know we are a HUGE fan of Games-Based Training.
We often hear about the need for "dog obedience training" in order to have a dog that's pleasant to live with and go on walks with. The reality however, is that your dog likely doesn't need to be more "obedient", but rather both you and your dog need to learn what each other's wants and needs are. Engaging with your dog in activities they enjoy will help in fulfilling their needs and strengthen your relationship with one another. An awesome relationship means a dog that wants to listen to you! Your dog might also need what we refer to as Life-Skills Training rather than obedience training.
4. Give them Freedom to Move
Instead of using a short leash, try using a longline so they have more space to move around and don’t have to walk right by your side. Giving your dog a little more space to move, accompanied by meandering and changing direction frequently (as opposed to walking in one consistent direction) will help stop your dog from pulling on leash. Allowing some exploring often helps them to slow down a little and they won't pull ahead as much if you are changing direction frequently.
If you’ve taught your dog to come when called and you know a place where it is safe to allow dogs off leash, it can be beneficial to give them that extra freedom. Please never allow your dog off leash near livestock or busy roads. You should also never allow them to run up to others as this can be distressing for both people and fearful dogs (even if your dog is friendly).
5. Promote Innate Canine Behaviour
Normal walks provide physical exercise to dogs but don’t do a lot else in terms of enrichment. Put simply, enrichment means providing for our dogs’ range of needs. We can enhance their quality of life by ensuring that their physical, mental and behavioural needs are all met. Any dog owner that loves their dog is usually already meeting all their physical needs. We can easily provide mental stimulation and provide opportunities to perform intrinsic canine behaviours by encouraging and allowing our dogs to sniff, swim, explore, chase, dig etc. while out and about. Every dog is different, and their range of behaviours and the things they enjoy will differ. Observe what activities your dog enjoys the most.
Conclusion
Both parties in the human-dog relationship have needs. Where behaviour problems exist it usually means that there are unmet needs for both the human and the dog. So if you have indeed wondered 'do I need to walk my dog?' The answer is no you don't, certainly not in the traditional sense. The alternatives I've written about above will far exceed any benefits of taking your dog for a walk.
As I've said we humans also have certain needs. We need dogs that are able to exist in our world; settle in the house, not pull on leash, to be able to co-exist with other people and dogs etc. If we are struggling with our dogs in these scenarios that can also seriously affect our own well-being. By ensuring that our dogs’ range of needs are met we are reducing our dogs’ boredom and stress levels and, improving behaviour. In turn, we can meet our own needs because we have a dog that is easy to live with.
It’s important to know that you may not be able to meet all your dog’s needs through better walking practices alone. This is especially so for dogs with medical problems or that struggle with reactivity, fear or aggression. The above advice can help but it’s important to seek the appropriate professional help if your dog’s problems run beyond your own scope of knowledge and skill.
If you need extra training and behaviour support with your dog, you can check out Our Services page or Contact Us.