Quite often, when I’m out walking the dogs, I see numerous other dog/handler teams out and about for a stroll in the neighborhood.
I see all kinds of things that I don’t particularly like – dogs getting yanked around on leashes, yelled at, and constantly scolded. I can’t recall a single time I’ve seen a dog in my neighborhood actually get a treat for doing the right thing when out on a walk.
But of all the things I see on walks, one of the most frustrating for me is seeing dogs being punished, incessantly, for being dogs.
Sometimes it seems as though owners take their dogs on a walk and forget what a walk is all about for their dog. For dogs, a walk is about sights, sounds, experiences. It’s about shoving their faces down the hole of a groundhog and sniffing until they finally pull their faces out, dirty, blissful, nostrils full of the smell of wild animals. It’s about munching a particularly tender blade of grass, saying “hello” to a friendly stranger they’d like to greet, lifting a leg on every fire hydrant, sign, or tree you pass, splashing in a puddle or creek, or chewing a stick for a brief moment.
This is what walks mean to dogs. It’s a chance to investigate and interact with their environment. It’s mental and physical stimulation.
Many owners approach a walk with the mentality that, “We’re going to walk x route in y amount of minutes whatever that takes. It will be your exercise for the day and you’d better well like it.” It’s a “let’s just get this over with” mentality. For these people and their dogs, walking is a chore.
Let’s face facts. For many, many dogs, a half hour leash walk every day barely scratches the surface of their true exercise needs. A 30-minute walk is a drop in the bucket. If you want to really tire them out, we need to go hiking, backpacking, swimming, or have a long and adventurous romp with some of their favorite doggy pals.
When we go on a walk, I’m walking for my dogs. It’s their chance to just get out there and be dogs, to sniff and explore. If I want to go on a brisk, no-nonsense, let’s-not-stop-for-anything-power walk, I would go without the dogs.
Despite the fact that I’m a trainer, I also don’t insist on perfect obedience from my dogs when we walk. A colleague once said, “well, my dogs would NEVER pull on the leash because I’m a dog trainer.” Well, la-dee-dah. Dogs are dogs. They move faster than we do and think poop is more interesting than we do. I’m not saying I let my dogs pull me around, but sometimes the leash does go tight. So what? I just stop, wait for the tension to come off the leash, and we start walking again. Easy-peasy. No mess, no fuss.
My dogs aren’t always “on.” They’re not always performing, I’m not always rigid. I don’t spend every second we’re together thinking of criteria, reinforcement schedules, etc. I think of behaviors I like, and try to find ways to make it fun for them to offer those behaviors by giving them the things they want and need. Yes, dogs do NEED to sniff things and interact with their environment.
Sometimes, I’m not even a dog trainer, I’m just She Who Likes to Have Fun With Dogs.
I don’t want robots, I want canines. Yes, I find their good behavior rewarding and fulfilling. It makes me proud to know how wonderful my dogs are. But at the same time, I want them to have plenty of opportunities to just do the things that they like to do, even if means that they’re sniffing for 30 minutes our of a 45 minute walk and we only make it around four or five blocks instead of walking a few miles. Sometimes, I let the dogs pick the route we take on our walk. Something smells good on Fairview Avenue? Let’s go that way instead of taking Riverside today!
Next time you leash your dog up for a walk, ask yourself, “whose walk is it anyway?”