Walking Together On Leash: What Works and What Doesn't

Jago Cattle Dog Hero of the Carolinas, a highly-capable super hero, reporting for MagicWithDogs.com

This can be a tricky one for humans.  What to do with all the choices out there?  Flat collar, choke-chain, pronged-choke, electric shock collar, nose collar, no-pull harness, regular harness??  Enough gadgets and gizmos to make your head spin.  Dogs would never buy any of that stuff though.  If we did have disposable income we'd spend it on sensible things like steak and tennis balls!

That said we're not entirely unreasonable and most of us will go along with a sensible harness & leash if accompanied by a bit of kindness, empathy and common sense from our non-human animal friends.  

But while we're on the subject, let me throw a couple of ideas out there, which might help you and your own furry friend:

- I will choose to walk nicely with you because I want to, not because you make me.

- It's better when it doesn't hurt.

- It's better better when we understand what you want.

Something many humans don't understand is how crucial the neck and throat area is for us dogs.  It's not your fault you don't all know this of course!  It's actually kind of like a super-sensitive social 'radio hub' that we use to communicate all sorts of things to each other. 

Occasionally, as a last resort, a cheeky youngster may have to be grasped firmly by the neck and held to the ground by an older, more experienced chap, like me.  Just to teach him a little much-needed respect for the 'doggish' order of things!

Some of you humans mistakenly believe that a prong-collar mimics this.  It doesn't because:

A. We dogs are not stupid and recognize the difference between metal prongs and teeth!

B. We don't yank from behind when executing this move. When our human friends do this it makes no sense to us at all and is very unhelpful.

On the other hand, the neck and throat are greatly prized by us dogs as favorite spots for a little gentle sniffing, 'scritching' and rubbing, by particularly trusted friends of the canine and human variety.  So all in all, necks are quite the complex area.  Sad to say much of what goes on there totally eludes many of you humans.  And when you do notice something, sadly you often misinterpret it.  Which can lead to a LOT of frustration and misery on both ends of the leash.  To say nothing of some quite nasty neck and spinal injuries suffered by the more battle-hardened pullers amongst us dogs. 

One of the best things my human did when she first brought me home 10 years ago was to take off my collar...bliss!  Felt marvelous to be free of that itchy, nasty old thing.  I gave her nose a quick lick just to let her know how much I appreciated it.  She moved her head and so I got her eyeball instead...oops! 

She didn't seem to mind though, just laughed and explained that - whilst in an ideal world I wouldn't wear anything at all - because we lived in the city I would have to wear something when we went outside.  So we settled on a comfy, soft, adjustable harness that keeps me nice and secure, has a handy O-ring for my tags, and avoids any pressure to the sensitive neck area.  This has worked out beautifully for both of us.  Its what I always suggest my friends recommend to their humans.  Get them to take you to Petsmart and provide a 'helping paw' by nudging them in the right direction!

Vis-a-vis walking politely on leash, the thing is that you humans teach us dogs to pull.  Hard to believe I know, but you do.  Actually you teach us pretty much everything we know about living in your often confusing world.  From walking nicely on leash, right through to jumping up and leaving muddy paw prints on your visitors!  We take all our cues from you.  I would go so far as to say that every single one of you who shares your life with one of us is already a card-carrying bona fide dog trainer. 

We're told that the best things in life are free.  My love is free :-) Chiropractic care and/or surgery from the shoulder injury you got from me pulling like crazy on the leash isn't free though.  Personally I like to think of all training as quid pro quo (Latin for 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'). 

But that's all from me on walking, more later.  I'm off out with my human now...no pulling on the leash from me of course!