Written By:

Bernie Martin and Tiffany Hayes

SECRETS TO A MORE ENJOYABLE WALK

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Importance of walking your dog

3. Masking

4. Reasons for dogs pulling?

5. Discovering your dogs needs

6. Steps to an Enjoyable walk

7. Fun tips to make your walk more exciting for you and your dog!

Introduction: If you are reading this you are probably at the end of your leash and

at your wits end with your walks with your dog. You are not alone. Over the years of training I have found “pulling on leash” is on the top of the list for most common issues people have with their dog. This leads to shortened walks or no walks at all, which in turn leads to bored, over weight and socialized dogs. Boredom leads to destruction of the house and a dog that paces and begs for attention. An over weight dog leads to health issues, diseases and a shortened life span. And lastly an un-socialized dog leads to all different kinds of “aggressive” behaviors in the future.

By reading this and applying the techniques laid out in this book you will be doing your dog a great service. It may take some time perfecting the tools but in the end I guarantee you will have much more fun and create a stronger bond with your dog.

The tools in this book have been proven to be successful when applied correctly and consistently. I hope you enjoy the read.

“Success can not be guaranteed unless you guarantee to do the work”.

Bernie Martin

Importance of walking your dog:

We all know that dogs need to be walked. Whenever I work with a client I always ask, “why did you get the dog”? or “Why are you getting a dog”? One of the answers that comes out often is “a dog will motivate me to get out more and exercise”. This usually only last for the first couple months and then the novelty and excitement of the new dog starts to wear off. We get lazy, start to make excuses, and the dog gets pushed lower and lower on the priority list.

Dogs have a certain amount of energy that needs to be expended everyday. It is important to get your dog out for at least a 1-hour walk on a daily basis. Just like dogs we too have energy that needs to be burnt off daily, we need to get out of the house. Before becoming a dog trainer I worked from home in my basement office. I would get up, walk to the basement and work all day and not leave the house. After doing this for couple days I would go stir crazy, lazy and not want to do anything. I lacked all motivation and I was more miserable being self-employed then when I was working for a boss at a job I hated. Something had to change. This is what I decided to do. I started getting up an hour earlier then usual, got dressed, and would leave the house. Some mornings I would go for an hour walk/run and pretend I was walking to work. Other mornings I would drive to a local coffee shop and have a coffee and go for a little drive. When I got home I would feel refreshed and would go straight to work. I got so much more work done and was much happier. All I had to do was leave the house for an hour. Some days I tried doing this but for only 20min but it didn’t have the same effect. This can be related to dogs, get your dog out for some fun and exercise and they will be much happier.

Happy dog happy life!

Masking:

Masking – to cover up; to disguise or conceal

We live in a fast “paced get results now” kind of world. No one has extra time in his or her day to actually work on something. We live in a world where discipline means making sure you are home every Wednesday night so you don’t miss the new episode of The Bachelor. Americans are becoming lazier and lazier as new technology comes out. New inventions are created daily and they all start with, “how can this be done easier?” or “how can this be done quicker?”.

There are millions spent yearly on new dog-training contraptions and how to market them. Everything is about fast, faster or even instant results. Sure there are ways to do things quicker then others but anything that is advertised as an “instant with no effort” fix and sounds to good to be true, probably is.

Masking Examples:

Halti

Halti– a leather or nylon nose piece to stop dogs from pulling.

Halti’s are designed to stop dogs from pulling and make the walk more enjoyable for the owner. The leash is attached to the front part of the halti under the dogs jaw. When the dog starts to pull it’s head is jolted to the side and it makes it uncomfortable for the dog so it stops pulling. WOW, this sounds great! Dog pulling on leash fixed! Wrong! The dog is only not pulling because it’s extremely uncomfortable. It can also lead to injury to the dog’s neck.

I recently took part in a webinar with a very knowledgeable holistic vet. When asked his thoughts on haltis he stated that many dogs that chew on their front paws a lot have a history of walking with a halti. The connection to the paw chewing and the halti is the damage it does to the neck and nerves and it makes the paws tingle.

Walks are supposed to be fun for a dog. In fact it is what dogs live for and is usually the most exciting thing about their day and for some dogs their week. If you use a halti or have seen a dog with one on then you have probably witnessed the dog rubbing up against your leg or along the ground trying to get it off because it is so uncomfortable. It’s embarrassing for dogs to be wearing them. Would you go out in public wearing a bra on your face? Of course not! Halti dogs (as I call them) you can pick out in a crowd even if they don’t have a halti on cause you can see the nylon burn on the top of their nose.

Halti’s do not fix the problem, they only cover it up. It makes OUR walks more enjoyable but remember you are going for a walk because you have a dog and it needs a walk. So shouldn’t you be making it enjoyable for them first?

Prong Collar/Pinch Collar

Prong Collar/Pinch Collar – a series of chain links with blunted open ends turned towards the dog's neck. The collar is designed to prevent the dog from pulling by applying pressure at each point against the dog's neck.

Similarily to the halti the prong collar is designed to stop the dog from pulling through discomfort or pain, not because they are not suppose to. Prong collars can also be dangerous to dogs playing with dogs that have then on by damaging their teeth or ripping them off. With time dogs will start to get very sensitive to the prolonged use of the prong and then will become agitated and a little unsure when you touch or go near their collar.

Again as you can see the Prong/Pinch collar doesn’t lead to an enjoyable walk for the dog. In fact it can be very painful.

Harness Harness – an arrangement of leather straps buckled or looped together, fitted to a draught animal in order that the animal can be attached to and pull a cart.

Harnesses do exactly that, they harness all the energy and make it more comfortable and easier to pull. So why are we using harnesses to stop dogs from pulling. In my opinion, it’s kind of a joke.

I use to have a husky and put a harness on him one day and he went right into pulling mode. It was like it was programmed into him. He had never had a harness on before but he knew exactly what to do as soon as it was on and there was a little tension. He could pull 5 times harder with the harness on then a regular collar.

I could go on and on about masking tools but I think you get the idea. Masking tools are just quick fixing to cover up the unwanted issues.

Reasons for dogs pulling

Okay now we are getting into the heart of why your dog is pulling. You have to look deeper then just fixing the issue of a dog that pulls. You need to figure out why your dog is pulling. Dogs pull for many different reasons and if we pay a little attention to them we can figure out why they are pulling.

Dogs pull because:

-it works, it gets them where they want to go. They do what feels good for them. They are also practical - they do what works. Dogs probably think humans really like walking on a tight leash because they do it all the time.

-dogs naturally walk faster then us. If we walk at a normal human pace the dog will eventually be leading.

-the dog is untrained and has no respect for the walker.

-they don’t get out often so they need to make the most out of it before they are locked back in their prison we can a house.

-they don’t get off the property often and all of the new smells are just to exciting to even think about paying attention or listening to us.

-they spent to much time in the backyard and now there are new sights sounds and smells everywhere.

-there is a dog walking by and being a social animal like they are, wants to so badly say hi and play a little.

-we follow

-the environment is more exciting then you are

Discovering your dogs needs

Every dog has different needs. Some dogs enjoy the water, while others just want to chase a stick all day. Others just want to sniff out moles or maybe herd things. Because all dogs are different you must figure out your dog. What does your dog enjoy? What makes him/her the happiest? And be honest, sitting on your lap watching TV doesn’t make your dog happy, it’s just what they are use to.

Two years of age is social maturity. This means that if you have a dog under the age of 2 it needs to play with other dogs. Some dogs more then others. Your dog should have at least 10 different dog friends of different ages and sizes. The older dogs will teach your dog what is allowed in the dog world and the younger dogs will learn from your dog. If you find your dog pulls constantly towards other dogs you may want to consider a dog daycare so that your dog can get it’s playtime.

Dogs need to be socialized with people, dogs, different sights, sounds and smells. Again the more sights, sounds and smells you can introduce your dog to on a regular basis the better.

Fenced in backyards can be great but they can also be detrimental to our dogs social life. Over time the backyard just becomes like another room in the house. They know all of the sights sounds and smells. They have marked over any new sent and there is nothing new visually except for the occasional bird or squirrel. If your dogs spends to much time in the backyard it will go crazy on walks because of all the new sights, sounds and smells.

If you have a fenced in backyard try not using it for one week. Don’t even use it to let your dog out to do their business, take them out for a walk instead.

I have noticed that dogs that live in apartments tend to get out and exposed to more things then people with big backyards. Fenced in backyards encourage us to be lazy and to the dog it’s just another room in the house. Boring!

Steps to an enjoyable walk How many people do you see walking their dog down the street that have a smile on their face? It seems like we live in a society where smiling is a crime. It is fairly easy to spot someone that is walking their dog because they want to and someone that is walking their dog because they have to. Next time you see someone walking his or her dog think of this. And next time YOUR walking your dog think of this!

On your next walk try picking up your pace by at least 10 percent and see if you notice a difference in your dog. Leave your headphones at home and focus on engaging and observing your dog. And the most important thing…SHUT UP! Your dog has tons of things it wants to teach and share with you.

Sometimes Tiff and I will go out with the dogs and we will look for deer. Actually WE don’t look for deer, we watch the dogs and by their body language and noses they tell us where they are. It is so cool when your dog shows you something.

Let your dog tell you what they want. Something I tell my clients all the time is, if you are walking down the sidewalk and you unclip the leash from the collar and your dog stays on the sidewalk, then by all means go for a walk down the sidewalk. But…if they run off into the grass and the bushes smelling things they are telling you they want to explore. So get them off the boring pavement and take them hiking.

Pay attention to your dogs pace when they are off leash.

Do they walk at the same pace?

Do they run constantly?

Do they run, jog, stop, walk and everything in between?

Do they try to play with you?

When you have gathered this information, incorporate it into your walk. If your dog runs all over and changes directions a lot and then stops every now and then to smell something then do that on your walks. This will help make your walk more fun your dog and you.

If you don’t know what your dog thinks is fun then you can’t be fun and if your not fun then why would your dog or anyone want to hangout with you? This is when the true bond between human and dog is created.

Fun tips to make your walk more exciting for you and your dog!

We have talked about finding out what your dog enjoys and why it’s important to know this. You must also be careful how much you do one thing, it’s important to change things up or your dog will get bored or they will create and obsession. Example, fetching a ball or stick. If your dog is one of those dogs that obsesses over a ball then stop playing fetch for a while. And then just do it once a week maximum. Playing fetch is not a natural motion for animals and it can be extremely hard on a dogs joints. They go from running as fast as they can to stopping as fast as they can and then running as fast as they can back to you. A blown out knee is not a cheap or enjoyable process.

Well what can I do with my dog?

1. For one month do not start your walk from your house. This means no walks in your neighbourhood. Get in a car and drive somewhere new. It can be just a few minutes down the road.

2. Find a new park or trail. Google has all this info 3. Tell yourself you are not going home until you meet at least 5 new dogs. 4. See how many stores you can go into. 5. One of my favorites is to pick out an apartment building or parking garage

in the distance and say “I will get to the top of that building” and then do it. You will discover new things in the town you live in that you didn’t know were there.

6. Go canoeing 7. Run 8. Go for an off leash hike and play follow the leader with your dog. You go

and do what your dog does. Your eyes will be opened to how much energy and power your dog has. Warning – You will be exhausted long before your dog is even getting started.

9. Sit on a patio and have a drink. Tire your dog out before you do this so that you can be respectful to the others on the patio

10. Let your dog get as dirty and muddy as possible. They will love you for it. It’s just a little dirt and water….get over it. Take one for the team.

The list is endless. If you start by doing some of these things you will begin to be able to think outside of the box and discover new things on your own. This is when the real fun starts.

Want to have a dog that’s fun to be around…then start to be fun when you’re around your dog.

Now get out there and have some fun with your dog!

Cheers!

Meet Tiffany & Bernie from The Travelling Dog

Tiffany and Bernie have had a passion for working with street dogs ever since they spent a working holiday in Cancun MX in 2011. Since then it has been their focus to make a difference in the dog world and do what they love. With both being self-employed and having travelled to many parts of the world, they are full of stories and adventure.

Whenever possible their dogs are included on their adventures as they feel that because they choose to get the dogs it is their responsibly to include the dogs into their lifestyle.

Follow their blogs and stay up to date on their adventures. Their stories and adventures can be entertaining and inspiring to everyone.

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