Sounds like a silly question, doesn’t it? The reason I ask is that I see so many dog owners getting dragged around by their dogs. Actually, it’s obvious that the leash is working because the dog is having a great time pulling his so called “master” around with it.
We all know that a leash, or lead, as trainers call them, is a 4 to 6 foot piece of nylon or leather strap with a hook on one end and a looped handle on the other. An experienced trainer once told me that 90 % of all lead – training problems occur at the end of the lead with the handle on it.
For some reason many of us assume that dogs know, instinctively, how to walk on a leash. This notion is patently false. Just put a leash on a puppy, watch him buck and fight the leash, and you’ll see that the dog’s natural instinct is to pull away from anything that restricts his freedom of movement.
A dog needs to learn how the lead is supposed to work and humans need to understand the dog’s instincts and natural tendencies in order to get control of their dog when he or she is on the lead. The truth is that humans aren’t born with a natural instinct to walk dogs on a lead either, so both the dog and the “master” need some training to avoid turning a walk in the park into a full blown dog rodeo.
On November 16, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM we will be having our next training workshop, entitled: Walking Nicely on a Leash. Response has been really good to this workshop offering and we may need to set up another date to make sure everyone gets a chance to learn this very valuable skill. If you haven’t signed up yet, please call now and reserve your spot!
I’ll be there in my rodeo clown suit. ?