From my experiences starting a dog walking business, volunteering at the Animal Rescue League and training my own dog, one thing I’ve learned is that every dog is truly unique. Each pup needs a customized style, plan and routine that works for them.
Here are some examples from my own clients:
I walk two golden doodle brothers. One is four years old and the other is still a puppy – at just over a year old. The puppy shows some reactivity on leash and is apt to bark or lunge at dogs in our vicinity. What I do here is to make sure that he can focus on me and when he does I will offer a high value treat as a reward. Luckily, we’ve seen a lot of improvement over time with this method!
How about another client of mine – a high energy samoyed (learn more here – a super interesting breed). The focus of the walks are to keep up the tempo to tire her out while reinforcing loose leash walking skills. I make sure to use commands like Sit, Wait and Touch to keep her engaged and walking with me. Of course she will get rewarded when consistently listening to me!
Another example are dogs who scavenge. I work with a corgi as well as a yellow labrador and both of these dogs walk quite well but will constantly be on the lookout for things they can pick up and eat off the street. The key here vigilance and proactivity. When walking these dogs, I am always scanning the ground for discarded food and making sure we avoid it. This can be easier said than done, considering a dog can smell up to 100,000 times better than humans. That’s a wild fun fact!
These are just a few instances of how I have to alter my mindset and techniques when working with different dogs. Here at The Leash Professional we specialize in getting the whole picture of a dog to provide a customized service that works for them and their pet parents!
