Pay Attention!

Few people pay attention to their dogs when walking with them, I’ve noticed. I’ve observed this on many occasions, but the point was brought home rather forcefully for me recently.

Just the other day, I spent the better part of a warm, late afternoon in an upscale Bay Area neighborhood, in an effort to take some pictures of the many dog owners I knew would be out walking with their dogs. I was hoping to take a good picture of a relaxed person and a well-behaved dog, walking calmly on a loose leash and a plain collar. I wanted the picture to illustrate the article that appears on page 8 of this issue.

I saw dozens of dogs and dog walkers – but not a single pair who met the criteria for the photo I wanted (I used an older photo for the article). Mostly, I passed dogs who were pulling their owners this way and that. And many of them were wearing choke chains or pinch collars. Have you ever noticed that most dogs who wear these collars pull anyway? (If you want to know why, read Training Editor Pat Miller’s article inside this issue)

I also saw several dogs wearing harsh collars (and one wearing a head collar) with a retractable leash! Folks, a retractable leash literally trains dogs to pull against the mild pressure of the spring-loaded cord, so they can reach whatever they are pulling toward – which is highly reinforcing.

But here is the thing I find most puzzling: with a single exception, none of the dog walkers appeared to be paying a bit of attention to their dogs. I saw only one woman who noticed when her dog happened to be walking at her side, and took the opportunity to praise him and give him a treat. With this sole exception, no walkers seemed to notice when their dogs were being good – and none appeared to notice when their dogs were pulling them toward a bush or piece of garbage on the sidewalk. Never mind that their arms were being pulled practically out of their sockets, or that they had to brace themselves against being pulled off their feet (or pulled to a halt when their dogs stopped to sniff or pee); these owners just sort of passively, ineffectually resisted their dogs’ movements.

What were they paying attention to? Their walking partners, stroller-bound babies, cell phones, iPods, and goodness knows what else. But with the sole exception of one attentive owner, they were neither paying attention to nor taking the opportunity to train their dogs to walk on a loose leash.

Many people today are multitasking: combining the dog-walking chores with exercising for personal fitness, returning phone calls, and spending some much-needed time with a friend or child. But if they want a well-behaved dog as much as I would like them to have one, they need to focus on their dogs! When your dog pulls toward something, don’t let him reach it (and thereby be reinforced); stop in your tracks and resist until he slacks the leash. Carry treats, watch for even fleeting moments of good behavior – and reinforce it the moment it occurs. Before you know it, walking your dog will be much more fun – and photogenic!

-Nancy Kerns