Credit: This article was put together by Petrunn; a dog walking service provider in Nigeria.

Want to have the perfect and memorable outdoor time with your dog? It starts with you putting certain structures in place and taking up that leadership role, but leadership does not start on the walk, it starts in the home.

Here we share with you some basic dog tips (at home & on the walk) that will help to build a better walking time and relationship with your dog.

First in the home:

  1. Command your dog to sit before eating.
  2. Command your dog to sit before putting on the leash.
  3. Before you walk out the front door – enter and exit doorways first.
  4. Mark good behaviour with positive reinforcement.

On the walk:
Walking your dog is one good way to understand your dog, how they think and/or relate to things and it is also a good way to build trust and relationship with your dog.

1. Lead the walk – make sure your dog doesn’t walk in front of you but behind or beside you. Your dog walking in front of you implies that your dog is the one leading the walk but your dog walking behind or beside you connotes that you’re in charge and you can control the direction of the walk.

Dog walking

2. Understanding – understand your dog energy level when outside so you know when you can engage them in any vigorous exercise or activity and also observe when energy has dropped so as to bring such activity to an end. Observing this will make you fully utilize the effectiveness when walking or exercising your dog.

3. Use your words – help your dog get familiar with words like sit, stay, stop, wait, come instead of forcing or hitting your dog to do what you need them to and mark it with positive reinforcement when they listen and obey you.

4. Make the walk fun – walk, run, play, take cool pictures and Include some fun activities to engage your dog. Eg play fetch, tuggle etc. Remember to share them on Woofline Pets Community ?

5. Limit your dog explore time – while on the walk give your dog a good amount of time to explore but limit that explore time to show your dog that you’re in charge.

Some dogs will understand these rules instantly, while it may take a longer amount of time for others to. With respect to dog walking and dog training as a whole, patience is important. Remember, let your canine companion know that you’re in charge by taking up the leadership role, by so doing, you build trust and a better relationship with your pet.
If you have more dog walking tips, do share in the comment section.

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