The importance of walking your dog...

Taking your dog(s) on a walk is one of the most important activities you can do. Even the smallest dog needs to be taken on at least one walk a day for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Walking has so many benefits to you and your dogs. A dog instinctually needs to feel like they belong to a pack. Dogs are also natural followers so asserting your position as the pack leader is crucial to you and your dogs well-being and the walk is the best way to do this. What a walk does is it provides exercise, discipline, and affection for both you and your dog. These three benefits are the recipe to a mentally stable and healthy dog. Exercise must come before discipline or affection if you want your dog to listen and respect you as the pack leader. You can't expect your dog to behave if you are not finding some way to release the pent-up energy inside them.

You cannot just simply throw a leash on your dog and hit the pavement running. You must "walk" your dog correctly. NEVER use a flexi-leash to walk your dog, especially a big dog. The flexi-leash is the one that can extend out 20 ft. Although you may think letting your dog have "room" to explore is nice, when you use a flexi-leash you lose all control of your dog and you put yourself and others around you in danger. The dog is in control with a flexi-leash and will not listen to you. Even if you think you have the most trained and well-behaved dog in the world, you still need to maintain control. Speaking of control, I don't care how awesome your dog is, NEVER walk them off-leash. One of my biggest frustrations when I take my dog on a walk is encountering someone else walking their dog with no leash. I have no idea how that dog will respond to the presence of my dog and you have no way of controlling your dog if they are not on a leash. The most beneficial way you can walk your dog is to have a strong, short leash that you can grip firmly if needed.

The dog must never walk in front of you while you are walking, this includes when you first leave and walk out the door. You are giving the dog control as the leader if you let them walk in front of you. When you leave your house you must always walk out your front door before your dog. The dog should walk directly to your side or slightly behind you. As you walk remember to always stay relaxed because the dog can feel any tension through the leash and will react negatively. If a correction is to be made swiftly jerk the dogs leash to the side then immediately relax. You can employ the help of a pinch collar but only as a means for training and never use a choker chain, especially on a pit-bull. If necessary, take your dog on short distance walks at first to practice these steps then slowly increase the distance as time goes on. Soon you will begin to notice your dog behaving better overall and you can focus on other behavior issues once you have mastered "the walk".