Principles of Leading the dog

What does leadership look like and what does it have to do with walking your dog anyway?

Principles of Leading the dog:

1. Energy Leadership comes from a calm place. If you are not calm, and your emotions do not align with your intentions, you cannot lead your dog.

2. Movement Dogs communicate through movement, body language. Your movements are how you communicate with your dog. And these are subtle movements, they do not need to be big movements. Even the way you stand communicates something to your dog.

3. Consequence Every action has a consequence. This can be a positive consequence or an unwanted consequence. If these consequences do not come from a place of calmness, you won't be able to teach or lead your dog. If you let your emotions take the lead, they will betray your intentions. Which ends up creating confusion, mistrust, loss of respect.

Dogs need to have three things to learn from you.

1. Trust

2. Clarity

3. Respect
   

Leading gives protection & direction.

Dogs, like all creatures learn by consequences for an action. Typically, we give, give, give once we get our new puppies home. Unfortunately, you can create the wrong kind of bond by being overbearing. It is natural to buy all the toys, beds, collars and treats. To give freedom, exploration, affection & joy in seemingly unlimited amounts and when the puppy wants it. We become the grandparent spoiling the grandchild. So what should we do instead? To become the parent, we must tighten up on unwanted behaviour and encourage the good ones. Think: No, I don't want you to bark at the front door. Go wait in your bed instead, now we are teaching. We are closing off bad choices and opening doors to the right ones.

What not to do, is exactly how dogs teach their own pups to become harmoneous family members. If we fail to do this and allow our puppies to make choices for themselves, they will inevitably make the wrong choices - jump at the table, steal food, pull on the lead, become vocal to other dogs, ignore recall, chase after animals, cars. If we then try to apply rules, boundaries, control - don't run into the road, don't chase the squirrels. Chaos and confusion sets in. You will get conflict, resistance, push back.

So what has this got to do with walking a dog?

60% of dogs brain is led by his nose. A blind dog can easily find his way home this way. You need to lead the dog, to keep the nose off the ground. Think of driving. If you’re not focussed and concentrating on the road ahead, you’re going to be driving all over the place and crashing into anyone and everyone. The dog’s nose does the same. This effect is most noticeable in a dog full of energy and on a harness connected to a flux lead. The tools are not the issue. Inevitably with it’s human making all kinds of excuses for this behaviour. But the truth is that the human is not practicing the profound natural way of doing things. When you have the calm, natural energy, you can walk blind and the dog will still follow you appropriately, without pulling you all over the park. Calm, confident, gentle. When most people see an energetic dog, jumping and pulling to see their “favourite” human, they may perceive this as love. But this is actually excitement. Love can and should be gentle. The two are very different. Your energy means a lot. We as people tend to talk too much to the dog and have excited energy. Calmness is vital. Whenever you do anything with a dog, try to be calm and quiet. Silence is a way of communication too. Your job, as a leader when walking your dog, - particularly when walking with that morning energy, is to bring the dog’s brain from that level 10 energy and excitement down to 3,2, or 1. Then your dog can go and explore the park. As humans we need to exercise patience during this time the dog’s brain learns to slow down and become patient. If you don’t get the patience you won’t get the trust from your dog.

The hunman end of the lead should be:

1. Silence 2. Calm. How well do you know your own self? Your dog is a reflection of you. If you have behaviour issues with your dog, first you must look within. Any unwanted behaviour your dog exhibits is because it has been taught to do exactly that, whether you intended to or not. First we must accept this. Then we can begin to teach. 3. Knowledge. When we are quiet and calm, now we can teach behaviour. 4. Affection, freedom, excitement. Most owners start at number 4. “ you want to go for a walk!?” Full of energy and excitement. The exact opposite you need to lead your dog.

Meeting strangers. The majority of people who want to greet your dog will be polite and ask, hopefully. However, there you will inevitably encounter people who demand to meet or even call your dog. It may be tempting to be upset by this. But why not use it as a training opportunity? It’s a good test of the skills you have imparted to your dog. Stay calm, politely decline, observe your dog and give appropriate direction if necessary. You’ll get those who are hyper and joyous - exactly how not to be. Does your dog remain calm and under obedience or does he need more training? The other thing that people do is hold their had outreached to allow the dog to smell them. Vets do this all the time, particularly with equipment to ‘show the dog’. I don’t know where this came from, but your dog could smell them a mile away already! It’s a very strange habit. An often overlooked exercise is the wait. I don’t mean a settle or down command. Simply standing, doing nothing. The dog should be patient and wait for direction for you. Not sniffing the ground, wondering about or exploring to the extent of the lead. Why? - Remember 60% of the dogs brain is lead by his nose... Where the nose goes, the dog follows.

Walking the dog is about having a connection via the lead. If you have a stressful day, go for a walk with your dog. Like a form of meditation. Be in the moment. Don’t look at your phone, mind wondering. Find the calmness in being with your dog. If you cannot leave your life at the door, don't walk your dog. Leave your emotions out of training. Don't be the drunk parent, unpredictable, emotional.

Keep the lead short, but slack. Breathe in deeply and relax. Shoulder back, chin up. Simply walk with calmness. Dogs follow energy by your body language. So you need to feel it. As people we preference communicating by words. Too much noise. Remember silence & calmness. This communicates confidence. Then you can teach - ‘knowledge’ - how to behave. Then you give love and affection. D.E.W Discipline. Exercise. Work/knowledge. Then affection comes. Make no mistake, this by no means states that you must never love your dog. Far from it. What is meant is that knowing how to behave, having correct social structure and manners, patience, obedience should take precedence over endless joy and affection. Be the parent your dog deserves, in the manner that's natural to your dog. Don't feed the arsehole machine by endless affection and giving. Don't create the spoilt monster and become prisoner to your beloved pet. Or perhaps that should be, become the pet yourself?

Silence (stop talking endlessly to your dog) let your movements talk —> Calmness, leave your emotions out of the training —> teach patience (discipline)—> This becomes the knowledge/work (manners and appropriate behaviour) —> then affection, play, exploration can come - to be a dog.