09/02/2024
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞/𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐠 (𝐍𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦)
Having just come back from another month long sabbatical, in India, working alongside street dogs, I never cease to be enthused by how differently they interact with their environment, when left to their own choices. I will say upfront, I never saw a poor starving dog, and the refreshingly new attitude towards them is respect, care and lots of opportunities for food provision. Frendicoes SECA, a charity in India, has made a huge impact in helping India’s street animals by educating locals in street feeding, providing animal service helplines and spay, neuter, and vaccination programs.
So why didn’t I see dog fights, jumping up, car chasing? Because no one was at the end of a lead. Because puppies had learnt from their parents for much longer than 8 weeks, outside in a world moving fast around them. If a dogs eyes are open, its learning which is why we often end up teaching them things without realising.
Lip licks, eye flicks, ear positioning and 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐠𝐬 are all social interactions these street dogs have learnt to survive and thrive. Our management of the lead can make a dog feel trapped, more anxious more likely to thrash around, bark and lunge.
𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 “𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨” 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞.
A strong bond, trust, boundaries, and loose lead walking can enhance your relationship with your dog. You can avoid unnecessary conflicts and stress by really understanding how your dog prefers to behave and communicate, not forcing them into situations they would choose to avoid.
Loose lead walking is the result we are looking for, to have non reactive dogs on lead in the outside world but the journey to get there involves many things…. Bonding, understanding, training and being a guardian, advocate and protector of your dog’s space, personality, fears and phobias.
If you would like to know your dog better, be the best advocate for its needs and recognise its feelings and emotions in varying environments, please complete my contact form on www.leadthewaytraining.co.uk and get started on the most exciting (dog) language course you may ever take (or share this post if you know others may benefit from seeing it).
