For dogs, being locked inside the house for a long time without going out is more painful than being killed, so pet owners are best to take their dogs out for a walk every day. However, walking a dog also has its tricks; if done improperly, it becomes the dog walking you instead of you walking the dog. Today, the PetsZone editor will talk about what things need to be noted when walking a dog. Let’s take a look below.

The plan to take the dog out for a walk should begin when the dog learns to walk and must strictly follow a pyramid-style walking time schedule.

When the dog is 2 to 3 months old, it should be put on a leash and taken to a relatively quiet place near your home for a walk. The first walk should not be too long; 5 minutes is enough because the unfamiliar environment and scents will excite the dog. It will forget the owner's presence and run around excitedly. At this time, you should squat down and call it softly, and use its favorite toy to lure it back to you. When it approaches you, the walk for the day is over.

When the dog is 4 to 6 months old, you can appropriately extend the walk time to 5 to 15 minutes and gradually conduct obedience training to prevent the dog from ignoring the owner and running around; when the dog is 6 to 9 months old, the walk time can be extended to 30 minutes; when the dog is 9 to 12 months old, it can be extended to 45 minutes. For some larger and more active dogs, the walk time can be extended to 1 hour.

This pyramid-style walking time schedule not only meets the dog's gradually increasing physical activity needs but also lets the dog “learn” little by little and develop the good habit of obeying the owner during walks from an early age. When the dog grows up, walks on harder surfaces can help trim the dog's nails.

Do not think that making your dog submit to you is an evil act or consider it abuse. Actually, dogs are happy when you give them commands, as it makes them feel needed, making them more willing to be with you. Also, when walking your dog in public, be sure to have the dog wear a muzzle or leash. Although your dog might be well-trained, not everyone likes dogs. Respecting others and protecting your dog starts with controlling your dog’s pace.

When taking your dog for a walk, don't forget to put on the leash. This is a great tool to correct your dog's unruly behavior. Then, use the "leading training" method to make the dog obey your arrangements.

The leading training method: When walking with your dog, if the dog rushes ahead of you, immediately change direction and head the opposite way, using the leash’s tension to guide the dog back to walk with you; if it runs ahead again, change direction once more... Repeat this process to make the dog naturally walk beside or behind you.

During this training, avoid making eye contact or verbally communicating with the dog. Completely ignore the dog. For example, if the dog walks behind you, don’t smile at it. Although your smile conveys praise to humans, to the dog it is interpreted as a call, which will cause a reckless rush forward, ruining the plan to have the dog walk behind or beside you.

Dogs are very sensitive to time. If you take your dog out every day at 5 PM, within a week, the dog will automatically remember this time. Every day at 5 PM, the dog will be sitting by the door, pawing at the door gap, all ready to go. If you happen not to go out one day, the dog will "remind" you at that time; if you still do not move long after the scheduled time, the dog will become anxious, barking, restless, pacing back and forth, or clinging to you. In short, the dog will keep signaling you to go out, finally forcing you to go outside.

Therefore, one key to cultivating a polite walking habit is to avoid letting the dog’s internal walk biological clock become too regular. For example, if you only have time to walk the dog in the evening, you can try taking the dog out every other day; if your work time is flexible, you can take the dog out at different times every day... This helps prevent the dog from treating walks like "work" and disturbing you punctually every day.