Make Sure You Are a Calm Leader

I would dare to say that most people struggle walking their dog. Regardless of size, dogs are pulling, barking, lunging, and ruining walks for their owners. To me, that's a shame because going for a walk should be a wonderful and relaxing experience.

Thankfully, walking your dog can be a tranquil time rather than an anxiety inducing one.

To get to that point, training is required. Training for the dog, but also for you. Today, I want to focus on the you part. Training the dog is much easier done in video and I'll have one specific to this topic posted shortly on my YouTube page.

The thing I want to focus today on is having a calm, leadership mindset and both pieces are very important.

Staying calm helps keep your animal calm. This isn't guaranteed, but the opposite is. If you're an anxious, nervous wreck, your dog will be too. Dogs are extremely sensitive to our emotions and will respond to them. Acting without fear or anger always helps keep a dog calm more than the alternative.

I do understand that staying calm with a dog that is completely out of control feels like a huge ask. In future essays and videos I'll discuss how to change the behaviors that make us so uncomfortable. For now, just remember that calm is an option and at least try to start your walks in that state. I wouldn't even leave the house until you are calm yourself.

Being the leader is also vital. If you aren't the leader, your dog will assume that role be in the very typical pull and look for anything to bark at mode. Again, your dog might still pull and bark even if you are acting like the leader and that's where the other techniques come in, but they almost certainly will if you aren't.

What does it mean to be a leader? Stand up tall. Relax your arms. Relax your shoulders. Look where you are going instead of constantly at the dog. Walk where you want to instead of where the dog does. Have in your mind that your dog is going to follow wherever you go. The stronger that mindset is, the more your dog will feel it and respond appropriately.

I've watched clients walk their dog and at every corner or opportunity for a choice they literally asked the dog which direction they should go. This is not what we want when we are trying to establish leadership. Who cares where the dog wants to go? You decide where you are going and then tell the dog to follow you.

All of this sounds impossible when you have a dog that is completely out of control, and we'll address its role in all of this as well, but what the dog is doing doesn't actually have anything to do with these two aspects of your mindset. You can be a calm leader with an out of control dog and you need to be. This is exactly how I start with every animal I work with. I come in with the best mindset I can and then start working through the protocols to address the dog's behavior, but it all starts with my mindset. It starts with yours as well.

Before you do anything with your animal, take a moment and make sure you're as calm as you can be and take the leadership role. It will make a world of difference.