Walking and Exercise

The best collars and leashes

I DO NOT recommend choke collars.

A choke collar applies sudden pressure

concentrated at a specific point on your dog’s neck.

A choke collar can damage your dog’s windpipe.

The choking sensation frightens many dogs. And choke collars can tear the hair around your dog’s neck.

Choke collars are sometimes called “training collars” but they’re not needed for training. I don’t recommend them.

Instead, I recommend a flat buckle collar of nylon or leather. It simply buckles around your dog’s neck. Most dogs never need anything more.

For small- to medium-sized dogs, the buckle collar can be 5/8 inch to ¾ inch wide and single-layer. For large, strong dogs, you might want a collar that’s an inch wide and double-layer.

For toy dogs I like the Top Paw Sunburst collar, which is 3/8 inch wide and made of very soft fabric that allows the buckle “to seek its own hole” so it’s completely adjustable for a perfect fit. It comes in lengths as short as 8 inches.

For longhaired dogs, instead of a flat collar, you may prefer a rolled collar, which is made of narrow, rounded leather that doesn’t squash the hair.

A harness is no good for training because the leash connects to the middle of your dog’s back, which means you can’t guide his head. To teach many words, you must be able to guide your dog’s head.

However, a Y-shaped harness is

recommended for walking toy dogs, who often have delicate windpipes. A Y-harness doesn’t encircle the throat. The straps come down from each shoulder to form a Y on the chest. The tail of the Y goes down between the front legs, where it eventually meets up with the strap that wraps around the stomach.

Unfortunately, a Y-harness is hard to find. Most harnesses in pet stores have a strap that wraps around the throat – which defeats the whole reason for getting a harness in the first place!

My favorite leash is made of cotton webbing, which feels like flexible cloth. Usually it’s olive green or black. Unfortunately, a cotton web leash can be hard to find. Most leashes at pet stores are made of nylon, which can be stiff and a bit sharp in your hands. Leather leashes are nice but very stiff unless well-oiled or until well-worn.

Chain leashes are terrible – don’t use them for anything. Chain leashes are cold, they clank and clatter against your dog, and they’re only as strong as their weakest link.

A retractable leash is too clunky and

awkward for training, but okay for walks. Just don’t abuse it. I’ve seen people allow their

dog to roam to the end of a 16-foot retractable leash in a crowd of people. The dog could approach people who didn’t want to be approached, jump on them, and tangle the leash around their legs.

Use retractable leashes sensibly. You can allow full leash length in open fields or parks or along quiet roads. But when people or other dogs are nearby, or when you’re walking near a road with traffic, shorten the leash so your dog is close beside you and fully under control.

PetsMart stores (and online at

www.petsmart.com) have many of the collars and leashes I recommend.

Teach your dog to walk without pulling

WORD #38: “GO FOR A WALK?”

As you might guess, this is a beloved phrase that dogs learn very quickly! All you need do is say it in a happy tone, then follow up immediately by clipping on his leash and taking him for a walk.

Make sure there’s no delay! Don’t ask your dog if he wants to go for a walk, then get bogged down checking the weather, choosing the right jacket, grabbing a snack, visiting the bathroom, and hunting around for your dog’s leash.

Make your preparations ahead of time. Find out what the weather is and decide which jacket you’re going to wear. Put a snack in your pocket. Go to the bathroom. Check to see that his leash is in the closet where you thought it was.

THEN ask your dog, “Want to go for a WALK?” and whisk him outside right away.

When introducing new words, you must deliver on your promises very quickly so that he makes the connection. If the phone rings on your way out, let the answering machine get it. You’re going for a walk!

WORD #39: “WHERE’S YOUR LEASH?”

After your dog shows that he understands “Want to go for a walk?” (by dancing around with

excitement), add one more level of complexity:

“Jake, where’s your LEASH?”

As with any other object word, you teach “leash” by repeatedly holding up the leash, showing it to your dog, and emphasizing the word. Put it in its rightful place – always the same place – a hook on the wall, table by the door, shelf, drawer, or closet.

Now encourage your dog to run to it: “Where’s your LEASH?

Find your LEASH!”

Run to the leash yourself. Make a big production out of showing it to your dog. “Yay! Good leash!” With dogs (and small children), melodrama is very effective.

If your dog likes to hold things in his mouth, you can try offering him the leash and encouraging him to carry it to the front door. Otherwise, just be satisfied if he has obviously made a connection between the sound leash and its matching object.

Now take him for a walk!

How to go for a walk

Once you’re actually out walking, your dog should walk

politely. Nobody wants their dog to pull and lunge and gasp on the leash like The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Why pulling is bad

! Pulling is uncomfortable for the person holding the leash. Even if YOU can hold onto your pulling dog, how could anyone else take him for a walk if they ever had to?

! A pulling dog is being disrespectful. You are on this walk, too. YOU, in fact, are supposed to be the leader who sets the pace of the walk. A pulling dog hardly even knows, or cares, that you’re there. He is not showing a good follower attitude.

! A pulling dog is not practicing self-control. He’s acting

impulsively and focusing on immediate self-gratification.

Teaching your dog self-control is important if you want a well-behaved dog.

! A pulling dog is representing his breed poorly in public. You don’t want people shaking their heads at the (insert your dog’s breed) who can’t even walk on a leash.

Whichever breed we choose to raise and train, we need to do our part to show the public that this breed is capable of good manners – and that WE are capable of training him.

Does your dog have to “heel” when walking?

There are two ways you can go for a walk with your dog.

1. You can have him heel very close beside your left leg. This is a very formal way of walking. It’s what you see in AKC obedience competitions.

2. The more informal way of walking is to let your dog wander a little in front of you or off to either side – just as long as he doesn’t pull on the leash.

Right now we’re going to learn this second way of walking, the informal way. (We’ll learn the more formal heeling later.)

Honestly, the informal way of walking is much more useful because most of the time, when you take your dog for a walk, you want him to enjoy himself. You want him to have some freedom on the leash so he can sniff around and even relieve himself if necessary. You don’t want him to be so concerned about maintaining an exact position beside you that he can’t even enjoy the scenery.