Many of my clients worry about finding the time to train their dog or puppy. I get it. They work full-time and perhaps have children to care for and drive to their lessons, sport games and other commitments.

I’ll always ask them when they walk their dog.

“Oh, I walk her at least twice a day, sometimes an extra walk during my lunch break.”

“Perfect,” I tell them. “You have lots of time to train your dog.”

By making a few tweaks to your daily walking routine, you would be amazed at how much training and enrichment you can pack into a dog walk and it does not take any extra time. And the benefits are many. When you weave in some nose work, a bit of training and even some obstacles into your walk, having exercised his mind as well as his body, your dog will return to the house twice as tired and satisfied than from a walk just for exercise and eliminating. AND you should reap the joys and benefits of a better-behaved dog from the added training practice.

Here are some ways to get the most out of your dog walks for a happier, calmer, and better-behaved dog.

Tune in to your dog

First, you must be PRESENT and TUNED IN to your dog during your walks. It is not the right time to be planning what to make for dinner, how to revise a presentation at work or check your text messages on your phone. If possible, leave your phone at home so you are not distracted or interrupted. It can be a lovely break from the demands of others. Notice how he is feeling, including his emotional as well as physical state. Is he super excited from the new snow, worried about the construction noise across the street, do you notice any stiffness or limping in his gate? These observations can give you important information about how you should proceed with the walk in terms of what skills you might focus on or what physical challenges you might present to your dog.

Let them be nosy

Unlike humans who use their eyes, dogs take in the world primarily though their sense of smell. Scientists guess the dog’s sense of smell is somewhere between 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than ours. One of the reasons a dog has such better smelling ability than us is the number of scent receptors. For every scent receptor a human has, a dog has about 50.  That is amazing! 

Imagine if someone took you for a nice walk through the woods or a garden on a beautiful day and did not allow you to look at the scenery. It would not be that great of an outing for you. If you do not allow your dog to sniff on a walk, it is a similar experience for him. 

Although you may feel that your dog’s sniffing every bush, tree and lamppost may be unnecessarily impeding your progress towards getting from Point A to Point B, it is serving a very important purpose. Sniffing is a calming and soothing behaviour for dogs and helps them to relax. It also fulfills a basic need for your dog to explore his world and gain information about who and what is or has been in the vicinity. From smelling another animals’ urine or faeces, your dog will discover the animal’s:

• Species
• The state of health
• The gender and sexual status
• Recent diet
• How long ago the animal left its scent

With all this information coming in through a dog’s nose, it’s not surprising that scent work is very mentally stimulating. Their brains are working hard to process all this information. 

“Sniffaris” or Decompression Walks

Decompression walks are great therapy for both the dog and the owner. The dog’s nose and inclinations (within reason) determine the path of the walk while the handler follows behind with a loose leash and an open mind. Follow these tips for a successful decompression walk for both ends of the leash.

• They are best done in a quieter, “off the beaten path” environment such as a wooded trail or park during off-peak hours.
• Have your dog on a harness with the leash attached at the back ring instead of the front ring (if your dog does not pull you all over)
• Use a longer leash (if your municipality allows) to give your dog more freedom to follow his nose. I like a 10 or 15-foot leash for Sniffaries.
• Keep a loose leash- it helps the dog relax and concentrate on the smells
• Do not be in a hurry, just be in the moment with your dog and enjoy the lack of agenda for a while.

Mind your Leash Manners

Your daily walks are, of course, the perfect time to work on your dog’s leash manners. Choose the environment according to your dog’s current ability and arousal thresholds. If you know your dog is going to be overly reactive or stressed by the sight of car traffic, other people, dogs or squirrels, choose an area that has fewer of these triggers around so that your dog can be a bit challenged, but still successful.

The top two things to do to get better leash manners are to:

1. Put on the breaks when your dog pulls. If you keep going in the direction he is pulling, you are reinforcing the pulling because it is working for him.
2. Teach your dog to yield to leash pressure (while teaching yourself to become sensitive to leash tension). 

The leash should be used more as a communication tool than as a tool to control your dog. You want leash tension to mean to your dog, “Come back towards me”. Because of the opposition reflex (the reflex to pull against tension), a dog (and people too) will pull back when being pulled. To teach a dog to move in the direction of the tension, we simply must reinforce it. 

• With your dog on leash, gently but firmly pull on the leash towards you.
• The instant your dog turns towards you and/or takes a step in the direction of the tension, click (or say YES!), instantly release the tension and give your dog a treat.
• Repeat from different directions (front, side and behind)

Remember and use these two strategies EVERY TIME your dog is on leash.

There are many more techniques and pointers for better leash walks. I teach these in my classes and offer a loose leash walking workshop. 

Sniffaris and Leash Manners in the Real World

Going after a scent does not give the dog license to pull you all over the place, into thorny bushes and streams. Do not allow your dog to pull you to a scent, but instead allow access to the scent as reinforcement for maintaining a loose leash. For example, dog begins to pull on leash towards a fire hydrant. Handler immediately puts on the breaks and asks for the dog’s attention and to come back towards the handler, making slack in the leash. The handler then praises the dog and releases them to go sniff.

May I have your attention please?

If you have had success with cueing your dog for her attention at home, practicing and applying this skill on her walks will help her consolidate this skill in different, more distracting environments – which is where you really need it. Randomly, but when you are confident your dog will be able to succeed, cue your dog for her attention when on a walk. When she turns to look at you, praise her and give her a quick treat and continue on your route or occasionally change direction. This is good practice for when you need her attention to move away from a distraction such as a passing cyclist or another dog. Regularly practicing and reinforcing your dog for giving you her attention is essential if you want your dog listening and following your directions.

Defeating Distractions

Practicing your protocols when faced with a distraction on walks can make the difference between a frenzied walk and a fabulous one. As with getting your dog to give you his attention, this skill needs to be initiated at home before taking it to the Real World. Treat distractions that you encounter on your daily walks as teachable moments and opportunities to rehearse what to do when a distraction presents itself. With the right training and practice, you can have your dog convinced that YOU are better than any passing dog, “fragrant” garbage bin or even a scampering squirrel. I offer a complete course dedicated to helping dogs overcome distractions.

Rock that Recall

If you are fortunate enough to have a place where you can walk your dog off leash, you have a great opportunity to work on your dog’s recall. When doing off-leash training, it’s a good idea to take higher value treats with you as the stakes are higher and the work is more difficult for your dog. Reward your dog for unsolicited, random check-ins with you to let them know you like it when they come to you. Ask for frequent recalls when you feel confident that your dog will come back to you (he isn’t too far away, and he isn’t in hot pursuit of a deer or squirrel) to practice successful recalls. Once he comes to you, celebrate his wonderful accomplishment with cheers and marvellous treats then send him off to explore again. It is important that he learns that coming to you doesn’t mean the end to his fun.

Beefing Up the Basics

So, you’ve got Rover to sit for his meals, stay when a door opens, and lie down in the living room, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to do those behaviours in other environments and contexts. Dogs do not generalize their learning very well. That is why once your dog has learned a behaviour at home, you need to take it on the road to different places and situations. If your dog knows how to do a structured heel, try slowing and speeding up your pace, challenging him to keep pace with you. You could also teach him to back up. Have your dog perform sit-stays and down-stays at random times and places during your walks. Vary and adjust the distance, duration, and distraction levels of these behaviours according to your dog’s ability. If you are on an off-leash walk, you can try having your dog stay while you go out of sight. To proof his down-stays, see if you can run away from your dog or run all the way around him in a circle. Make up your own challenges while always setting your dog up for success by not asking for anything that he might not be capable of with his current level of training or the distractions in the environment. Keep it fun and reward your dog with treats often.

Enrich the body and mind- bring out his inner Ninja

Look for opportunities to develop your dog’s balance, strength, and fitness on your walks. Hopping on and off of benches, stools, logs, boulders, picnic tables, anything that you come across that would be safe and offer a little challenge. Doing little spins and sitting on their haunches on level tree stumps or other small platforms works their flexibility and balance. Walking along narrow structures such as planks, fallen logs, or little foot bridges helps build their balance and confidence. I find obstacle work especially beneficial for older dogs to keep their minds and bodies active and sharp. I show how to enhance your dog walks in this video.

By taking advantage of the many nosework opportunities, teachable moments, and obstacles along your daily walks, you can pack in a lot of valuable training in a time that you are already dedicating to your dog. You will improve your training skills and strengthen your bond with your dog, and your dog will benefit greatly from the added mental stimulation and physical challenges. It’s a win-win for everyone.