Dogs First

Oct 12

Do you ever think about where your dog is walking in relation to where you are? Does she spend most of her on-leash time in front of you, to the side or at the back?

As in many other things, this should be the dog's choice. Most dogs like to walk in front of their humans. This can actually help you a great deal. While the dog is walking in front of you, you can easily see:

How your dog is moving, if everything is OK with their gait.
If your dog has spotted something you didn't see.
Whether your dog has noticed that their friend is nearby.
That your dog safely passes through a doorway or gate.

Don't be afraid to let your dog walk in front of you. This is natural for your dog, allows her to explore and be inquisitive about things without so much interference from the handler. We want our dogs to be curious and ready to explore. This makes self confident individuals that can resolve certain tricky situations by themselves.

We are still processing all the information from the PDTE Online Summit 2020. This advice was inspired by an amazing talk by Winkie Spiers.