The Importance Of Walking Your Dog.

[mansbestfriend]

My ex-racer grey was more inclined to freeze up during walks, at first. Now if he wants to trot, I try to keep up. If he wants to go left, we often go left. After all the walk is for him, yes.

 

Greyhounds are generally sensitive souls that can close down emotionally, and stop learning when corrected. My Max responded best with a soft Martingale collar (but he's getting a nice harness shortly), standard leash, gentle (but not wishy washy) encouragement to redirect 'bad' behaviour, not corrections, lots of positive reinforcement for 'good' behaviour, and always being aware of his body language.

 

On the other hand my Kelpie type is a handful. She's excitable, and an eager worker, but also responds best to gentle redirection, lots of positive reinforcement, and patience and consistency using good positive reinforcement techniques.

 

Good luck with your dog.

[XTRAWLD]

I'd like to add, that walking actually prevents injuries.

 

if Kasey had run of the old backyard during his older years...(moved well before Ryder was in the picture) that he likely would have hurt himself big time because of how silly his zoomies were. He actually broke one of his back nails TWICE at the nail bed during high performance turns. Walks help keep them in control and prevent injuries for other dogs that don't know any better!

[Guest 3451mar67]

Great article. I'm going to try to walk my two more regularly. It's so cold lately here in Chi town. I have coats, how cold can they stand for a quick walk? Mine have recently had some peeing issues in the house and I'm wondering if it's a lack of exercise?

[Guest Noosh]

Yes, that's exactly how I see walking as therapy....as the anxious or nervous greyhound gets distracted by new sights and smells, for a moment they forget themselves and their fears/ Eventually those moments become longer and more frequent. Of course, how you hold the leash and shield your greyhound from threats, as well as where and when you choose to walk according to what your greyhound can take in are important factors in this.

Emma grows three feet taller when that leash goes on. It allows her to relax, forget she is kind of a scaredy cat. Someone else can be responsible for her. Sure, we have fun chasing her around the yard, and have uproarious fun with her doing zoomies! But she really loves her walks.

We do a long walk of around an hour at the beach- it's only 5 minutes walk there- and that keeps her happy and stimulated. She's an adopted ex-racer, we have had her 6 weeks. At only 19 months, she is still learning everything about the world. I love just watching her too. She will just stop and stare out to the surf breaking. Or thoroughly investigate seaweed. And sniff everything! The best though, is where she will sometimes just stop and look up at you, and ask for some pats with her eyes.

Walking your dog, is the best.

[Guest Jordan33]

Adrien is afraid of so many things outside. There is a quiet path we can walk, which is great. But everything else is tough on both of us. She only pulls when she's scared and wants to get past scary things like post office boxes and street light control boxes in the middle of sidewalks, and temporary signs with flapping paper. Well, anything that flaps is sure to get her, she thinks. Some days are good, but others are not. And the people here can be loud, crude, and startling. Metal covers in sidewalks that make noise when you walk on them are scary too. Thankfully, while she startles and pulls, at least she no longer flips around and struggles to get out of her collar so she can completely escape like she did her first two days here! That was scary for me!

 

Honestly, the only thing she's not afraid of is bumble bees, which I am afraid of (I have nightmares about bees, don't care how harmless they are.)! Lol. She tries to sniff them. And we quickly go the other way!

 

I feel the need to socialize her a few times a week to these things so someday maybe she won't be scared.

 

We try to get at least one good walk in per day, usually in the evening, because of time issues. Speaking of which, it's time for our walk!

[Guest katie_dog]

My timid girl that I've had for about a month and a half pulls/leads a ton on walks and is a very big sniffer especially in new areas, which is understandable. I've tried the freedom no-pull harness (didn't really make a difference), and have started using the gentle leader (where I walk her and correct her for 15 minutes, then let her sniff around for 5 minutes and repeat), which has helped a little bit more than the harness. I also tried stopping every time she pulls, but as soon as I start to take a step forward she starts pulling again. This makes for some frustrating walks. The only time she won't really pull is when I take her out to potty since this is the same familiar path every single time. Does any one else have any ideas or success stories/timelines regarding their grey that was a puller and now walks nicely on a leash (especially in new areas)? I know it all takes time, but I'm just feeling a little frustrated!

 

I've had my dog for about a month and half too. I notice she does some pulling initially when we get started with the walk. I think it is because she is really excited, but then she was very well a few minutes into the walk. The pulling also seems to coincide with walking past certain homes that also have dogs. Once we get past those houses she stops pulling. I'm trying the stopping thing too. Not sure how much it is helping.

[Guest Jordan33]

I've had my dog for about a month and half too. I notice she does some pulling initially when we get started with the walk. I think it is because she is really excited, but then she was very well a few minutes into the walk. The pulling also seems to coincide with walking past certain homes that also have dogs. Once we get past those houses she stops pulling. I'm trying the stopping thing too. Not sure how much it is helping.

Sounds like she just wants to get past those houses, like maybe she's afraid of the other dogs or they bother her in some way.

[DonnaBehr]

I have a fenced yard, which my greys rarely used for anything more than relieving themselves or eating grass. They LOVE their neighborhood walks and socializing. They even know when it's time for that walk if I'm not ready and start bugging me. :-)

Edited May 24, 2016 by DonnaBehr