Have you ever walked multiple dogs? Multiple dogs from different households?
Being a professional dog walker will mean you will be required to walk multiple dogs, even if it is just from the same household. Walking multiple dogs is a skill in itself. It is a very impressive sight to see a dog walker with multiple dogs on a lead all walking in unison, however, there is nothing magical about this, it is pure nature. All packs follow their leader, it is their primitive drive.
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Basic Dog Walker Workload
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The Group Walk
When you are walking dogs in a group, they need to be well socialised and have reasonable recall if they are to be off the lead. It is hard to have one on the lead if there are others off as they like to sniff together, and this builds a healthy pack.
When you are walking dogs in a group, always think of the impact this has on others. Not all dogs are well socialised and not all owners want their dogs to socialise. Do not let your dogs go to dogs that you do not know. If they are on the lead, ensure they all sit away from the other dogs while other dogs pass. Dogs on the lead often get defensive as they feel helpless, so avoid this situation wherever possible.
Equipment
Dogs learn by consistency, repetition and association. Some breeds are inherently more obedient than others and pulling is inherent in most dogs. If you want a loose leash between you and your canines, remember, the more you pull then, the more they will pull you.
As a professional dog walker, you may be walking some of the dogs so infrequently that it is very hard to work on their training, so one simple way to make your walks with more than one dog more enjoyable is to change the equipment you are using. Just adding head collars such as the Halti or the Gentle leader and a short lead can make a huge difference. When fit properly, it’s like having power steering for your dogs, and they have helped many people have control over their dogs in a gentle humane way. Another option is an Easy Walk Harness, which also puts physics on your side so that dogs are unable to pull as they can with basic flat collars. Do not use choke chains or the horrific prong collars as they can injure and scare dogs.
Before taking all your dogs out on walks with any new equipment, I recommend taking each one alone at least once. These various collars and harnesses are not difficult to use, but it’s sensible to get the feel of walking each dog with something new before trying it on the group. Taking dogs out one at a time allows you to concentrate on how each one is adjusting and reacting to the change. If you need to make a modification to make it fit better, it’s easier to handle that without the rest of the crew.
Walking one dog is easier than walking multiple dogs, and another short-term option is walking the dogs one at a time. While this is less efficient and results in either more time walking for the humans or less time walking for each dog, it is still preferable to nobody getting a walk. There are people who adopt this strategy permanently, but for most people, it’s just a way to give dogs exercise while working up to walking dogs together once again.
Positive Training
However, none of these should be used as a substitute for training. It may not be intuitive, but if dogs are to be expected to walk nicely on leads, they must be taught to do so. Just like any other skill, it takes practice for your dogs to learn and perfect. It is best to work on training each dog in individual sessions before working with them all simultaneously.
The first step in training a dog to walk nicely beside you is to encourage them to be by your side and reinforce them when they are in the right spot. In an open area with no other dog’s present, let your dog know that you have great rewards (tasty treats or a ball or squeaky toy if the dog prefers toys over treats) and then help them earn them every time they walk beside you. Click your tongue, click your fingers, slap your leg, or wave a treat next to you, and let them have the goodies for taking a stride or two next to you. If they get ahead of you, turn around and treat them for catching up. Make sure to give them the treats when they are next to you rather than in front of you since you are teaching them it’s fun to walk next to you and not that’s it’s fun to be out in front. The goal is to be interesting to your dog so that they want to be next to you. Changing your speed and direction will make you more interesting to most dogs, so make sure you speed up, slow down and make a lot of turns. It also makes you appear like a leader, as you are leading the way and they are guessing where you will be going. Do not follow them and if they go on one path, choose the other and get them to follow you.
Once the first step is going well, the next step is to teach your dog that it’s fun to pay attention to you and that amazing things will happen if they decide on their own to join you and walk next to you. In a safe open area, walk in big circles. Resist the urge to help your dog attend to you. The idea is to teach them that they will be glad if they decide to walk next to you, and they can’t learn that lesson as effectively if you encourage them in any way. The goal is for them to learn that choosing you over everything else in the environment will result in good things for them. It’s important to use high quality treats and reinforce your dog for making good decisions about their behaviour and attention.
The third step is to add a lead and go on a walk to work on this behaviour. Shower them with treats every time they are in the right position. If they are behind you, encourage them to catch up and reinforce them for doing so. If they get ahead of you, turn around so that they can catch up to you and receive treats. This is a good time to add in the cue “heel” so that eventually you can cue them to perform this behaviour. Say “heel” every time you move forward when they are by your side. Heeling is not easy for dogs, so make sure to give a lot of treats in these early stages of training. Giving too few treats is one of the most common mistakes of novice trainers. Remember to be generous like experienced trainers are! Later, you can reduce the frequency of treats. Intersperse short sessions of heeling on the walk, relying on your equipment in the interim periods to prevent your dog from pulling. Most dogs require lots of practice before perfecting this skill, and many short sessions are more effective than a single longer one.
The last step is to put your dog’s together and walk as a group. If you have many dogs, you may need to start with pairs of dogs, then triples and then work up to the whole canine family walking together. Some people find that walking all their dogs on one side works best, but others have an easier time with one dog on one side and one or more dogs on the other. Only you can decide what is best for you and your dogs, but it’s a good idea to observe your dogs to help figure out the best option. Sometimes a dog is uncomfortable walking beside a particular dog and it makes sense to acknowledge that and adjust positions accordingly.
Body Language and Social Skills
When people meet and greet they shake hands and chat to give information about themselves. Dogs use their scent. When they meet, they often sniff each other’s behinds to find out information about each other, what have they been eating, how is their health, how happy are they, how old they are, their gender, when they are going to be suitable for mating and more. It is a very natural instinct and dogs that are allowed to sniff each other are less likely to get into a fight later on. If dogs “know” each other, maintaining a tranquil environment is much easier. Although many dogs enjoy being sniffed and reciprocating, some dogs are not so happy with this, especially if they have not been allowed or were unable to do this when they were young, if you have a dog that is like this, ensure no dogs go into their personal space, watch out for their body language. Dominant body language is one that is most likely to cause conflict. A dog standing over another dog or resting its head on another dog when they are not relaxed can be dominant, so beware, however, take care as the act of pulling one dog away from another can trigger a fight as the submissive dog may take the opportunity to get the upper hand.
Dogs have breed specific social etiquette, however, general social etiquette is a quick sniff of the desired area and move on. However, if one lingers too long, may be reprimanded by the dog being sniffed. Some dogs have not learned good social etiquette, by either lack of socialisation or being allowed to behave in a bad manner by their peers. When they are puppies, they should be gently reprimanded by their peers and they learn good social skills. Some dominant Some breeds have certain features that in another breed may mean aggression or hunting, if a dog naturally has a high held tail, it can be seen as dominant by other dogs, or if it has upright ears, it can be seen as hunting, so a threat, even when it is a very social, friendly dog, so ensure you are aware of your various breed characteristics.
Preventing Problems
A direct, face to face meeting of two dogs who do not know each other can trigger a conflict and is not a natural greeting for dogs. Any rough play should be stopped as it can evolve into a fight and is not good for their mental health. Running together and gentle play fighting is very natural but ensure it does not escalate into unacceptable behaviour.
When meeting and greeting other dogs, they should calmly walk upto other dogs and calmly greet them, any over excitement is not good social skills and should be discouraged. If you need to, put them on a lead until they are displaying calm behaviour and then let them off again. If their excitement immediately escalates, put the back on a lead again.
Do not let your dogs walk up to every other dog they see. They need to wait for you to give them permission to go and socialise. If the dog you are approaching has a calm and pleasant demeanor and is not on a lead, do let them do and say hello.
Never let them walk up to a dog on a lead. Even if the dog on the lead is friendly, they may be hard for the owner to handle when a group of dogs surround them to say “Hi”!
When they are walking in a pack on the lead, ensure they walk calmly, no playing or sniffing, all moving forward at the pace desired by you. Keep the pace as fast as possible as if they are moving too slow, it gives them a desire to play. Ensure there are plenty of twists and turns and frequently practice everyone sitting nicely so when you need it they know what to do.
And Finally
All your walks should be enjoyed. The combination of equipment that helps eliminate pulling and training dogs to heel should make walking your dogs a recreational activity instead of it feeling like a grueling endurance event. You should be the undisputed leader of your pack.
To maintain control over your pack whether you are training them, playing with them, or walking them you must always maintain a leadership demeanour. Being fair, firm, and consistent are the keys to successful dog walking, be it one or six dogs! Ensure you apply positive reinforcement, punishment-free methods. It’s a great way for you to gain the experience and confidence you will need, to be the leader your dogs want to follow.
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