How to Stay Safe While Walking the Dog
Sadly, taking your dog out for a walk around the neighborhood or a hike across town can be risky. Without control over the environments we visit, it’s harder to ensure our dogs’ safety—at least to the degree we’re able to at home.
That doesn’t mean dogs should never leave the house. It does mean we have to know the risks and proactively work to minimize damage.
Today, I want to look at two of the biggest risks in our suburban environment and what you can do to stay safe.
Loose Dogs
I don’t mess around with off-leash dogs and I coach my clients to adopt the same attitude. It’s simply not worth it to “wait and see what happens” because it can go very bad, very quickly.
Sadly, you cannot assume that other owners:
will follow leash laws
work to avoid accidental escapes
know their dog is behaviorally healthy enough to be off-leash (legally)
have done the work to train an immediate recall away from other dogs when called—the first time
In a nutshell, you cannot count on other owners to keep their dogs away from you and yours. The risk is there, and for most of us, the only thing we can control or influence is our own behavior.
What You Can Do
My first tactic is avoidance: I stay away from places where dogs are regularly off-leash (yep, including [dog parks] unless fenced) and if I do spot an off-leash dog while I’m out, I keep my distance — a lot of distance. Like, go well out of my way to avoid the situation.
What if I get surprised by a dog, or the dog is approaching even though I tried to avoid?
LOTS of treats—I tell my clients to over-stock their treat bag when walking. Not only will they have plenty of treats for their dog, but they’ll also have plenty to throw at an incoming dog to momentarily distract him.
Compact Umbrella—the explosive action of opening an umbrella can startle some incoming dogs into staying away. You can also use it as a bit of a visual and physical barrier.
Spray Shield—this citronella-based deterrent spray can be used to stop an incoming dog OR break-up a scuffle. I keep it clipped to the inside of bait bag so it’s quickly accessible.
Prerequisite. None of this works without awareness. The sooner you can spot a problem coming, the better.
The last time I used Spray Shield, I had advance warning of the problem because I heard some shouting and commotion in the neighborhood. When the loose dog came running towards us I was already prepared. Leave the ear buds at home and keep alert to what’s going on around you.
Losing YOUR Dog
Although we’re often concerned about risk from loose dogs, we also need to take steps to prevent our own dog from getting away from us.
Equipment
Here’s the equipment set-up I use with most dogs: properly fitted body harness + safety cord (or locking carabiner) + fixed length leash.
Sadie wears her properly fitted harness, Bold Lead Designs Safety Cord, and fixed length leash during an outing to Old Navy.
With this arrangement, the harness, collar and leash are all attached to each other. The dog could pull out of either harness or collar and the leash would still be attached to him.
Make sure both harness and collar are properly fitted! Both should be snug enough for just two fingers, stacked, to fit between the equipment and his body.
NOTE: step-in style harnesses are extremely popular and VERY easy for your dog to back out of; I DO NOT recommend them. (They’re also about the biggest. pain. ever. to put on; save yourself and your dog the hassle).
Leash Handling
Having had a leash yanked out of my hand once before, I’m not eager to repeat the experience. There are two ways to prevent this from happening:
Tie it off at your waist. I pass the belt of my bait bag through the handle of the leash so even if I dropped the leash, the dog would still be attached to me.
Leash Lock. If you don’t want to attach the dog to you, use a Leash Lock to hold the leash in your hand.
1. Thread your hand through handle of your leash so it rests on your wrist
2. Make a loop a few inches from the handle
3. Put your first finger through the loop
4. Close your fist over the leash