[melundie]

My walks are pretty structured. I use them for training and exercise, not just time for my dogs to smell every scent that comes their way or drag me wherever they want to go. I usually don't care whether my dogs are walking in front of or behind me when we're on a walk as long as the leash stays loose and they're not all over the place.

What about you? Do you let your dog walk in front of you? Why or why not?\

ETA: I usually walk with one dog on either side of me and I've noticed that during our walks Ace will glance over at Colby and then walk diagonally towards her and put his nose on the side of her face/neck. It's almost like a kiss. Then he will go back to his "side" and continue to walk. Any idea what that means?

 

[zeronightfarm]

For me it depends, if we are in public, Cheecho is on a choker, and he knows to stay by me, but when we go on walks on the trails, he is in a harness, and exstending leash(leash law, doesn't matter length, just has to have a leash), so he knows he may go out and sniff.

I did the same thing with my horse, chain under chin ment show time/time to get to buisness, no chain ment casual drag you legs and head like a lump.

 

[cookieface]

Katie is generally in front of me when we walk as I like to keep an eye on her (she has an uncanny ability to find the most disgusting "treasures"). If she falls behind, I know she's getting warm or tired.

 

[sassafras]

I don't really care where they walk as long as they are not dragging me. The one exception is canicross where they actually must be out in front.

 

[dagwall]

Jubel can walk where ever he wants in relation to me as long as the leash stays loose, I prefer him in front so I can see what he's doing/looking at. The majority of the time he walks in front of me.

 

[momtolabs]

As long as the leash is loose I don't care. With tank I am more strict though and most of the time keep him in a heel.

 

[HollowHeaven]

I would love it if mine walked beside me with a loose leash but that's not how it works with my pair. They're fine separately but no amount of training I've put into them applies when they're together, and trying to teach it to them when they're together it like trying to breakdance across a mine field.

So, they walk in front of me, sometimes I will loop their leashes together and slip them through my back belt buckle. Mush! >D
When we jog, Diesel trots out in front of me and Aleu trots beside me, Diesel leads me while I look at Aleu which makes it a lot easier for my big fat body to go. Lol

 

[melundie]

Glad I'm not alone here. My hips are usally right in line with my dogs' hips while we're walking. Colby will sometimes walk right next to me with her shoulders in line with my hips. She's pretty good about it. Not doing an official "heel" which I consider to b: walking right next to me with your eyes on my face. We're still working on Ace. He's pheonominal when he's by himself (I swear he looks at me the ENTIRE time without looking away) but when Colby's around he sometimes wants to be in the lead...

 

[Spirit_of_Cotons]

Yes, I like to have Luke out in front of me. When he walks behind me, I hate it as I think he should be ahead, but he usually does that when he's tired or hot. Then I slow to his pace, so we'll walk together. When we walk, it's a walk though: not a sniffing walk as my Dad calls it. Luke tends to act like a Beagle, *sniff, sniff*. So we've come up with this plan that (well mine is a bit longer) and we'll allow him to sniff for about 10sec (for Dad it's about 3-5) and then we're on our way.

I see dogs all the time that are in front of their owners, or on their side. I don't want mine behind me! That is why I'll pull the leash, like "c'mon!" or slow down to walk his pace. His very very very sssslllloooowwwww pace.

 

[JulieK1967]

I prefer to keep Molly up front or at my side so I can see what she's doing but I am very indulgent to her desire to sniff around because it's her favorite thing in the world. She seems to get so much pleasure out of inspecting mole holes that I don't have the heart to make her pass them up. We also do focused walking and she knows when the leash is shorter that it's not smell time but for the most part I'm pretty easy going if she's keeping a loose leash. The walk, after all, is for her to get physical and mental exercise.

 

[Miss Bugs]

as long as the leashes are loose and they are not criss crossing, I don't care. when I walked fewer dogs I wanted them beside me, but walking 6 dogs all beside me is too wide, they need to be staggered or someone is on peoples lawns and someone is walking on the road lol. I AM very strict on walks though, I am not a large person and I walk 6 medium-large dogs at once, so nonsence is NOT permitted: pulling, lagging, switching places, marking, barking, and crossing sides are all absolutly unacceptable and will be promptly corrected. exeption is that Gypsy is held close beside me when on the bike path because she lunges at bikers and runners. the rest are all switched to one hand(well usually 2 fingers on 1 hand lol) so that I have one arm fully devoted to Gypsy.

 

[melundie]

as long as the leashes are loose and they are not criss crossing, I don't care. when I walked fewer dogs I wanted them beside me, but walking 6 dogs all beside me is too wide, they need to be staggered or someone is on peoples lawns and someone is walking on the road lol. I AM very strict on walks though, I am not a large person and I walk 6 medium-large dogs at once, so nonsence is NOT permitted: pulling, lagging, switching places, marking, barking, and crossing sides are all absolutly unacceptable and will be promptly corrected. exeption is that Gypsy is held close beside me when on the bike path because she lunges at bikers and runners. the rest are all switched to one hand(well usually 2 fingers on 1 hand lol) so that I have one arm fully devoted to Gypsy.

Holy cow, I can't even begin to imagine walking 6 dogs. I guess most are a bit older than my brood (and probably better trained), but I've gotta give you props! Go you! My FI wants more dogs and I've limited the number of dogs we have to the number of hands I have, so unless I start growing more hands, we'll be sticking with TWO, lol!

 

[aiw]

I prefer to have Pete walking beside me, he likes to dart around and wanders right under my feet otherwise. He's a little guy and I worry about hurting him. In the interest of not accidentally kicking him I keep him beside me until we get to our trail which is either off-leash or on retractable leash

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

I typically don't walk Riley (He is technically his dog anyway and it is the one thing the DH will actually do without my asking)
As for Bambi: it depends one whether she is working or not. Pack on=right by my side, pack off= she is free to walk ahead as long as it is loose leash (although more often than not she remains by my side anyway)… Dycen on the other hand is still a big work in progress so unless we are on the trails he must remain at my side.

 

[Amaryllis]

Katie is generally in front of me when we walk as I like to keep an eye on her (she has an uncanny ability to find the most disgusting "treasures"). If she falls behind, I know she's getting warm or tired.

Yup. If Kabota were next to or behind me, I'd never know what he was getting into. Besides, walks are for him, not me. He's welcome to sniff what he wants as long as he's not pulling my arm off.

 

[spanielorbust]

My walks are pretty structured. I use them for training and exercise, not just time for my dogs to smell every scent that comes their way or drag me wherever they want to go. I usually don't care whether my dogs are walking in front of or behind me when we're on a walk as long as the leash stays loose and they're not all over the place.

What about you? Do you let your dog walk in front of you? Why or why not? . . .

I walk rurally. I walk my dogs so they can sniff and explore. I don't use them for training as long as they have the basic -no pulling- down . . . but do use walks for some exercise (the rest they get off lead on our acreage). They walk in front, behind and to the side - up to the 15 feet their extendileads will let them. I commonly walk four at once . . . all 20 pounds and under. I'd like to walk them off leash but that idea has been quashed by the number of loose dogs we have running here and the previous attacks on mine.

SOB

 

[hamandeggs]

Jubel can walk where ever he wants in relation to me as long as the leash stays loose, I prefer him in front so I can see what he's doing/looking at. The majority of the time he walks in front of me.

Like this. I like being able to see what Biscuit is up to/sniffing/trying to eat. If she is lagging behind me, something is probably amiss.

 

[cookieface]

as long as the leashes are loose and they are not criss crossing, I don't care. when I walked fewer dogs I wanted them beside me, but walking 6 dogs all beside me is too wide, they need to be staggered or someone is on peoples lawns and someone is walking on the road lol. I AM very strict on walks though, I am not a large person and I walk 6 medium-large dogs at once, so nonsence is NOT permitted: pulling, lagging, switching places, marking, barking, and crossing sides are all absolutly unacceptable and will be promptly corrected. exeption is that Gypsy is held close beside me when on the bike path because she lunges at bikers and runners. the rest are all switched to one hand(well usually 2 fingers on 1 hand lol) so that I have one arm fully devoted to Gypsy.

Wow! You deserve a ribbon or medal or something! Do you give lessons?

My walks are pretty structured. I use them for training and exercise, not just time for my dogs to smell every scent that comes their way or drag me wherever they want to go. I usually don't care whether my dogs are walking in front of or behind me when we're on a walk as long as the leash stays loose and they're not all over the place.

What about you? Do you let your dog walk in front of you? Why or why not?\

ETA: I usually walk with one dog on either side of me and I've noticed that during our walks Ace will glance over at Colby and then walk diagonally towards her and put his nose on the side of her face/neck. It's almost like a kiss. Then he will go back to his "side" and continue to walk. Any idea what that means?

I walk rurally. I walk my dogs so they can sniff and explore. I don't use them for training as long as they have the basic -no pulling- down . . . but do use walks for some exercise (the rest they get off lead on our acreage). They walk in front, behind and to the side - up to the 15 feet their extendileads will let them. I commonly walk four at once . . . all 20 pounds and under. I'd like to walk them off leash but that idea has been quashed by the number of loose dogs we have running here and the previous attacks on mine.

SOB

I'm curious, what kind of training do you do or not do during walks? With Katie, we practice sit / down and stay, targeting, drop it, leave it, and I want to start watch / attention. It seems like a good opportunity for her to use her skills in the real world.

 

[melundie]

I walk rurally. I walk my dogs so they can sniff and explore. I don't use them for training as long as they have the basic -no pulling- down . . . but do use walks for some exercise (the rest they get off lead on our acreage). They walk in front, behind and to the side - up to the 15 feet their extendileads will let them. I commonly walk four at once . . . all 20 pounds and under. I'd like to walk them off leash but that idea has been quashed by the number of loose dogs we have running here and the previous attacks on mine.

SOB

We live in the suburbs and don't have a yard. I'm jealous of your acerage, though! Next house...::sigh::

I'm curious, what kind of training do you do or not do during walks? With Katie, we practice sit / down and stay, targeting, drop it, leave it, and I want to start watch / attention. It seems like a good opportunity for her to use her skills in the real world.

We work on heel, wait (stop while standing and don't move even if I continue to walk ahead), follow (walk directly behind me single-file), down, sit, stay, leave it, look/watch, even back up sometimes to make sure they're paying attention. Obviously this is a lot easier to do when I just have one dog. I find it's definitely real-word applications for the stuff we learn in obedience class.

 

[spanielorbust]

We live in the suburbs and don't have a yard. I'm jealous of your acerage, though! Next house...::sigh::

I don't believe you'd be jealous of the lawn maintenance and gas bills, but I've come to love it. It is where my OH grew up. I'd be a city dweller without his influence.

---------------

I don't train during walks - but for those things that crop up. They learn to ignore as I don't let them bark at or pull for other dogs/things that they encounter, and they learn not to pull. That is it.

Any other training I do is usually in my yard.

SOB