[syd]

I observed dog walkers while at work at a humane society.

• Did you observe good handling practices when dogs were being leashed and/or walked? Describe your personal observations.
• I observed several dog walkers asking the dog to sit or have all four on the floor before they were leashed and walked out of their kennel, this meant that the dogs were already focused on the handler before the walk even began. Several of the dogs were very jumpy on the leash while in the building. The dog walkers worked with this by stopping when the dog would jump, and only continue when the dog stopped jumping and was paying attention to the walker.
• Describe two examples of how awareness was utilized by a handler.
• Awareness is being used by the handlers by paying attention to what is going on around them, so that they can prepare for how the dog may react to certain stimulus.
• Other times I would see people not paying attention to the things around them, and some times the dogs would see something and react to it, but the person wasn’t paying attention and was dragged along.
• Describe two examples of how positioning was utilized by a handler.
• One example of positioning was when a dog walker was walking past another dog in a yard. The dog being walked was very excited to see the other dog and difficult to redirect. The walker placed her body between the yard and the dog, creating a barrier so that the dog may focus back on her.
• Second example of positioning was when a dog was hesitant to go back inside the building with the handler. The handler, instead of dragging the dog along, began to walk the dog in circles, slowly getting closer to the door.
• Give two examples of how contact with the dog was used in the handling.
• While watching people walking dogs, I noted the use of leash contact. Some people would have a very tight hold on the leash, causing the dog to pull forward, while others would keep a more relaxed grip on the leash, which seemed like it caused less pulling.

[syd]

This material reaffirmed that reading an animals body language is very important in starting off on the right foot when meeting a dog. It is important to listen to the dog and not push him for interaction if he does not want to interact, as pushing him might lead to overstimulation behaviors.