You’ve decided your dog is ready to venture out into the world as your companion. If you’re uncertain if your dog is a good candidate for public excursions, read our blog post “Wallflower or Social Butterfly.”

1. Pick your venue.

Starbuck’s or Home Depot? Petsmart or the local boutique pet store? Choose a venue that has an amount of traffic, people and dogs, that you can expect your dog to tolerate well. Starbuck’s is high volume within a small space. Home Depot is a very large space with a thinner spread of people. Similarly, compare the traffic between Petsmart and a local boutique pet store. You can also expect to see more dogs at Petsmart than a Home Depot.

2. Refresh cues.

If I had to pick three cues to focus on in preparation of public outings, I would work on left side loose leash walking (LLW), place, and one of the following: recall, hand targeting, or leave-it. LLW allows me to get to where I’m going without interfering with others’ enjoyment of the space. Place allows my dog to relax in a place of my choosing while my attention is not completely focused on him. Recall, hand targeting, and leave-it can all be used to redirect and quickly maneuver your dog in a low stress manner.

3. Improve reliability.

Your dog is likely to be under some stress in a new environment. And there will be a number of distractions for which you may or may not have specifically trained. Working on the reliability of your dog’s cues is an important preparation step. You can begin to do this at home by adding in controllable distractions to your training.

4. Be prepared.

Poop bags, water and dish, a place mat, a stuffed kong, a chew – brainstorm what equipment you’ll need and pack it up! Bring plenty of training rewards with you. If your dog is a food reward dog, bring a few different varieties of high value treats and some lower value goodies. If your dog is a toy reward dog, bring several different toys. This will help if you need to do some refresher training on the fly.

5. Be a good neighbor.

Wherever you are, someone has made the decision to allow your dog to accompany you into that space. Thank them with courteous behavior and a well-mannered dog. Scoop your poop, only allow elimination in designated areas, keep your dog under control so as not to disturb other guests, and either don’t inconvenience the staff or tip accordingly if you do.

Whenever you venture out into the public arena, you’ll encounter a number of dog lovers, people who dislike or are afraid of dogs, and people who just don’t want to be bothered. A good outing leaves all of the above groups undisturbed, your dog confident and ready for another outing, and you looking forward to the next trip. With a little planning and preparation, you can make your next trip a good outing. And there is no better advertisement for a certified professional trainer, than clients whose dogs successfully navigate public venues.

As a certified dog trainer, you’ll read about interpreting canine body language. You’ll watch video clips, monitor group play, and take every opportunity to observe how dog’s interact with each other and their people. With all of that practice and education, you’ll never come close to the observational skills of the average canine. How does that impact your daily training? Be aware that when you’re dog training, your dog is people observing.

Give Your Dog Something to Watch

Being consistent in the various cues that you’re providing can help you to clearly communicate with your dog.  Some of the cues that we, as handlers, provide to dogs and may not be aware of include the following:

1. Posture, including the orientation of your shoulders.

2. Eye contact, including direct eye contact or targeting with your eyes.

3. Facial expression. Dogs that spend time around people can interpret facial expressions very well, so if you’re happy with your dog – smile!

4. Treat pouches. Visible signs of training, like treat pouches, special clothes (a police or SAR uniform, for example), or training gear (like a specialized harness or collar), can become a part of your training picture, just like body language.  

5. Gait. The length of your stride or even the way you walk can be a cue.  Ask anyone who has trained their dog to heel and then suffers a gait altering injury. Your gimpy knee makes your body language very different.

6. Placement of hands or feet. Hands at your side or your waist, feet pointing forward or creating a V shape.

While it may not be possible to create the perfect picture, as a professional dog trainer you can be aware that your body language creates a picture that becomes a part of your cues.  In being aware, you can begin to knowingly incorporate posture, eye contact, facial expressions, and other nonverbal cues into your training.  

Boys like to wrestle!  As a professional dog trainer, I frequently have training sessions with entire families.  Mom, Dad, the kids, and the dog.  These are excellent training sessions, since it means that the whole family is interested in training, consistency between handlers is more likely, and all of the family members’ concerns can be discussed within a unified training plan. 

While training issues aren’t typically gender specific, there is one issue that is frequently raised by Mom – wrestling.  Most often, Dad and the kids are the culprits.  By wrestling, I’m referring to rough play that includes pushing, shoving, chasing, exuberant hugs, and rolling on the ground.  The following are a few questions that are raised.

Is it ok to wrestle with our dog?

Yes and no.

Children: No.  My preference is that children do not engage in this type of play with dogs. 

• There is a size concern with big dogs and small children that children may be injured.  There is still a size concern with small puppies and children, but it is the puppies who may be more at risk for physical injury or other damage.    
• Children can’t always be relied upon to appropriately gauge the dog’s arousal level or to recognize what is good play and what is not. 
• Additionally, they can’t always be relied upon to cease play in a timely manner when the dog does become over aroused or is playing inappropriately. 

Adults: Yes.  I encourage adults to interact with their dog in healthy ways that improve the bond between dog and human.  And play is a very important part of creating a positive relationship between human and dog.  The following are some guidelines for wrestling and play in general.

• All play should cease if the dog becomes over-aroused and is engaged in inappropriate play.  This includes jumping, scratching, or mouthing.  
• Chase games are a great way to work on recall.  The important point – the dog is chasing the humans and not vice versa.  I find that teaching a dog keep away, human chasing dog, is rarely productive or healthy.
• Pushing and shoving can be a useful way of utilizing opposition reflex.  Think of opposition reflex as push-push, pull-pull.  If you push, the dog pushes back.  If you pull, the dog pulls back.  I utilize this concept when teaching a dog to stand by pushing very lightly on the dog’s shoulders and back.  In response, many dogs will plant their feet and push back lightly.  I sometimes use this when increasing the speed of a recall.  Push the dog away and run, and he’s quite excited to reach you.  Note that not all dogs enjoy being handled this way.  Paramount is that the dog and human are both comfortable and enjoying the game. 

I encourage adults to limit this type of play to very specific uses, like those described above.

My children and husband love to wrestle with the dog.  I don’t want to deny them such a great game, but I worry that sometimes the play is too rough and that we’re teaching our dog bad manners.  What is your recommendation?

I’m always excited when clients have found ways to interact with their dog that are enjoyable for both parties.  Because wrestling raises the dog’s arousal level and can quickly lead to inappropriate play (there’s a reason Mom is concerned about the wrestling and asking these questions), I recommend the targeted use of opposition reflex, chase games, and hugging.  (See above.)   Otherwise, I point clients to great wrestling alternatives, like tug and fetch.

Of course women and girls like to wrestle, too!  I’ve singled out Dads and kids, because in my personal experience they are the ones who are the most likely to enjoy hard, physical play with their dog.  But if you’re a wrestling-loving woman, you’re not alone – I’m right there with you! 

In the next blog, we’ll talk about tug, the rules, and how to train your dog to play a great game of tug.