Parallel Walking

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

Both dogs walking at the same time can be the most challenging part for many dogs, so this is why we have gradually worked our way up to this particular scenario.

Now both dogs will be walking but in opposite directions and parallel from one another. And like most of the training thus far, distance is really important but as your dog progresses, you can decrease the distance slowly.

In the beginning you might have to reward your dog rapidly or hold the food to his nose until you have passed all the way and then release it to his mouth. And just repeat going back-and-forth over and over. And don’t forget about those sniff brakes!

You can also run through the other scenarios within this training such as one dog walking and one dog on place as well as both dogs on place or both dogs walking again.

If you have reached this point (successfully) that means your dog is fully aware of what you’re asking, and fully capable- as long as the scenarios allow for success. But being realistic, that’s not always going to happen-we can’t always know how our dogs are going to react and more importantly, as humans, we are not always going to get it right but I am a firm believer in preventing the dog from practicing those unwanted behaviors while we are working on new ones-so in the very rare moments that you notice your dog is getting a little huffy, this is where you will want to give him a chance to make a better decision and give a verbal cue that you know your dog can follow through with, (such as heel, focus, sit, etc) and if he complies, reward the crap out of him.

And if he doesn’t, do your very best to get him out of that situation as quickly as possible. Corrections can be tricky in a situation like this so I often avoid giving any advice on that through social media-but ultimately you do not want your dog to think you are correcting him for having big feelings-that can have an adverse effect.

You will have far better success if you can set every scenario up where your dog is feeling comfortable versus relying on corrections to get them to stop, so if you’d like to know more, I would be happy to discuss this with you privately.