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When i took my guys to obedience i was told they should walk by your side....but i have never followed that as long as they don'y pull me but as i have said before everybody has there own ways of doing things..With my bandit he would pull me so hard where i was near doing face plants..My intructor said get him a prong colar i was all for it till i seen the colar but i tell ya it worked!!!!! he was such a good walker after that and i only had to use the colar twice..
Thanks for all the input everyone. I definitely agree that dogs need a leader. I think that this makes all the difference in training. Personally I really like Cesar Millan's methods quite a bit.
Allowing your dog to be the boss does nothing good for you, or your dog, in my opinion. Those ideas may have originated in the 50's, but that doesn't mean they are no longer relevant. That is way we have been big with boundaries for miss Maddy. I do not think alpha rollovers, hitting, etc. are appropriate either, but firm leadership and house rules are.
Lately I have gone back to what I did before with Maddy - let her sniff around on walks, but if she pulls, or we cross the street, or I ask her to stop, we do not continue walking until she obeys. She always lets me go through doors first, and will not follow me in until I ask. So I would say that just staying in control but allowing her to do the sniffing thing on occasion has made us both very happy!
Maddy's favorite thing to do on walks now (when not heeling) is scoop up snow so that it sits on top of her nose. That always makes me laugh! :D
BTW, Lori- there is a plastic prong collar called the Good Dog collar that can work quite well for training. Our obedience teacher says they are more humane than chokers, because they pull evenly and do not require as much force. I have tried them on my own arm and find that to be true! They are considered to be very safe, and don't "poke" as much as the metal ones. Personally these have worked much better than Halti's or standard chokers for me.
This is not a one size fits all question. It depends on the dog and the handler and how there relationship is. In obedience training an instructor gives advice that is suitable for the majority of the class. They will give individual tips as necessary and as time in the class permits. However, it is the handlers responsibility to have control of their dog at all times!
So I believe the answer to this question of letting your dog walk in front of you during walks depends on your dog and it's relationship with you. If you have control of your dog at all times and the dog respects you as it's leader then letting it walk ahead of you could be a pleasant experience for the dog so why not let it enjoy his walk too. Just never settle for pulling or an uncontrollable dog.
On the other hand, if your dog is out of control on walks with constant pulling and doesn't respect you as the leader (a whole different discussion topic), then you need to make walks more structured and a time for learning along with the exercise it is getting. In this situation you may need to find a way of releasing the dogs pent up energy before the walk so it will be a more beneficial learning experience instead of a pulling contest. Some dogs have so much energy that they just can't focus on heeling unless some of it is expelled first.
The bottom line.... only you know if walking ahead of you on a walk is bad or not for your dog. I personally let both of mine explore as long as they keep my pace and heel when told to for their safety (ie.. a car coming). After all, I'm walking them for their benefit as well as mine.