Taking your dog for a walk for the first time is not always the idyllic stroll you really want it to be. Dogs have different personalities, and moods and temperaments differ. Temperaments are more pronounced with active and athletic dog breeds. Although most dogs would want an outside walk most of the time, there will be events when the dog would prefer to stay home. Barring the dog is ill; you could make every walk in the park a enjoyable encounter for both you and your dog.

Set the pace. Start slowly and gradually. Dogs will invariably be thrilled during their first time out. Dogs, especially when still untrained, gets easily distracted. Maybe it\’s a squirrel, pigeons, other dogs, people, no matter; the dog\’s attention has to be managed.

During the initial walks outside, be conscious that the dog is naturally inclined to chase and play. It is often not recommended to let your dog set the pace, because it is hard to get caught up with them. Your dog will pull and will try to run and just love to romp. It will exert pressure on the leash. This will cause your dog to tire easy. You will need to set the pace. A fifteen minutes walk will already be enough during the first time out.

This could be accelerated gradually but the dog should be allowed to rest whether it wants it or not. You want to be careful because in some instances as your dog could injure his neck from pulling at the leash. Even so, a dog will continue to tug. When the dog is panting hard and the eyes are getting red, it is a sign that the dog is exerting too much pressure on his neck. Rest for a while. If the dog refuses, take him back to your yard to avoid injury.

On subsequent walks, you may notice that your dog gets very thrilled at the site of other dogs, cats, squirrels, rest, and sit for a while. Calm the dog down. When the dog has calmed, resume the walk. You may be doing this repeatedly but eventually the dog will catch on. When there is no place to sit, just stop walking. The dog will try to tug, get his attention and give the dog a treat or verbal assurances and resume walking.

If you have a particularly energetic pup like a boxer or a retriever, you might want to tire the pup first before introducing him outside. Highly energetic games, for instance a game of fetch, would be good to release extra energy, just do not play tug of war with the pup. Playing tug of war will teach your pup to compete with you. Introduce games where you are in control over the pups activities.

If you chose to adopt an energetic/athletic dog, it\’s likely that you are athletic as well and love the outdoors. If so, maintain a brisk pace once outside your yard with the puppy. This way, interruptions are minimized and tugging at the leash will become less often.

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