The Walk - Walking a Dog
The proper way to walk your dog on a leash: pack walks
Walk your dog, do not let your dog walk you. If you allow your dog to walk in front of you while on a lead you are reinforcing in the dog's mind that the dog is alpha over you because the leader always goes first. This can lead to many behavioral issues that some regard as a "breed trait" or "personality," when actually it is your dog being in charge of its humans. When a dog walks in front, it does not drain its mental energy. The dog is not relaxed, as it has the big responsibility of leading the pack. This mental anguish can build up inside of a dog. When a dog is hyper or high-strung it means the dog is not getting the proper amount and/or type of exercise. If your dog runs laps around your yard or house, this is an indication that it is not getting enough exercise.
If you take your dog for long walks daily and it is still hyper, ask yourself, when we left for the walk who led the way out the door/gate? Who leads on the walk? Was the dog following you, watching you for direction or were you following the dog? Was the dog smelling where and when it pleased? If you answered "yes" to these questions you are walking your dog while it is in an excited state of mind. Your dog is worried about leading which does not calm the mind. If you answered "no" to these questions, then you may have a super high energy dog that needs even more exercise. It is not a natural state of mind for a canine animal to be so hyper.
Keep in mind it is not solely the act of heeling, but also that you as the human are making the decision for the dog to heel. How often do you walk? Do you MAKE your dog heel or does the dog heel when it pleases just because it gets tired? Just because a dog walks well on a lead, not pulling, and for most of the walk walks beside the human does not mean the human is being a pack leader; it really is about who is making the decisions. Was your dog calm and in a submissive state of mind when you snapped on their lead? When you left your home, who went out the doorway and/or gate first, you or the dog? Does the dog decide to heel when it wishes, but pull to the side to sniff or walk out in front when it pleases? Or is the human consciously making the dog heel? If the human allows the dog to decide, because after all he walks "pretty good," then the dog is making the calls and you are allowing your dog to be your leader. If it is all about who is making the decisions, can you decide to let your dog walk in front? No, since instinct tells a dog the leader leads the way, your decision to allow your dog to walk in front will be communicating to your dog that you are allowing him to be your leader.
A pack walk is also the best way to introduce new dogs to one another or to get dogs who already do not like one another to accept each other. Any unwanted reactions from one dog to another should be immediately corrected. By the end of your walk they will feel like they are one pack. It is important that the dogs who are out on the walk are all heeling beside the person holding the leash. Any dog that is walking out in front of their humans will begin to regard himself as the alpha of the group. By making the dogs heel beside or behind the person holding the lead, you are communicating to the dogs that the humans are above them in the pecking order and that all the dogs are on the same follower level. Remember, it only takes one alpha dog to set off any other dogs around. If you are walking multiple dogs that usually fight you may need more than one human to walk the dogs. Make sure all human walkers are making the dog they are walking heel and that they are correcting any signs of aggression towards the other dogs. You may allow the dogs to smell one another's back end, but make sure you keep walking in the process. The key is to keep moving forward. Keep the dogs walking and remain confident. The dogs will feel your authority or your weakness. Stay strong.