Of Love And Loose Leash Walking

I have always loved training.  Loved it so much, in fact, that prior to adopting my two dogs Mookie and Penelope I decided to train my cat Simon.

Simon is the only cat I know that can sit, beg, paw, and answer the question "Are you hungry?" (Just in case you were wondering...the answer to that question is always yes).

I think Simon was pretty relieved when I finally became a doggy mom, if only for the fact that I would give up on his training and leave him the hell alone.  Simon has much more important things to do with his time such as  breaking into the garbage, sleeping, eating, and perfecting his plan to take over the world. 

And I have loved training my dogs.  In fact, I love training more with each passing day.  The fun thing about training is that you can never really be done learning.  Every accomplishment brings a new perspective, a new goal, and further insight into your faithful friend.

But I have a little secret to share.

At first, I did not enjoy teaching my dogs to walk on a loose leash.  In fact, I pretty much hated it.

I have some guesses as to why I did not enjoy teaching loose leash walking.

1) Loose leash walking took patience.  I am not patient.  I would explain why, but that just takes too much time and I am ready to move on to the next point (wink).

2) Loose leash walking was b-o-r-i-n-g.  As in "Wow Mookie I have noticed you are still walking and not pulling my arm off hur-fricken-ray, why do I have to keep watching you so you continue to do so?"

3) Loosh leash walking was frustrating!  I can't count the number of times I have trained and then un-trained my dogs with this skill (likely a result of reason #1).  One bad walk with good 'ol Auntie or Dad and we were back at square one!

But like anything worth doing, this was worth doing to exhaustion. And so I did.  And I did.  And I did. TO.  EXHAUSTION.

And then I gave up. 

I didn't really care if my dog's pulled anyway.  I mean it was totally a great way to pump up my biceps, shoulders, and back right?....right?  Wrong.  It was a totally great way to screw up my back and make my daily runs/walks a chore. Still, I couldn't quite get myself to recommit and so the daily battles ensued; both ends of the leash pulling merrily (or well, not-so-merrily) away. 

But then it happened.  I found a reason to reinstate my mission.

I had a change in perspective while reading the beautiful teachings of  Suzanne Clothier.  In her book Bone's Would Rain From the Sky, she details an owner's frustration with teaching her dog to walk "with her."  Reading the following line effectively 'rocked my world' and changed how I viewed loose leash walking forever:

  

"We don't think about the lack of respect implicit in the act of pulling, or the lack of leadership  that allows it.  Simply put, we may move through life spending far too much time simply tied to our dogs by the length of our leash, not bound to them through an investment of our attention.  At this most simple level of moving together, we reveal the courtesy and respect at work in the quiet unplanned moments of life."

 

Turns out loose leash walking isn't only about impulse control, repetition, and obedience.  Loose leash walking is also about love.  And because I love my dogs, I decided to commit to changing my ways.  I vowed that one day we wouldn't be bound by a leash, but by love, that we would share a connection so great that even a fat chirping squirrel could not break our bond. 

And suddenly it was no longer a chore but a dance.  Of course, at first it was a more like an unsightly stumble, but somewhere along they way we found our rhythm.  And then it happened. 

Penelope ignored a squirrel and chose to walk with me instead. And every single moment of training that lead up to that moment was worth it.

And though we may have our set-backs and moments when I have forgotten to stop pulling on my end of the leash, we have found joy in loose leash walking.  So we have committed to work together every day until there is a time when we find that:

"We are, at every step, together, without the need for words, bound by the heart's invisible leash, unmistakably connected."

Oh My Blog!

Here in the Twin Cities we are blessed to have a huge abundance of dog related organizations, clubs, and businesses.  Because of this, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate through the vastness of the dog-friendly community in the Twin Cities.

Simon used to get exhausted searching for things to keep his canine companions busy and out of his fur.

Lucky for Simon and Twin Cities dog lovers, there is a one-stop resource for all things dog in the Twin Cities; Sidewalk Dog.

Sidewalk Dog describes themselves as:

 "THE resource for all things dog-related in the Twin Cities. We've got the inside scoop on pet-related businesses, dog-friendly shops and restaurants, events, amazing animal rescues and nonprofits, local celebs' secret lives as dog lovers, and anything else that's interesting, funny or just plain cute in the local dog scene."

 

As huge fans of all things Sidewalk Dog related, you can imagine how honored we were to be featured on their website this week!  You can view the blog post here.

Special thanks goes out to Jennifer Kroiss who connected Twin Cities Pack Walk with this amazing opportunity. 

And Away We Grow!

Let me preface this post by saying I am generally as excitable as my Aussie-mix Mookie.

For those of you who don't know Mookie, this photo pretty much sums up Sir Spaz-A-Lot accurately

Maybe the old saying is true, like mother like son.  To say I am excited about our growing group would be an understatement.  To be honest, as we circled up for our last two pack walks, I had to use every ounce of my being to refrain from turning into a bouncing, clapping, jumping nutcase (apparently impulse control exercises are not just for the four-leggeds).  In just three weeks our group had nearly tripled in size and what a group we had become!

Even more exciting was the fact that an incredibly talented photographer had joined our ranks and volunteered to document our weekly expeditions.   To that photographer (who is as modest as she is talented) I would like to take a moment to offer up the most abundant thank you in the universe. 

So without further ado, allow me to introduce our pack :

Murphy: Our Silver Fox

Handsome Luke & Adorable Adopt-A-Bull Molly

Princess Gabbi

The Lovely Hazel

Ms. Maggie Moo

Beautiful Jazmin

Sir Mooks-A-Lot

Pretty Pretty Penelope

Tank the Great

Darling Dixie

The Brodster

Gorgeous George

Madeline the Magnificent

Not pictured: Marshall (the faithful hound behind the camera)

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.           
What they didn't say was that the best journeys begin with friends who take those steps together.

Finding Our Footing

If you have stumbled upon this page, welcome! 

Stumbling into new things seems to be the way of this pack leader.

And oh! how lovely it is to stumble.

Having spent the past few months admiring the dog walking clubs springing up around the country, I decided we needed our own club in the Twin Cities.  Problem was, I had no experience organizing such a thing and didn't quite know where to begin.

So I went where any person goes when they need some guidance.
I talked to my dog-loving friends.

Their Advice:

Plan ahead.

Set up rules and stick to them.

Follow in the footsteps of those who have already organized successful pack walks.

Invite your friends.

Watch it grow.

Twin Cities Pack Walk embarked upon our 'maiden voyage' on Sunday, January 15th. 

                                                         Photo Courtesy of Brit Harob

With 5 dogs and handlers we braved a cold Minnesota morning and had a darn good time doing so.

And so we began the first steps of many miles to come.

A journey we hope you embark on with us.

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