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."