Who's Paying Attention?

Smokey the shepherd mix is on leash by his owner’s side. He stands calmly as his owner chats with another morning walker. Suddenly, an unfamiliar dog appears, headed in Smokey’s direction. Fortunately, the medium-sized dog is also on leash, because although Smokey is friendly with people, he’s not always so welcoming with other dogs. As the dog-owner team approaches on the narrow walkway, Smokey lunges. His owner hasn’t been paying attention to either dog, and the leash slips out of her hand. Smokey runs toward the other dog, hackles up, barking menacingly. As my body automatically starts moving toward Smokey, his owner simply glances over, says something to the effect of him being fine, and goes back to the conversation. Seriously! Since Smokey and I know and like each other, I feel comfortable taking his leash and pulling him away with me. I hand him back to his owner.

Unfortunately, I often see a lack of attention by dog owners. All too many people walk their dogs while talking on their phones, paying no attention to what their dog is doing. But even taking phones out of the equation, there’s the stop-and-chat. Socializing is great, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen dog owners gathered together talking on park trails with no one paying any attention to what their dog is doing. Other owners try to pass by with their dogs, some of whom don’t look particularly dog-friendly…and the chat just continues. At dog parks—and don’t get me started on dog parks—dogs race around happily together, but sometimes happy turns to snarky turns to aggression. And all the while the owners are deep in conversation, with no one even glancing over at their dogs.

As you can tell, this makes me crazy. I just don’t understand it. When you’re out with your dog, your dog is at the mercy of your behavior. You wouldn’t walk him across a busy street without checking for cars first, and yet so many people blithely walk their dog around other dogs and people while barely focusing on their dog at all. There’s a vast variety of training tools out there, but your attention has always been, and will always be, the best tool you have to keep you and your dog safe. I only wish more people would use it. ____________________________________________

 You can find my books and streaming seminars at www.nicolewilde.com and follow me on Facebook @NicoleWildeauthor. My mentoring service can be found at Dog Trainer's Friend. And if wildlife photos are your thing, check out my Instagram at nicolewildeart.