"What Else Can I Do?"

No matter what behavior you are dealing with, sufficient walks are often THE critical component missing from your dog's life, and contributing significantly to your dog's inability to handle what should be non-events.


Add extra walks. Not treadmills, not backpacks, not running beside bikes or rollerblades, not heeling, not training walks -- just good old walking, meandering, sniffing, being a dog.

Dogs who jog or sprint given this opportunity are dogs who have been living under a pattern of insufficient walks.

As a component of a "rehab" or "detox" program for reactive or otherwise misbehaving dogs, are responsible for at least 60-80% of the results. You could conceivably lapse on EVERY OTHER ELEMENT and still see significant results from adding sufficient walks.

It might take you a few weeks to "catch up" on all the walks you've missed on a daily basis so far, but providing THE basic element of canine cognitive experience will make the biggest impact on your dog's behavior.

But, still... The owners ask, "What else can I do?"

It's as if they are asking, "Well, other than driving between the lines of the right-hand side of the road, what can I do to improve my safety behind the wheel? Realistically, I'm just not going to stay on the right hand side of the road."

Uh,... then, realistically? You shouldn't be driving.

Some dogs CAN do with less exercise. Certainly elderly dogs and physically challenged dogs cannot tolerate the exercise a 14-month-old Border Collie can. But if you are not providing enough exercise to keep your dog from displaying behaviors like barking, biting, digging, self-mutilation, chewing, and other unhealthy AND undesirable behaviors -- what kind of a home are you providing?

Actions speak louder than words. Dogs know: Walks = love.