The Weekly High Five 🐾

Hey Reader,
​
A client came to me a few weeks ago, pretty defeated about her spring walks. Her dog was pulling, lunging at squirrels, basically dragging her down the block every single morning.

But the thing she kept coming back to? "She stops to sniff everything. I can't get her to just walk."

She'd been interrupting every sniff break to keep things moving. She thought the sniffing was the problem.

It was actually the solution.

Here's the deal. Sniffing is essentially your dog's nervous system reset button. Every time your dog stops to smell a patch of grass or a fence post, their heart rate drops. Their brain gets a chance to process and regulate. Cortisol comes down.

When you keep pulling them away from it, you're cutting off the one thing that was actually helping them calm down.

Your dog isn't dragging the walk out. They're telling you "I need a second." And most of us are so focused on moving forward that we stop listening.

So here's what I want you to try this week:

1. Build sniff breaks in on purpose. Don't wait for your dog to demand them. Pick a spot, stop, and say "go sniff." Give them 30 to 60 seconds. Then move on. You stay in charge of when and where. They get the reset they need.

2. Use sniffing as your warm-up. Before you start walking, let your dog sniff the front yard for a few minutes. Let them take in the environment on their own terms. Starting a walk at a 3 instead of a 7 changes everything.

3. Watch what happens to the pulling after a sniff break. Leash slack increases. Your dog checks in with you more. They walk a little looser. Not because you gave a command. Because their brain settled.

That client I mentioned? Once she stopped fighting the sniffing and started working with it, her walks were noticeably calmer within a week. Same dog. Same route. Different approach.

Your dog is communicating on every single walk. The sniffing is part of that. When you start treating it like information instead of an inconvenience, the whole thing shifts.

If you want the full loose leash approach, the guide is right here, no sign-up needed:

​Get the Loose Leash Foundations Guide →​

Whether you grabbed it last week or this is your first look, this is a good week to put it to use.

You got this.

Happy training,

Pam,
CPDT-KA