Walking a Confident Dog ● What Is the Appropriate Distance?

I have been learning dog training and dog behavior ever since I brought 2 American Akitas into my home. One of the challenges I had was how to walk a dog.
Mastering the walk is a big deal if you are a leader of a dog in your home. It's one of the biggest challenges I've had with the Akita, a very independent and notoriously confident/alpha dog.
What I've come to believe is that I was worrying way too much about position. I've seen so many heel training sessions worry so much about the position of the dog being at your side or behind you. While I have had a lot of success in getting my dogs to do this, even off leash, it still required micro management levels of correction.
It came to a point to where I had an epiphany. Just how much do I need to care about my dog being 6 inches in front of me versus 4 inches? How much does he understand? How much is constant correction helping or confusing him?
Is he really understanding that 6 inches is too much much but 4 is fine? Or is this just causing him to be frustrated not understanding what I'm asking of him?
My realization is that I just want him to walk at my side and to pay attention to me and my lead. If I stop, he stops. If I turn, he turns. This means that he is paying attention to where I am at. That to me is most important.
Maybe some dog trainers will disagree and say that I need to be correction him being a foot in front of me. They're free to disagree if they want. I'm just not sure that this is the type of walk I need to be pushing. I think the main thing is that he pays attention to where I am at and where I am going. If he goes where I go and responds to me, that's what I want.

[@sheilagilleland4312]

My Doberman’s walk a few steps ahead of me, but they listen. It’s their job to protect! I agree with what you’re saying here, and I feel the same way.

[@greebo6549]

👍 I look after my sisters golden retreaver on average one weekend a month...I'll have to try this, there's a nice sized wood at the end of my road, I decide the route, and he'll then take a slight lead along the path, thought I do know he'll stop and wait for me if he gets too far ahead

[@claudiasmith7125]

Totally agree o have a Akita he does the same thing, the only time he has to walk by my side when other dogs or people pass .me

[@cfh4201969]

Akitas lead the way to protect you. He isnt pulling and stops with you. I personally think that is fine. Mine is the same way. Except I cant walk by people. He sees everyone as a threat.

[@yvettejon3372]

You know, I've wondered the same thing. My Malinois does the same thing, he's confident and goes a little in front of me but stops whenever I stop and has never barked at or lunged at another human or animal. He's never off leash, but he does get in front of me sometimes and I felt like I was failing because of it. It's made walking him not enjoyable when I'm constantly stopping, or turning to get him behind me. He's a confident dog but he listens and constantly checks in with me and stops whenever I do. Thanks for your video.

[@GetFitwithDogs]

I was doing the same thing as you, until I saw a video by Miracle K9 Training. In it the trainer said he sees a lot of trainers say the dog should never be in front of you, but that a dog doesn't really know the difference between 0 inches and 8 inches. If the dog is with you and not choosing to walk off, then there is no need to correct. You correct them when they make a conscious decision to LEAVE you. If they're staying with you, you don't need to micromanage them. Despite that advice, I still don't like him getting too far in front of me, but I will not micromanage him over inches. This video was not perfect for Kinjo. He still got a little too far in front and probably deserved a reminder to fall back a bit, but I wanted to stress the point of what Miracle K9 Training said. Don't micromanage inches, correct when they make a choice to leave you.

[@yvettejon3372]

@@GetFitwithDogs I appreciate your explanation and will look for the video. He's a good confident dog and I don't want to micromanage him, like you say, because he listens well. Thanks for your response and the video.

[@LaSultrySoul]

I have an Akita and I am retraining her thanks for the video keep them coming.

[@thequeenwillseeyounow9028]

My rotties stay beside me. My lab won’t pull but is slightly ahead it’s a lab thing ❤

[@GetFitwithDogs]

Will the lab stay with the pack? Or do they wander off and do their own thing?

[@thequeenwillseeyounow9028]

@@GetFitwithDogs she stays with the pack. I walk 3 Rottie and a lab through town it stops traffic as folks cheer us on. Because she is front I taught her to the right or left when coming to an intersection

[@thequeenwillseeyounow9028]

@@GetFitwithDogs first thing I do is teach a puppy their name and to respond to it every time making it the best thing in life to do. Is your dog won’t do that and get distracted you will fail them. I don’t see any training for this on KZbin ❤️

[@GetFitwithDogs]

I think the trouble people have the most with this, is that they use their dog's name constantly. Almost everyone does that. I try to use the dog's name sparingly, so that they only hear it in certain circumstances and know what it means. I'm not perfect with this, as sometimes I catch myself using their name to stop them from doing something that I don't want them doing. It's a process. I see this all of the time though. "Rover, sit! Rover, down! Rover, stop! Rover, knock it off! Rover, come! Rover!" This can be confusing to a dog. I'm really working on using words as infrequently as possible. I still catch myself doing it way too much, and I berate myself afterwards. I really want my communication to primarily be through the energy I bring, and my body language, with sound being the most minimal part.

[@thequeenwillseeyounow9028]

@@GetFitwithDogs sure we can use too much but is important. I have friends that use too many words when things go wrong. I have important words I use for everything, rest is gobbledygook to them. But I do talk to them regular too. I think it’s personal and all dogs are different.

[@levi5073]

What happens if another dog off the lead is walking towards you and starts running up to him? Will he run too or do you have enough time to grab the lead/or he doesnt start running? And if an akita does initially want to run too, how do transition him from running to not running, even when the lead is off. Thanks

[@GetFitwithDogs]

Good question! I've already had it happen several times, where an off leash dog runs up to us while I'm walking him like this. The answer to the question is that, yes, I have time to grab his leash. It's actually why I have the leash on him even if I'm not holding it. I just recently purchased a 2 foot leash, so it doesn't drag. I have the leash on, not so much because I don't trust him... but because I don't trust other dogs. Most may be fine, but some may approach with bad energy. If they have bad energy, then he will do something about it. This is why it's a good idea to have dog pepper spray on you. Grab your dog and chase off the approaching dog with the spray if they have bad energy. If it's a dog that's just curious and playful - which you should be able to tell by their body language - then you won't likely need to deploy the pepper spray (which the purpose of is to protect THEM from YOUR dog if you have a large guarding breed.) Instead, you can simply block those dogs with your own body language and noise. That's what I did in 2 of the 3 situations I had. They were young pups that were just way too curious and rude, charging up to us, but meant no harm. Kinjo is socialized enough that he too knew they meant no harm, and even if he didn't want them approaching, he understood that I was handling it and remained calm. The one time this happened when the dogs had bad energy was on a route we take almost every day and never had a problem on. I didn't bring any spray with me because it's a short route we know very well, including houses with dogs. Well, this time ended up being different, and two older boxers charged out at us at the same time, growling. I tried to block them, but I couldn't block both. LUCKILY, Kinjo remained calm, largely I think because *I* remained calm. The owner was in a wheelchair too, so it took him a bit to catch up to us and get his dogs. I had to shove one of them off, as he tried climbing Kinjo's back while Kinjo was nose to nose with the other one. Thankfully, nothing happened and the guy got his boxers and I walked off. Kinjo acted like nothing had happened, which I believe was a reflection of the energy I had at that moment as well. It could have gone badly, for those boxers. They were a bit smaller than Kinjo and had nearly purely white faces. They were old dogs, easily over 10 years. Kinjo wasn't always this calm. It took a lot of work. I still wouldn't trust him to wander off on his own, as he is still a very dominant boy and has certain dogs he wants a piece of. However, if he is at my side he has learned to largely keep it under control.

[@levi5073]

@@GetFitwithDogs Thanks. Dog pepper spray? Interesting. I hope it doesn't hurt the other dogs too much. My problem is that my dad has a very aggressive Japanese male. He's perfect in obeying commands when there's only humans and no dogs around. However, any dog he sees, he will try to pull full force to attack that dog. He's about 5 years old. Is it too late to teach him to be calmer around dogs, or can I still try to implement what you say on your leash video. Because he's perfectly aware of me and my whereabouts all the time, but as soon as there's another animal, I have zero control. he won't listen to any commands. He'll just ignore me and I have to yank the lead and literally drag him away about 10ft from the other dog/s. Also, when dogs off the lead run up to him, he will just instinctively attack, whether or not the other dog/s are playing. I don't think my dad has socialised him very well. But we've had several incidents where agressive dogs off the lead have been injured because they're run up to him aggressively. I get my dad wanted a guard dog (and he's had Akitas all his life), but surely you can have an efficient guard dog like yours without him wanting to fight every damn dog. lol. Anyway, sorry for the long comment. Your channel is awesome.

[@GetFitwithDogs]

Thanks for the reply and compliment! Dog Pepper Spray is never something I am excited about, but when you have a large guarding breed that is capable of killing another dog (even if it is justified self-defense) it makes sense to carry some to protect the attacking or invasive dog that is charging you and your dog. That's the only reason why I think it is a wise thing to do. Not that this happens much, but just in case. Two of the situations I described above that approached Kinjo and I were smaller dogs. Even a harsh correction from my 115 lbs dog can be unintentionally fatal to a 20 lbs dog. It's not too late to teach the 5 year old aggressive dog, but it will take some serious leadership and hard work to bring that dog's responses to a manageable level. Some dogs have serious temperamental struggles, but no dog is too far gone. 99% of the time, even the hardest cases are a result of the human not doing what they can do to bring the dog back to a balanced state of mind. Some dogs are exceptionally difficult to bring them back, but they still can be brought back. While not my favorite dog trainer, the Dog Daddy just posted some videos on KZbin of him working with an extremely aggressive Tibetan Mastiff. While I much prefer the Cesar Millan approach to what the Dog Daddy did in these clips with the TM, he STILL managed to demonstrate improvement with this extremely dangerous dog that was going after everyone except it's family. If a dog like that can be brought to a more balanced state, I believe your dad's Akita can too. Especially if the dog is normally more obedient. I haven't seen any video, but having heard/seen stories like this before, my ASSUMPTION is that there is a lot of room to improve on with leash handling techniques, properly timed corrections, and leadership. Typically, if a dog is going after EVERY dog they see, there is a bit of fear in the dog. They are preemptively trying to deal with "threats" without A) Recognizing what is and is not a threat, and B) Feeling that their human isn't strong enough or confident enough to keep them safe. How the (B) part is communicated is often through tenseness in the leash, fearful anticipation of the dog or another dog fighting, a lack of calmness, etc. I will add this to my list of videos I want to create. Perhaps I will create a video demonstrating how I improved my dog's walk. I'll need another dog to demonstrate distance, corrections, etc. That will take planning right now, because I don't take my Akitas out in this weather unless it's 7 AM. It's just too hot for them after that here in Missouri. Until then, I will just say that a calm and submissive dog does not attack. If the dog is attacking, it's state of mind is not calm and submissive. If it is going after every dog that gets close, then most likely the dog's state of mind is fearful and the aggression is the dog choosing Fight over Flight. You cannot stop the aggression when the mind of the dog is in this state. You can only stop the aggression when the dog's mind is in a calm and submissive state. The best way to get the dog's mind into calm submission is to leave the house in calm submission, have the human lead but keep the leash loose, and do snap corrections back to loose leash the very SECOND you see your dog giving another dog "the look" - and I am sure you know the look I mean. I'd start like that, correct and change directions when this happens and walk the other way. Rinse and repeat.

[@levi5073]

@@GetFitwithDogs Thanks bro. Will def use this advice.