Walking & Training
Good walks start with gear that fits, the right things in your pocket and a little practice. Begin with how to measure a dog for a harness, collar or coat, then use the dog walking essentials checklist to pack for every walk, including after dark.
If your dog drags you down the street, the short-session plan to stop leash pulling is the place to start. Walking a cat? This topic also has a slow, week-by-week harness plan. The harnesses, collars and leashes these guides mention are in reflective dog walking gear.
-
How-to
How to Stop a Dog Darting Out the Door: Manage Now, Train a Wait
A dog who bolts through the door can get lost or hit by a car. Manage the door from tonight with a leash, a gate and ID, then teach a threshold wait and a go-to-your-bed doorbell routine, plan for guests and deliveries, and know what to do if your dog slips out.
-
How-to
How to Prepare Your Dog for a New Baby and Their First Meeting
A timeline for expecting parents with a dog: move walks, meals and attention early, set nursery and couch rules, build a retreat, practice stroller walks step by step, plan the first meeting and know when to call a trainer or behaviorist.
-
Buying guide
Made in USA Dog Products: Collars, Harnesses, Coats, Bowls and Wipes
Six dog items we stock carry a Made in USA claim from their maker or listing: two Lupine Pet walking pieces, a DCNY coat for small dogs, a SodaPup slow feeder and lick mat, and Mr. Peanut’s wipes. Learn what the label should mean, what it leaves out and how to check a claim yourself.
-
How-to
How to Wash a Dog Harness, Collar and Leash by Hand or Machine
Check the care label, then hand wash nylon webbing in warm, mildly soapy water or machine wash it in a mesh bag if the label allows. Plus leather and retractable leashes, drying without heat, smells that won’t wash out and when to replace the gear.
-
How-to
How to Walk Two Dogs at Once Without Tangles or Pulling
Two dogs, two leashes and no knots: train each dog alone first, give each one a usual side, walk at the slower dog’s pace, untangle crossed leashes safely and know what to do when one dog pulls or reacts.
-
How-to
Why Does My Dog Bite the Leash? How to Stop Grabbing and Tugging
Leash biting usually starts with excitement, boredom or frustration, and pulling back turns it into tug. Here is how to keep the leash out of the game, reward a quiet mouth, give your dog a toy to carry and plan tug for before or after the walk.
-
How-to
How to Start Running With Your Dog: Readiness and a Walk-Run Plan
Get your veterinarian's okay, wait until a young dog has finished growing and teach a loose leash first. Then build from walks with one-minute jogs to a steady, easy run over several weeks, with warm-ups, cool-downs, water breaks and clear signs to slow down or stop.
-
How-to
How to Put On a Dog Harness: Overhead, Step-In and No-Pull
Open the buckles, find the neck loop, then follow the routine for your style: overhead, step-in or a no-pull harness that clips to your dog's collar. Plus calm ways to harness a dog who bounces or ducks, fixes for when it won't go on right, and how to take it off.
-
How-to
How to Hold a Dog Leash: Grip, Slack and Which Side Your Dog Walks On
Hold the handle in a thumb lock, fold spare leash into your palm instead of wrapping it and keep a loose J of slack. Plus how to brace for a lunge, pick a side, handle a front-clip harness and practice the grip in the hallway.
-
Buying guide
How to Choose the Right Dog Harness: Style, Strap Shape and Build
Choose a harness by how it goes on and how it's built: overhead, step-in or vest, a chest piece that leaves the shoulders free, padding where the straps press, and hardware scaled to your dog. Plus how our two dog harnesses differ.
-
Buying guide
How to Choose a Dog Collar: Type, Width, Hardware and the ID Tag
A flat collar sized to the neck suits most dogs; martingales and breakaways solve specific problems. Here’s how to pick the type, material and width, read overlapping size ranges, check the hardware and decide what goes on the ID tag.
-
Guide
How Long Should You Walk Your Dog? By Age, Size and Energy
Most healthy adult dogs do well with about 30 minutes of walking a day in total, split over two walks, and high-energy breeds need a lot more. See how age, energy, size and health change the answer, the five-minutes-per-month guide for puppies, signs a walk is too long or too short, and how to build up safely.
