Chester is a Boxer with three human family members: married couple Janice and Michael, and Zach, their 14 year old son.
It is Michael’s job to walk Chester in the morning, Zach walks him after school, and Janice walks him in the evening after dinner.
This is the way each person walks Chester:
In the morning, Chester runs to the door, sits to have his collar and leash put on, and waits for Michael to go through the door, then follows him outside. He walks by Michael’s side until they arrive at a wooded area, where Chester is allowed to sniff and do his business. The rest of the outing is a brisk combination of jogging, running and walking for about 30 minutes of exercise.
After school, when Zach comes home, Chester is wild to see him and to go outside. The dog dances around Zach until Zach grabs his collar to leash him up. Chester bounds out the door with Zach hanging onto the leash. They careen down the driveway until Chester finds the first of many intriguing smells. He circles to sniff, pee and investigate further as Zach moves the leash up his wrist so he can get out his cell phone and use both hands to text his friends. He glances up only long enough to ensure that the pair stay by the edge of the road to avoid oncoming traffic. When his parents come home from wor
k, he complains that Chester is “ridiculous” to walk.
After dinner, Janice is tired and in a hurry to get the walk over with. She captures Chester, struggles out the door with him, and waits impatiently while he sniffs here and there. She pulls him one way, he pulls the other. It’s a battle of wills and strength as they tug each other around the block. When they arrive back home, she collapses onto the sofa and swears it is time to get a trainer because walking him is “impossible.”
Not surprisingly, Michael swears the dog is just fine walking with him.
Remember the scene in Young Frankenstein when Igor commands Dr. Frankenstein to “walk this way” and the doctor dutifully grasps the cane, hunches over, and drags his leg in imitation of Igor’s distinctive gait?
Our dogs are pretty smart – they watch us, and they know how to walk the way we walk. Get every member of the family on the same page, with the same rules for the dog inside and outside, and your dog will walk the way you want him to.
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