Leash Manners
Saw this on a a friend’s fitness page, I think the point they were trying to convey is be responsible & accountable to yourself. It took me several minutes before I even *noticed* the dog was walking herself with her own tail……all I could stare at was that TIGHT LEASH!! And I kept wondering “How is dragging the person along a picture of self control?? Wouldn’t self control be a nice loose leash because you are walking at the pace of the handler even if you can easily walk faster??”
And thinking that you have to pull that leash tight no matter how closer or far your dog is from you is the cycle that SO MANY people get sucked into!! Which results in the dog thinking the only way to make the walk “go” is when there is pulling-pressure on the collar. And humans get so accustomed to the constant pressure on the leash in their hand that they become oblivious to it… … … even TIGHTENING up the leash on their end when their dog is doing it right!
Case in point this picture: the hand-tail could be holding the *handle* of the leash instead of holding mid-leash (that would make the leash loose) & the hand-tail could also be held lower & closer to the dog’s back instead of trying to wave in a high flag position. Many people also get caught up in “Heel Position”. Having the dog in close to your leg, where their shoulder lines up with the seam of your pants is a competitive obedience exercise, it takes lots of time & energy to train and maintain it and IS NOT how anybody wants to walk on a lazy Sunday. Think supermodels do the catwalk in the grocery store? Think the band high-steps to & from class? Absolutely not. What everybody wants is a dog that walks at YOUR pace, with a nice easy loose leash without trying to pull your arm out of your socket.
OK OK, I get it, the color scheme of the picture would make the leash harder to see if it was in a nice easy loop hanging DOWN from the dog collar, you kind of need to draw attention to the leash & that the tail is holding it because it’s the whole point of the illustration. But this is a dog that is PULLING her own tail. And no matter how fast her legs go she will continue to pull her own tail. She is practicing how to pull on a leash. Leash pulling is dangerous for little dogs because it’s a lot of pressure on their small necks, esophagus, & backs. Leash pulling is dangerous to big dogs because they are big enough to get away & get hit by a car or pull someone down or into traffic. Plus it’s No Fun to walk a dog that’s trying to drag you around. And we want walks to be fun because everyone could use a little more regular exercise!