A simple walk ...

Tango before a walk - alone with me and paying attention!

Is not so simple when one dog is a jerk, the other tries to kiss everyone. Collars, leashes, treat pouch and poop bag. Ready? OK - let's go! Booker wants to jump on the lady across the way and give her kisses, and Tango is twirling in circles and wants to run over to her for a totally different reason.

So - how do I do that differently? Get their attention before we start our walk! I'll say, "Tango, Booker, are you ready?" in a very upbeat voice, standing up straight with leashes the way they're supposed to be held - my right thumb through the handles and some of the excess looped in my left hand. When both are looking at me, they get a cookie. A yummy cookie, not boring kibble. Then I say, "Let's go!" also in a very excited manner, so that the dogs are looking forward to being with me. We set off at a brisk pace, and if I see that there's no one in the immediate vicinity, I'll let Booker sniff a bush and Tango sniff the air. I don't want them to "heel" in the obedience way, since this is just a walk, but I do want the dogs paying attention to me. And we continue in this fashion. Every once in a while, I'll give the boys a cookie just for being near me, and not at the end of their leash slack. And when I do see other people getting closer, I'll talk to the dogs even more, and step up the cookie volume!

Naturally, it's easier to walk one dog at a time, but sometimes it's just not practical. So I'm learning to walk two.