Are you struggling to walk your puppy and your kids to school together? (Photo: Chalkboard with “back to school” written on it)
It’s back to school time here in Ontario. At home, everyone’s in a scramble to leave the house on time. There’s lunches to be made, last-minute wardrobe changes, and breakfast being gobbled as backpacks are being packed. Outside there’s bus engines roaring, kid’s feet pounding on sidewalks, and bicycles whipping by.
You’d pictured this moment in your mind so often that it seemed real. You and your new puppy strolling to school with your kids. You thought you’d kill two birds with one stone. The kids need to be walked to school, the puppy needs a walk as well. This would be amazing.
The calm scene you imagined…(Photo: kids walking to school with leaves on the ground)
But it isn’t.
It feels as though you’re trying to navigate through this (Photo: an extremely crowded street with people, vespas, and bicycles everywhere)
When the kids run ahead, the puppy lunges on leash to catch up to them. When a skateboard zooms past, he barks and tries to bite it.
And when the school bus rumbles up behind you, he tries to run in the opposite direction and then lies down and refuses to walk any further. The only thing that gets him moving again is another dog walking past. Now he’s pulling you down the sidewalk hoping to catch up.
Walking a puppy or dog who pulls can feel exhausting (Photo: Dogue de Bordeaux pulling on the leash toward a man who is picking something up off the ground)
When you finally make it to the school yard, your puppy doesn’t seem happy at all when he gets surrounded by children. He snaps at a little girl and you manage to pull him back just in time. Thankfully she didn’t notice, but now your heart is pounding in your throat and your mind is racing with what ifs.
Your walk home isn’t any better. He bites the leash, he bites your jacket, he bites your hands.
Inside your home it’s as if he wasn’t even walked. He finds an insane reserve of energy and gets the zoomies spreading muddy paw prints all over your couch and your carpeted staircase.
You’re pretty sure you didn’t walk though any mud, but somehow it’s all over your carpet and your couch now (Photo: dog sitting in the mud on a hiking trail,)
He gets ahold of one of the kid’s socks and growls at you when you try to retrieve it.
You’re crying and trying to figure out how to prevent him from eating the sock during your zoom meeting, which you realize you’re now late for.
We understand how stressful it is trying to raise a well-behaved puppy who is behaving like a snapping turtle.
You didn’t know that having a puppy would be so stressful (Photo: woman with her face in her hands as though she is crying)
We’ve helped so many clients overcome the puppy blues. In-home sessions can help with:
-leash manners, so your puppy can walk beside you on your way to school instead of pulling or playing dead
-crate training, so your puppy will happily go into his crate after you walk him and take a nice nap, rather than being a sock-thief with the zoomies
-socialization, so you learn how to properly socialize your puppy to children, loud noises, and skateboards/scooters/bikes etc.
Schedule your free call now.
Schedule your free call now (Photo: happy woman using her phone)
Don’t wait for the biting to break the skin or the leash pulling to give you tendonitis. Get help today.
You deserve to live your dream with your puppy. Calm walks to school are a phone call away.
Ready to reach your goals? Schedule your free call now. (Photo: smiling woman posing for a picture while walking her beagle)
Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders. After a busy back-to-school week — you’ve earned some rest.
Alyssa
Photos by: Deleece Cook @deleece (Chalkboard with “back to school” written on it,) Jake Ingle @ingle_jake (kids walking to school with leaves on the ground,) Dim Hou @dimhou (an extremely crowded street with people, vespas, and bicycles everywhere,) Anna Dudkova @annadudkova (Dogue de Bordeaux pulling on the leash toward a man who is picking something up off the ground.) Celyn Bowen @indeep (dog sitting in the mud on a hiking trail,) Fa Barboza @fan11 (woman with her face in her hands as though she is crying,) Upsplash Images (happy woman using her phone,) Artem Beliaikin @belart84 (woman posing for a picture while walking her beagle,)