Saucy Pet

The last thing that a Havanese owner would expect from a puppy is that it can’t appreciate a walk. How can that be indeed, since these little ones will actually bark to demand to go on the appointed time, even if held twice a day!

How dogs react to the routine vary, aside from the factor of havanese training. Some start to pant by the first half mile. Others are ready for something more brisk than a stroll, and are willing to finish 2 miles, sometimes even up to 3! But in any case, if dog walkers add more time or mileage gradually, dogs will let their people know what their limits are. This way dog owners can figure out what’s good for their pet. Other factors that owners watch out for are the time taken for the walk and the temperature.

Signs of a tired Havanese dog include, but of course is not limited to: a droopy tail; split nails on a few toes; and the ultimate, a dog sitting or lying on the ground, refusing to get up. In case of these signs, it really is time to call it a day.

There is another way to know the best amount of time to spend walking a dog. At least in the case of jack russell puppies, a rough rule of thumb here is that a dog can have 5 minutes for every month of age. Therefore a three month old puppy can walk for 15 minutes and so on.

Owners will therefore need to be sure that their dogs are really, honest-to-goodness enjoying the walk! If there is yet a way to improve the walk, then it would be good to know about “good” and “bad” ways of doing it. The good way is to start with the fact that the dog owner is the dog’s boss, and he or she needs to call the shots in the walk. Just to give you hint of a wrong way of walking: the next time you see a dog or dogs dragging along the walker, you can be sure those dogs are not enjoying going out with an indecisive walker.

Let’s continue with how to go on a good walk. First of all, if it wants to get what it wants, which is the walk, it will need to do its share of behaving and obeying by sitting properly by the door, quiet and calm, waiting for the collar to be slipped over it. If it does not do most of those, then it is not ready for the walk.

Next, once it is out on the streets, the puppy or the young dog (this step may take time to work on adults) will need to be shown that the owner-handler decides the route. How? Be unpredictable! Cross the street, go round a lampost or a bench, inspect some bushes, go on and off the pavement or sidewalk, etc. The walker will need to make the route unpredictable so that the dog will want to focus on its walker, instead of focusing on whatever disrupts its bored fancy, which can end up in the dog dragging the human. When it starts behaving contrary to its manners, stop, command it to sit, wait for calm, then start out again. This is actually one tip not only found in havanese training, but practically in all dog training guides.

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