As the weather here in Calgary (finally) starts to warm up the pathways will get busier with human and dog traffic. I’d like to  address an issue that seems to surface regularly. It’s leash aggression. You see a dog straining towards you, starting to growl or bark as you and your dog draw closer. Or perhaps your dog is the one displaying this behavior. Either way, if you and the other owner do not know how to handle the situation it can quickly get out of control.

 

Below is a informative article addressing this specific issue. It seems to be quite prevalent and I think the problem stems from us humans not understanding how dogs interact, assuming all dogs want to meet each other and not realizing the dog is always reading our body language; tensing up and pulling on the leash translates into “this is something to be afraid of, this is dangerous”.

 

http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-safety-training-walking-etiquette-tips

 

-Awesome Tails