Reclaiming what’s mine

I love Kobe the Labrador. He’s sweet, he’s obedient (which is a big contrast from Mac the Beagle) and he’s loyal.

One thing Kobe the Labrador is not is cooperative on my morning walks.

And I understand it’s because he’s a puppy and needs to be trained.

Most days I would cut my walks short and head home frustrated.

Not this morning.

I reclaimed my morning walk.

I understand a few things about dogs that I didn’t before.

They want to please and look to you to be the pack leader.

Proper pack order dictates that I tell the pack what we are and are not doing.

I needed to train Kobe how to walk with me.

No he can’t pull.

No he can’t lag behind.

No this isn’t a poop sniffing expedition.

No he can’t go running scared every time a car passes or dog barks (he’s very skittish).

This is my morning walk and he will learn to share it with me.

So this morning we walked at my pace, to my set destination and back.

I didn’t do a lot of talking. Usually there’s a lot of  “Kobe, no!” on our walks but this time, I let the tug of the leash do my talking.

I reclaimed my morning walk by taking control and that meant teaching Kobe how to walk with me. It meant correcting behavior in real time and not stressing when he stressed out.

I reclaimed my morning walk. What can you reclaim today?

Happy Monday everyone.