Stop Walking Your Dog...And Other Advice That Actually Works

Why the daily walk might be doing more harm than good (for now)...

Disclaimer:
If you have a dog who walks calmly on leash, doesn’t react to other dogs or people, and your daily walks are a source of peace and connection, this post isn’t written for you. Keep doing what works, and enjoy your dog in the way that best fits your lifestyle. This article is for the folks struggling through tense, chaotic walks and looking for another way forward.

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There’s an unspoken rule in dog ownership that goes something like this:

“You have to walk your dog every day. No matter what. Rain or shine, snow or heatwave, leash pulling or lunging…just get it done. Afterall, a ‘tired dog’ is a ‘well behaved dog’.”

But what if that rule is wrong?

What if it’s not just misguided, but creating more problems for both you and your dog?

The Walk Isn’t Working

When my clients reach out for help, it’s often because their walk is stressful. Their dog pulls. Barks. Spins. Lunges at strangers. They’re embarrassed, frustrated, and often at the end of their leash, literally and emotionally.

And yet, they keep walking.

Why? Because we’ve been told it’s our duty. That a “good dog owner” walks their dog every day, no matter what. That walking = exercise = good behaviour. So even when the walk feels like a battle, we suit up and do it again the next day.

And the dog keeps pulling. Barking. Lunging. Spiraling.

Something’s not adding up.

Walk Less. Train More.

Here’s what I tell clients that often shocks them:

“If your dog is a disaster on the walk, stop walking your dog.”

Not forever. Not out of neglect. But on purpose. Strategically. Because you love your dog and want a harmonious relationship.

Because here’s the truth: you can’t train through chaos. If the walk is overwhelming your dog (or you), you’re not building good habits; you’re reinforcing and rehearsing bad ones. Every pull on the leash becomes ‘muscle memory’. Every outburst is another deposit into the wrong emotional bank account.

Instead of “burning energy,” your dog is fueling frustration, anxiety, and arousal. And you’re reinforcing the very behaviours you want to stop.

What To Do Instead

So what should you do?

1. Pull Back the Routine

Put the neighbourhood walk on pause for about four weeks. Your dog isn’t going to fall apart. They might finally settle. Most people are surprised at what happens during the break.

2. Build Structure at Home

Crate time. Thresholds. Calm feeding routines. Clear boundaries. Home is where training begins, not the sidewalk.

3. Engage Through Play

Incorporate tug, fetch, flirt pole, and food chasing games. Develop play that teaches engagement, rules, and impulse control. This is exercise with a purpose.

4. Train the Walk in Neutral Spaces

Forget busy streets. Start in a quiet parking lot or an open park with space to reset. No pressure, no pedestrians, no doorbells ringing. Just you, your dog, and the leash.

It’s in this space that the “magic” happens. Dogs who once pulled like freight trains begin to follow. The barking turns to breathing. Chaos transforms into clarity.

They’re not broken; they’re just overwhelmed, and they need structure.

You’re not failing. You’re following the wrong blueprint. You’re doing the best you can with the knowledge you have.

A Different Kind of Walk

When you rebuild your dog’s walk from the ground up, something deeper starts to shift. It’s not just about the leash. It’s about your relationship.

You move from being the person who survives the walk… to the person your dog wants to walk with.

You’re no longer fighting for control. You’re working in partnership.

That’s not just training, that’s transformation.

Our Story…

Before we conclude the article, I’d like to share a personal story. When Piper first came home, I thought daily walks would be the key to bonding with her. That’s what we’re told, right? “A tired dog is a good dog.” So I clipped on the leash and hit the pavement.

But instead of a peaceful walk, I got chaos.

Piper, my Dutch Shepherd/German Shepherd mix, was just over a year old, built for work and intensity. Walks weren’t calming her down; they were winding her up. She pulled like a freight train, lunged at every squirrel, barked at passing dogs, and acted like the world was something she had to chase, fight, or control. And every day, I kept walking her, thinking she’d eventually “get used to it.”

She didn’t.

Instead, every walk reinforced the wrong behaviours. She was rehearsing the chaos. Practicing the pulling. Getting better at the things I didn’t want.

So I did what most people would never consider: I stopped walking her.

For a few weeks, we focused on engagement games, obedience, and play in the yard and driveway. I taught her how to look to me for direction. I took her to the park and hooked up her 30-foot line, and gave her freedom to explore. We moved to an empty parking lot to rehearse the skills I wanted: loose leash, focus, calm recovery after stimulation. When she started to look like the kind of dog I wanted to walk, we went back into the neighbourhood.

And guess what? The wildness faded. The chaos quieted. She no longer saw the leash as a trigger to explode.

This is what I want people to understand: sometimes, walking your dog every day when they’re in a state of arousal, reactivity, or overwhelm isn’t helping, it’s hurting. You’re not burning energy. You’re building bad habits.

If the walk is where all the problems happen, stop walking your dog. Reset. Reteach. Rebuild.

You can get back to walking, but only if you build the skills first.

Reflection…

There’s something sacred in slowing down, in saying, “Not today,” when the world says “Push through.”

Dogs don’t need more hustle. They need presence. And sometimes, presence means staying home to fix the foundation before stepping back into the world.

You don’t have to earn your dog’s love with daily miles. You earn it through leadership, consistency, and calm.

That starts today, not on the walk, but in your living room.

What’s Next

In the next few posts, I’ll walk you through the exact steps to reframe your dog’s exercise, training, and walk routine. This four-part series will cover:

🔹 Part 1 – Reset the Routine: How to stop walking your dog (for now) and what to do instead
🔹 Part 2 – Structure at Home: Building routines that teach calm and clarity
🔹 Part 3 – Purposeful Play: How tug, food games, and chase fulfill your dog’s drive
🔹 Part 4 – Rebuilding the Walk: Step-by-step training in low-distraction spaces

Each post will include video lessons and real-life examples from my dog Piper and my client dogs.

Final Thought

You don’t need to walk your dog every day to be a good owner.
You need to walk with intention.

Let’s rewrite the rules for a more harmonious experience on both ends of the leash.

Happy training,
Karl