When Kemba was a puppy, he and I worked with a dog trainer. Neither of us — Kemba nor I — did that great. The trainer was a perfectionist. I wasn’t. During a “recall” session at Burying Hill Beach, when I commanded Kemba to “Come,” she wanted him to dash to me and stop precisely at my feet. He tended to overshoot me by a couple of yards. I thought it was cute; at least the idea was there. She wasn’t satisfied. When I’d tell Kemba to “Lie down,” and he’d only sit, I’d compliment him: “Good dog!” She’d shake her head, clearly writing me off as hopeless.
Truthfully, I’ve never been a stickler when it comes to pet discipline. My dog doesn’t have to know who the alpha is in our pairing. If Kemba really wants to march through the front door before me, be my guest. So when we got up to the lesson where the trainer wanted him to learn to stick to one side when we leash-walk, instead of criss-crossing the street, I told her not to bother.
She gave me that look. And warned me I’d regret it.
The reason for the doggy zigzag, according to the website Wet Noses Pet Sitting, is this:
Mostly [dogs] weave back and forth because they are super excited to be on a walk, which is usually the highlight of their day. There are so many sights, sounds and most importantly, smells! Dogs have a sense of smell that is 1,000-10,000 times stronger than ours. This can have them zigging and zagging all over the place as they track the scents that tell them what has been going on in the neighborhood.
And yes, Kemba fits this profile. Being the gentleman that he is, at least he doesn’t cut in front of me, like most dogs, which can cause the owner to go tail over teakettle. He always does his weaving behind me, and so I’ve developed a very smooth behind-the-back, left hand-to-right hand leash transfer. It’s a bit of a bother, but no biggie. As we set out and he first lapses into this pattern, I’m like, hey, this is his walk. Whatever makes him happy. But maybe 10 minutes in, the backing and forthing starts to get annoying, and my happy, laissez-faire attitude morphs into . . . “Kemba — pick a side, any side — and bleepin’ stay there!”
So yes. Guess I shoulda listened to the trainer on this one.
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW BEAGLE MAN, KEMBA, AND RICKY ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
At least Kemba may be trainable…Ricky, never! But Kemba has his human well trained. Happy life, happy dog!
Truest thing you’ve ever said.
Lucy does the same thing! She zig zags all over the place! She also gets to pick which route we take every afternoon. I always try to have at least $5 in my pocket, because at least once a week she takes me to the local pet store. And I never know when she’ll be in the mood!
Good to have pocket money anyway!