Enrichment Walking: How and Why
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Healthy socialization helps to nurture confidence and balanced behavior, and it’s something that most canine companions don’t get to experience on a regular basis. This kind of movement, together as a unit, gives dogs an opportunity to build trust, explore together, teach each other, and have a more fulfilling exploration.
By moving together was one on a regular basis, your dog will have an opportunity for exercise and the potty break that they need, but they’ll also experience structure, socialization, and affection from human and canine alike.
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*Walks are available Tuesday-Friday between 10-3. Pickups are between 9-11AM and drop-offs are between 12-2PM.
*Walks are a minimum of 30 minutes. Usually, they are 45-60 minutes. but can run for as long as two hours. I notify clients each morning what their estimated pickup time is.
*Walks are loose-leash. If your dog does not know how to walk loose-leash, they will learn.
*Dogs have an opportunity for a potty break at the beginning and middle of the walk.
*Walks alternate between structure and explore periods, depending on the needs of the pack.
*All dogs must have proof of up-to-date vaccinations.
*All dogs must have a collar with a tag noting a contact number and/or license.
*All new dogs in the program must join with a minimum of two days a week on a recurring schedule. This helps us build solidarity between the dogs, where they are all up to date on the rules of the pack and have an opportunity to build trust in their relationships.
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Green Light Dogs ($35/walk): Green Light Dogs require almost no handling and can be trusted to make responsible decisions in terms of leash manners and behavior around and towards other dogs.
Yellow Light Dogs ($40/walk): Yellow Light Gods are in the learning process and require a little more hands’ on attention, guiding them towards making better choices on their own. They are still working on how to walk loose on leash or they are learning how to relax around the other dogs in the pack.
Red Light Dogs ($45/walk): Red Light Dogs start out with solo work before joining the packs to learn basic skills that will allow them to interact peacefully and respectfully with the other pack walkers. They need a little extra love and a little more time and attention. Red Light Dogs are restricted to walks on their own or with one Green Light Dog (as a role model) until they have learned skills to join larger groups.
Puppies ($50/walk): Dogs under 12 months require periodic “all hands on deck” focus to help them build skills as they are growing and changing through a variety of physical and hormonal changes. They need extra time, attention, and structure to learn (and re-learn) how to interact gently and peacefully with other walkers. Puppies showing growth and thorough comprehension of the pack dynamic before 12 months may graduate early, but this is not a guarantee.
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My goal is to get all my pack walkers into the Green Light Zone, but everyone learns at different speeds. The more they have opportunities to practice their skills - softening, understanding leash vocabulary, and being respectful of space (human people and dog people alike), the faster they will progress. During a dog’s first walk with me, I assess where they are and what they’re ready for and I will give you detailed information about how they are progressing as we go.
In order to change to a lower-maintenance walking group, an adult dog must demonstrate neutral walking behavior for three weeks of service from the time of requested reassessment.
Please note that groups are created and managed for the safety and well-being of all dogs involved and shifts between groups will happen the walker’s discretion as needed.
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Yes! As of January 2024, we are accepting irregular and regular solo walkers into the schedule. Solo Walkers do not walk with or near pack members and may require different scheduling depending on availability. This is a great option for folks with reactive canines or multidog households, or folks who only need one walk a week or every once in a while.
Solo Walker Rate: $50 for initial dog, $30 for each additional home pack member.