90/10 Rule

When a dog has been intensely dog reactive it makes it very difficult to take him anywhere because he has a reactive explosion every time he sees another dog. Now it doesn’t matter why he does this because reactivity is reactivity is reactivity and it’s ALWAYS a highly unacceptable and dangerous behaviour! So when it comes to reactive dogs we don’t focus on the past (the why) but we focus on correcting the behavioural issue in the moment and then start teaching the dog what behaviour we do want from him now on so that the dog and his owners can move on from this troublesome issue and towards a great future together of including their dog in all their adventures.
In the video, I’m teaching Titan the remote collar heel and also the 90/10 Rule. The 90/10 Rule means that 90% of our walk is all business! This means no pulling, no sniffing, no marking, no scanning, no stalking, NO REACTIVITY, and no shenanigans 😜. When on the structured leash walk we want to be leading our dogs, holding them accountable with the remote collar for tuning in and following the rules of the walk which is also building our leadership with them rather than being the anchor at the end of the leash for them to drag around! 10% of the walk, at a place of the handlers choosing... not the dog’s, can be given for potty time. So to put some numbers on it, if you walk for 30 minutes then 27 minutes should be structured heeling and only 3 minutes are given for potty/sniffing. And during those 3 minutes, we handlers must still be holding our dogs accountable for not pulling, no reactivity, not scanning or stalking or indulging any rude or inappropriate behaviour/mindset.