When Walks Help Nobody

SPEAKER_01 0:00

If we look at what we do, and with a dog like Siri, putting her on a walk and dragging her around a park for an hour's walk or morning and evening, is it going to help her? No. And is it going to be enjoyable for you? No. Is it going to be enjoyable for other people? No. Is it going to be enjoyable for Siri? Absolutely not. Is anybody actually having fun here?

SPEAKER_00 0:17

No one's having a good time.

Meet Siri And Her Reactivity

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers, and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. So the saying is exercise, a diet that's wise, and a bit of diddly dot diet. That's what they say. That's what they say. We're going to talk exercise, not walk. We are going to talk exercise, not work. It's been massively important for you and your dog, Siri. And tell everyone about Siri. What is she? What are her tendencies? How does she get herself in trouble? She's a dog.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

She's a Jack Russell Terrier. Um, and she is very high strung, is the best way to describe her. She doesn't really like people, she doesn't really like dogs, she's a little bit scared of the world, really, is what we're talking about here. She would be what society calls like reactive. She just she just struggles with life, you know, it's just everything is drama. It's something that we've worked really, really hard on, and we're still on a journey with her through that. And she's definitely, definitely on the up for sure, but there's still work to do. But in in because of that, it means that walking her is very difficult. So walking her in the normal spaces that you'd be able to walk her along the street or in a like a dog walking park or even just through a normal park or anywhere really like that would be really, really difficult because you've always got lots of people, you've always got like dogs around, and that just wouldn't be appropriate for her. And it's not there's no amount of feeding is gonna fix that. She right now she's in that place where she goes in that headspace where she can't think, you know. And she's worried, she's yeah, she's worried. She goes into panic, you know, and scared, barking. That's how it presents for her.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

So for you, ditching the walks or reconsidering exercise or redesigning the walk or redesigning what exercise means, it's been important.

Why Forced Walks Backfire

SPEAKER_00 2:20

It's been a have to, so I've had to figure it out. But actually now I love it, you know. So it's so much more it's so much more flexible because the way the way that I look at it is why why just walks? You know, so why why is that we only think of walks as the only form of exercise for dogs? And this is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about a challenge today, is to talk about why as a society do we think that walks are the only way that we can exercise other dogs?

SPEAKER_01 2:46

And let's actually think we don't as a society a minute, because I think this is really just like the Western world of dog ownership. Yeah. Because actually, if you go to most other countries, dogs maybe have massive yards or huge gardens, or they might live on a ranch, yeah, or they might be cattle dogs or sheep dogs, or they might be terriers on the on their farm, or they they will have different like dogs with jobs, yeah. And there are also certainly spaces for the fact that dogs maybe even have some roaming. Yeah, like we are the ones who have put a dog on a leash, got them on a collar, made them like ID tagged, and and I was in not so long ago abroad. Uh I've I've Costa Rica, Thailand, I've I've travelled lots, but not so long ago, I'm trying to think of where I was, at Barbados. I was Barbados. And when I was in Barbados, I we were going around town and there was this little dog, and he he he was chained to his little like house, and I just was like, oh bless him, like that's such a different life. Yeah, and yet that is the life that those dogs live where they are and live. And then there were other dogs who had massive yards, but I don't imagine anyone ever takes any of those dogs for walk. Yeah, yeah. This is what we have done. Yeah. Now, if we let's let's stay out of the judgy space, yeah, sure. Not look at what they do or what we do as as right or wrong. If we look at what we do, and with a dog like Siri, putting her on a walk and dragging her around a park for an hour's walk or morning and evening, is it gonna help her? No. And is it gonna be enjoyable for you? No, is it gonna be enjoyable for other people? No, is it gonna be enjoyable for Siri? Absolutely not. Is anybody actually having fun here? No one's having a good time. Is she not exercising healthily when she's doing something like that?

SPEAKER_00 4:19

No, and I think me the whole nervous system. Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, even just her body, like uh you've got to look at what's happening there bodily, nervous system-wise, but behaviourally and the brain and how it affects constantly practicing that fear, really, like constantly being put into that situation. It would be like it would be like putting me into a room of spiders every day. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

And for me, it's it's one of those things that actually it's really unhealthy for the owner. Yeah, actually for the owner, you dread it, it's not okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

It's horrible, you know. So, what do we do instead? Well, we like to do, we quite like to do a lot of strength training stuff, and then other than that, we actually just we just play some of the games in in Games Club because a lot of those games they they get the heart rate up because you're like throwing food around and you can play them anywhere in the house, or you can play them in the garden, or you can play them anywhere, really.

Redefining Exercise Beyond Walks

SPEAKER_01 5:07

So we've got lots of options. We've got games club, we've got Cavaletti, we've got confidence circuits, we've got Fit Without Kit, yeah, we've got all of our original Triple F fitness. These are all things and courses that Absolute Dogs do have are available, some through Games Club and some through, and we can talk more about Games Club and a pound in a minute, but they're all available to people to watch from home. And the majority of what's there is all done from your home. Yeah. Literally. Garden, front garden, back garden, main house, kitchen, living room, hallway, corridor, bedroom.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Spaces, easily. Even if you just have a studio, yeah. There is something doable. Cavaletti, I've literally done things where I just put my legs out and and she just comes up. Cavaleggi. Cavaleggy. Jamie, Jamie's there.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

We're gonna have to give you her big hug before you leave. She Jamie loves calling that cavaleggi, and she's always doing a cavaleggi. And for me, there is so much we can do. And if we think we redesign the word walk into exercise, and then we think about exercise as movement. Yes, like for me right now, it just don't feel like working out hard in the gym. It's just not there. But going on the bike in the gym, yes. Motivating music, can you get that like 30 minutes dedicated? That's what you do. Yeah, I think it's a level of structure. So I think it's giving me structure and motivation because you kind of get back into it and kind of go, Do I really want to do the hard stuff? Okay, the the bike for now. Yeah, let's do the bike for now. And then what's your next stage? You're in the habit, right? That for me is what I'm thinking my dogs. Some days it's just movement. What is my best movement? Now, we've obviously got lots of different options. We've got um enclosed exercise fields that you can hire, safe spaces like that. This morning you've been out on the moors. Yes. So well, if we say, Yeah, we don't walk, walk every day, you've just had a nice walk on the moors. The moors is appropriate for you and her. Why?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Because there's not people and dogs, or there are people and dogs, but they're at a great distance. So I'm better able to manage her. I mean, it's not that she doesn't see them because she does, but because they're so far away, they're not as big of a problem for her. They're not right in her face. And actually, with sheep and cows and horses, for whatever reason, when she first saw them, we managed it better. There weren't any kind of like negative learning things going on there. So she hasn't got a problem with them. So that space is a lot easier. She even goes off lead, she's got an amazing recall, she loves being around me and hanging around me. We play scent work out there. Um, so there's lots of stuff that we can do out and about. We take her to enclosed fields quite often because they're quite easy.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

You know, you know exactly what you've got when you're someone like Devin Dogs or Bowerland, it's not very safe here, right? That's just safe. Why?

At Home Fitness And Games

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Because people get it. Like the people that come here, whether it's trainers or actually often whether it's the students, first of all, the trainer will manage the people here anyway. But most of the students come here and they've been here before, or they're already a part of like Games Club and they know our community and they've got reactive dogs, so they understand. They understand what it's like to have someone be like just letting their dog run in on you where it's not kind of appropriate or they've not thought about it, or they've got a dog off lead that doesn't have a recall, you know. Um, and those things happen. Sometimes they just happen, you know, life happens, doesn't it? But this is a very it's a much more managed place, so you just feel safer. Actually, yesterday we had a film day yesterday, and we had a lot of people here, a lot of students, a lot of dogs, uh, and they all kind of get managed, you know, and they all hang out in in like cars and stuff like that. It's a safe place, it's very cold here right now. I needed to get Siri out because we were gonna be on on camera soon. And I was like, I need to get her out like promptly, just get her toileted and come back in without having to try and manage her. So I just said to them, I was like, you know, is there any chance, guys, you could just hold fire a minute? If you're about to toilet your dogs, can someone just like not make sure that nobody gets their dogs out? And they're like, Oh yeah, it's fine, yeah, we've got you, don't worry.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

So that community and that safeness here is really And you don't feel judged, but you also have the opportunity to just do what you need to do. Even just they don't have to ask that question is it shows. I feel fine saying it. Exactly, yeah. So it's a very, very safe space here as well. So we've got lots of options there. We've talked through lots of different badges. You guys can get hold of them on the absolute dog store. If you haven't already got hold of them, we've talked about secure fields, we've talked about the fact that actually you have got places like Moreland and beaches at the appropriate times. There are times when they're appropriate, there's times when they are not middle of like summer, a really hot day where everyone's having their beach barbecue or their barbecue on the moors or whatever they're gonna take and and and and at tourism time. I just avoid it. Like summer's evening, it's just a time not to go there. Whereas sort of crack a door on 6 a.m., no one's there. Yeah, the only day you might see them is like New Year's Day or Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Those are the days that you might see people. Games Club, games club, so many different games, and some of the games really get the heart rate up, too. Yeah, for moving.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Yeah, for cardio. Particularly one of my favorites would be orientation games, an easy one because you just grab a handful of food and you're just throwing food back and forth. So it's a really, really easy start a game anyway. It's easy win for anybody, it's an easy win. And dogs love it because they just get to run around, you know, and you you know, you do have a cool skill.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Orientation and thunder, tornadoes, typhoon, whatever games. If you're listening to any of this and you're thinking, I want in a pound.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

One single pound, just one pound for seven days. So really, you haven't got anything to lose. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain right now. One pound. I don't mind. What do you get for a pound? Oh, don't they care? Oh, they get so much. I mean, not not only are there hundreds of games that you can start learning, and there's lots of success paths to get you started if you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed. But we've also got like the boundaries badge where you can teach your dog to stay on a bed, and then you've got like the 10 days to, which are my favorite, because they're basically like designed courses for specific struggles. So 10 days to stop jumping, 10 days to no separation anxiety, 10 days to stop stealing, um, 10 days to stop barking. So you've got games that are taken by our trainers and gone, right? This is great for this struggle. Here we are, we've lumped them together, easy, you don't even have to think about it. So you do get a lot. And in the community, for me, the special space is the community. I think that they are incredibly supportive and incredibly optimistic.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

You know, magic space. They just get it. And so if you haven't already, One Pound Games Club, twice seven days, if you don't like it, you can opt out at any point.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Why would you not try it? Just a beautiful space. Yeah, it is it is a really, really good space. And I know you just you have so much fun with your dog, but at the same time, they're learning something.

Finding Safe Outdoor Spaces

SPEAKER_01 11:07

And even if you're not using it for a period of time, it's there as soon as you need it. So that's what I love is the backup is always there. Yeah. So you can get back and you can really like get that backup, like it's it's there and ready for you.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Yeah. And I think it teaches you a lot about your dog that maybe you didn't know. And you know, when we that learning itself, learning how to manage your dog in different ways, like this, like we're talking about exercise and different ways that you can exercise your dog. Like, that wouldn't have even been a thought on my brain, like 10 years ago, you know.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

So, one of my thoughts might be another one for me and my dogs in the morning. I I live more at that side of the house now than I do at this side of the house. We've got like different spaces here at Bowerland and Devon Dogs in the center. But in the past, when I used more that side of the house, it might have even been 20 minutes in the morning of massive scatter feeding, me having a cup of coffee, reading a book or newspaper, typically not me answering a million emails and checking with teams. But that would be a really nice way of me ditching the walk, but also giving them enrichment. They're having scent breakfast, they're out and about, they've got time to wee and mooch and sniff and do all the other things. It's us that designed the walk. Yeah, let's redesign it, let's undesign it. Yeah, let's like have a bit of a with it. Like it's such a big difference.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

You know, even my walks now look different anyway. So, like a walk in my mind, and what like how I grew up was very much just you take your dog somewhere where you can let them off lead and you just let them run around. And sometimes that's really nice, like that loose sleeve freedom that we want to give our dogs. Absolutely, when it's appropriate, it is lovely, but it doesn't mean it has to be all the time. And if your dog's not making those appropriate choices, and it probably shouldn't be. We we look at now though, we look at like we call it a training walk, but I love I love it. I don't really feel like it's training because it that sounds like it's uh like we're working really hard. You know, we're not just having loads of fun. But sometimes my walks look like on the moor today, we did scent work. Like I she was she had a bit of offly shreedom, yes, but she also did a bit of scent work with her Kong. She's just messing around, just putting it out there and letting her find it. And then we also did a bit of like what I would call pro we'd call pro-perception work, where she was getting up onto the rocks, getting down off the rocks, and she's like walking over uneven ground but really slowly and like uh what would you call it? Uh intentionally.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Yeah, intentional, intentional. What you love is their like whole feet and their toes, it's like dexterity and everything else. It's real good feedback for them.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Lovely, lovely feedback. Great for preventing injury as well, really huge because they're understanding how their limbs work rather than just and Siri for sure is one of those dogs that barrels into things and doesn't think. Yeah, you know, which um really gorgeous.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Love it, absolutely love it.

Timing Walks To Avoid Triggers

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Like but we can do that in the home as well, though, can't we? So that's the that's when we talk about exercise, you know, not walks, there's different ways that that can happen. So I could do something similar to that, what I did on the mall today in my house. Yeah, I could get cushions on the floor, I could get, I've got some like yoga blocks, or I've got like some rubbery mat things that I do for exercise that have got like little bubbles on them. And there's loads of yeah, I've got like a exercise mat, a bath mat. Yeah. So there's loads of different textures and heights, and you can get them walking over it. You could put your legs there.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

The other thing for me is just actually there are some times you just know it's not safe, bonfi night, um Christmas sort of day for me, and boxing day when everyone's out. And there are times that it's just not so good. And then the other thing, like right now, we've got the pleasant pheasant, he is everywhere, she is everywhere. Yeah, there are times when I just think for my gun dogs, I don't necessarily want you like all up and excited and about like gonna go pick up pheasants. Actually, what I really want is you to just walk. Well, sometimes that's not possible. There's too much going on for me. What can I do instead of? How can I replace that swimming? Another fantastic one for me. We win swimming pool every birthday, had loads of fun in swimming pool with the dog. Like there's so many alternate ways. So, really, most of all, we want people to think about exercise. Yeah, that's where we want to leave it, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Variety. Think of it as exercise, it doesn't have to be a walk. It can be a walk, walks are fine, but it doesn't have to be, and then you definitely can create variety in your dog's life and your life, let's be fair.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

It gives flexibility, it gives fun, it's enabling, it gives permission, it allows you to have a good time with your dog, it allows you to effectively lose some guilt as well, because actually you start to put yourself in a more flexible schedule. And does that make your life easier, Sam?

Games Club Offer And What You Get

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, I live a fairly drizzle life, I know you do as well, and timings aren't they don't they don't work for us because there's too, you know, rigid timings do not work because there's too much other stuff going on. So being able to ditch those walks, you know, and and do them in a different way or have them in a different time, time of day, it really helps. I don't know how I actually know how how I did it before that. I don't I don't I couldn't go back.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

I couldn't go back. It's hard for the dogs to then adjust it that when you make it so fixed and rigid. There's an expectation, isn't there?

SPEAKER_00 15:52

So you get that dog that's like fizzy fizzy energy because they know it's walk time, but that's not always great for your walks because you've got a dog then that's high as a kite, and then you're going outside and expecting them to walk nicely on leads and they've been anticipating it for weeks and weeks and weeks or months and months.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Every day leading up to the ball. I'm thinking, I'm thinking for me with the holiday, I've been like weeks and weeks and weeks thinking about the holiday, thinking about the holiday. And that's how my head goes when it comes to a walk. That's every day. Yeah, that's every day, or twice a day, or three times a day. Like, God, like, yeah, it that's a biggie.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

That's a big big mad. And I think and I think, you know, so in terms of behaviour, this can help massively, which I mean says it all really, like we could do better.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

I think for me, the biggest sort of takeaway would be it makes your life better, it makes you able to function better, knowing your dog is also functioning better. The other thing I think you just raised this really well when we were chatting, actually, for Siri, you have a calmer, happier dog day to day because you are not putting her in situations she can't handle.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

Yeah. If I was to constantly put her in those situations, all she's doing is practicing that same behavior over and over again. So if I'm expecting that to change when I'm actually just doing the same thing, it's just not going to work out. And also, sometimes, like, especially like off-lead walks and stuff like that, although they're lovely and they're lovely to be able to give to our dogs, when they do those sorts of walks, it she can be like really high as a kite all the time. So we're practicing this massive like energy spike. Whereas in the house, when we're doing, we can be doing sort of we call it a balance stand or a square stand, um where she's kind of practicing being in a certain shape. Or she might be doing things like Cavaletti, where you're you're slowing them down, those sorts of things, like they change behavior because you're working on their less you know. I feel after yoga, or I mean I have a plasma session once a week.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

It's just I love it. Yeah, it's just there are very few things that I'm like really inflexible with. Um like I'm not flexible at all with that session, it stays in my diary. So, unless I'm really not here, I leave that session in my diary because I know that's when the trainer can do it, and I love it. Yeah, so what I suppose I'm saying is different forms of exercise can deliver different forms of energy and feeling. And for good after it, I always feel and yeah, I didn't leave the house. I did it in the living room. It's not like a it and it's exercise.

unknown 18:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

Yeah, I'm not out there running, I'm not on a bike, I'm not out there swimming or jogging or doing anything else. I feel mentally refreshed, I feel physically good. I feel yeah, I mean, that for me is my best example, Pilates.

Variety, Flexibility And Better Behaviour

SPEAKER_00 18:21

I think because I look I do I do uh particular types of workout, like I do strength workouts, I do hit workouts, sometimes I play ice hockey. Sometimes my hit workouts, I'll push myself to the point where I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I'm not gonna lie. I know we don't have that stop, that stop kind of push. I have the stop, you know, that means when I do stop point, I'll break myself before I stop. But the strength workouts, they are much slower. I'm not going like red in the face, I don't feel like I'm gonna throw up or anything like that. But they wear me out so much more. I am so much more sore after those. I've done more um intentional exercise in those than I do the HIIT workouts. If I went for a run, I'd break because I just don't have that body for that. And when I look at my dog, when I look at Siri and what we do, if I take her out on a walk, yeah, she's had a great time, and she definitely has got some exercise. She is way more knackered at home when we've done like a strength workout or something where she's had to use her brain as well. She is so much more worn out, and it's not a long time. I've done like a strength workout with her before, where we just got her doing like some sits to downs to stands to sit to downs to stands, such a simple movement for maybe five minutes. She slept for four hours afterwards.

A Simple Core Exercise For Dogs

SPEAKER_01 19:27

So we're working on an exercise from my physio. I think you'll love this exercise. And I'm sure everyone at home will love the exercise, it's a real core exercise. And all you need to do at first, and I say all because that takes in itself half an hour sometimes, is get a square sit. Okay. So you've got square set. So I saw a picture of a dog yesterday. And I literally was like, I can't actually unsee that. So once I'd seen it, I'm gonna show you if I can find it, because I actually think I saved it. The second I saw it, I was like, I'm gonna save it, and then I'm gonna tell them. And I was like, No, I'm not, I'm just gonna leave it alone because you need to not tell everybody everything. No, yeah. But there, I saw that, and then I saw the next picture. Same. And then I saw the next picture, and I was like, oh my god, all the pictures are like terrible. Like, this poor dog sit is horrific. No, Jake Pop is dying. She's dying. Tell everyone what you saw.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

Oh, how I don't even know how to describe it. Splayed legs is the is all I can think of. You know where you do hip exercises? Like, if you as a human, if you do hip opening exercises where you kind of like open your legs on the floor and you do like a down, it made me choke with that.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

I was that upset.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

That upset. What is it in yoga when you put your head down and you're down with dog? No, it's not. That's the button in the air. I don't know. Right, but don't know. But you put your hands down on the floor, it's a shoulder exercise. Anyway, you put your legs, your your knees right out. Laid out laid out. It looked like that. Like a frog. That's a good exercise.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah. Like a frog. Basically, your dog's feet should be tucked in underneath them in a sit. So anyway, the exercise goes, number one, you get the tux sit. Yeah. When you're happy with your tuck sit, you then just get them to reach up for a little treat and engage the belly. So there, sit in your penis straight sit, fini straight, just come forwards for that. Just come forwards for that. Yeah, and then say sitting again. You're not leaving, you're just coming up to a little. And you're just gonna do that. It's literally as simple as that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

That's such a slight movement.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Like it's core, it's like pelvic floor, it's all of it when you do that movement.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Have you ever done like pro-perception work where you try and balance and someone like throws a ball at your body? I love it. And by the end of it, you're like, why is my ankle hurting? I love it. I love it. They're really good.

Final Takeaway And Sign Off

SPEAKER_01 21:29

I love it. We should do more of that. We should do some of that. I think I think we should. I think it's really funny to do it. It is fun. Analyzer that as well. Love to do that. Yeah, you can. But they're really, they're really they work parts of our body where we're like, why is that hurting the most important thing? It should not be that hard. And that's that's what we're trying to do with our dogs. Yeah. So most of all, we're redesigning the walk. Yeah. We're saying exercise, not dog walks. Yeah, exercise, movement, not dog walks. Your dog will thank you for watching. Right? Your dog will thank you.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Yeah, absolutely. And I think you'll you'll thank you as well because you Will have so much more flexibility in your life and such fun time with your dog.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

In fact, I don't think I really don't think. I know. We know. We know.