Cartographer's Quest - Scentventure

Summer adventures! Packing up the car with snacks, maps and dogs and setting forth on a road trip. The thrill of plotting out a route for your day, enjoying stretches of scenic vistas, and planning stop off points along the way. With a little imagination you can do all of that in just one dog walk – and with the extra bonus of improving your dog’s loose lead walking skills!

In this challenge we’re combining straight stretches of loose lead walking with stops at Scentventure Stations.

Why?

Because loose lead walking training can be demanding in terms of energy and effort. Scentventure Stations are pauses on your walk. They give you a break from your dog’s pulling and develop interaction with them so it’s not just you on one end of the lead and them on the other ignoring you.

At the Stations your dog is being rewarded for engaging with you on a loose lead, thereby reinforcing loose lead walking, even when you’re not directly working on loose lead walking!

Rewarding your dog for engagement makes them more likely to choose to stay close to you. Think of Scentventure Stations as the means to create an umbilical cord of connection.

Method

At Dogwood or out on your everyday dog walks, look for an area with several Scentventure Stations and gaps between them.
The gaps between the Stations are where you will practice loose lead walking. Use your preferred loose lead walking method (let us know if you don’t have one yet)
Stop at a Station for a quick activity. For example, you could hide treats on a log, or invite you dog to jump up onto it, walk across it or circle around a tree! The key is to get your dog engaging with you.
Start loose lead walking again, heading towards your next Scentventure Station.

Breaking the walk up in this way, with short intense bursts of loose lead walking practice takes the pressure off both you and your dog and makes for a more pleasant experience. Over time you won’t need to pause so often, and the stretches of loose lead walking become longer.

Method

At Dogwood or out on your everyday dog walks, look for an area with several Scentventure Stations and gaps between them.

The gaps between the Stations are where you will practice loose lead walking. Use your preferred loose lead walking method (let us know if you don’t have one yet)

Stop at a Station for a quick activity. For example, you could hide treats on a log, or invite you dog to jump up onto it, walk across it or circle around a tree! The key is to get your dog engaging with you.

Breaking the walk up in this way, with short intense bursts of loose lead walking practice takes the pressure off both you and your dog and makes for a more pleasant experience. Over time you won’t need to pause so often, and the stretches of loose lead walking become longer.

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