Dog On A Lead Day is an exciting new campaign to raise awareness of the many benefits to walking dogs on the lead and to shatter the myth that dogs need to be off the lead to have a fun, fulfilling walk. Many dog owners have experienced the sinking feeling when they see an off-lead dog approaching their sick, nervous, elderly or reactive dog and many dog owners feel worried about walking their dogs due to the prospect of out-of-control dogs causing problems and even harming their dogs.
Launching on 14
th July 2022, #DogOnALeadDay has been created by our founder and behaviourist, Zoe Willingham. After 10 years training dogs, Zoe wants to help dog owners make the most of their time with their own dogs, as well as helping other dog owners have a stress-free walk. Zoe hopes this awareness day will provide people with the opportunity to think about how they walk their dogs and what they can do to make lead walking fun for their dogs and a time for connection with their best friend.
It has become all too commonplace that dogs are let off the lead with unreliable recall, to cause havoc for other dog owners and even harm to livestock. There are many reasons people may be reluctant to walk their dogs on a lead – perhaps their dog has never been taught how to walk nicely on-lead or maybe they simple feel it is what the dog needs. Some people even believe that dogs need to be off-lead as much as possible for them to have a nice life. This is simply not the case.
We want to use this day to encourage dog owners to utilise this powerful tool to protect their own and others’ dogs, as well as livestock, and use it as an opportunity to spend quality time connecting with their pets.
We would love for people to join in by using the hashtag, #DogOnALeadDay, to let us know how your on-lead walks are going! Share your struggles and successes, so we can help the nation improve the quality of their on-lead walks and showcase the fun to be had! You can talk about your favourite walks or even your favourite leads to use. We want to see people getting creative, coming up with their own ways of celebrating their relationship with their dog on a lead and owners uniting to support the community of reactive dog owners, too.
Ways to Celebrate #DogOnALeadDay:
- Put your dog on a lead for the day, so reactive and nervous dogs can walk without worry for at least that day!
- Organise a dog walk with a friend or as a group.
- Plan three fun things to do on your walk with your dog on a lead – maybe a trick or two, some sniffing or spending time watching the world go by whilst having a cuddle with your dog.
- Tell other people about the day!
- Swat up on your lead walking before the big day.
- Have fun with your dog and enjoy the time and connection together.
