Left or Right?

Looking into headcollars and other training aids and most of them say - please email us for special requirements eg: walking on the right.

So Do you walk your dog on your left or right?

I've always walked my dogs on the right - but using both hands on the lead, Loop in the left and holding down the right for some extra grip, but if I'm having a good day with the dogs - I use both hands on the right.

If I walk Sadie and Benjie together - they walk both on my right - Sadie on my inside and Benjie on my outside - cos Benjie has DA problems I try and get him to walk on my inside so he sees Sadie not reacting - Sadie doesnt like it and will wiggle her way next to me - well she is my shadow

Louie - well it's a drag not a walk and being part Springer - he weaves - not as much as he used to but she still weaves...

So left or right? Which is better? and Why?

i would be interested to read the replies too i have always switched so that the dog was on the inside - furthest from the curb and it hadnt occured to me not to do that so this will be a good lesson

IMHO you should get your dog used to walking on both sides of your body.

For several reasons:

1 You may have an injured arm, what then?
2 It prevents a dog becoming too one sided
3 As a KC approved GCDS examiner, one of the things many candidates are marked as "not ready" for, is failure to keep their dogs on the inside when walking on a road with no pavement..................
4 Sometimes it is beneficial or even necessary when having two or more dogs to walk with one on either side of you instead of both on the same side.

Just a few of my personal thoughts.........

Kiki on my left and Casper on my right. If I walk them individually then it's left, unless we have to walk on the road (no pavement for a bit of our route into town), then I put them on the outside edge away from passing cars.
Most training classes etc. teach you to walk the dog on the left I think. According to Google, this is because hunters used to carry their guns on their right shoulder, not sure how true that is, but someone else makes a point of most people being right-handed - so by walking the dog on the left, it leaves your right hand free for opening doors/gates, and the like.

I mostly walk Daisy on the left as I`m left-handed and I need swift reactions. Shamus goes on either side as he`s a doddle.
I do believe in working a dog on both sides though.

Intresting Krlyr.. I never thought about that - I thought it was just an unwritten law that came about through training.

Guide dogs are trained to walk where there are most obstacles arent they?

Mine are used to both sides - they have to be cos I walk down a lot of country roads. Mine are also trained except Louie atm to trot alongside the mobility scooter of my Dads.
They are only trained to do this if my dad joins us on walks or they have to look after them for any time and as my mum works my dad can take them out in the day. And mine are also taught to run alongside the bike on and offlead (off lead for parks only) Louie hasnt had these lessons yet - need to get him walking properly first
So mine know left and right and Sadie - when Im rollerblading with her - knows "Hike" which you mushers may know means go faster in which case she will be in front of me we like rollerblading

I always walk them on the left, always have However I always make sure that they can walk either side, just in case as I will walk them on the right if needed for safety.

Mine are always walked both sides. (as other have said - on the inside so no playing with the traffic!)

However - due to the fact when I was younger Everything was trained on the left - I still feel wrong and disorganised working a dog on the right!

It depends which side of the road I'm walking on! Toby (when he's behaving!) walks on whichever side is furthest from the traffic. Unless I'm walking with my partner, in which case Toby likes to walk between us (and is much better behaved when he's in the middle too).

I trained mine on the left, and the trainer told us we had to stick to whichever side we decided on, and it was only later on Dogsey that I learned this is wrong, so nowadays, sometimes I bring her over to the right, but neither of us likes it, and if I call her to heel, she will always favour my left side.