Black Lab Coffee

Dog pulling on lead? Are more walks the answer?

Pawgust poster guide dogs

Black Labrador with poster

Come on Audrey lets go for a walk!! Jump jump, donut. Bang! Crash!! Fifteen more donuts…

There’s no doubt that when Audrey, our black Labrador, so much as sees us pick up our running shoes or open the drawer in the kitchen that contains her dog lead and poo bags, her excitement for a walk gets the better of her. She is, quite simply, nuts. Totally overcome by her own excitement.

Recently I have noticed Audrey’s behaviour during the first 10 minutes of our walk is highly reactive. For the first 10 minutes of our walk she pulls on the leash like crazy, barks at any dog in sight and smells every bush, piece of grass and post we come across, all the while dragging and throwing the person at the end of the dog lead around like a down hill moguls skier. There’s no doubt that Audrey’s behaviour on the lead is directly proportional to the sense of guilt that we feel for not walking her enough.

We are a fairly typical family, mum and dad both work full time and we have a 15 month old child. We love Audrey very much but she probably hasn’t had the same attention since our little one arrived on the scene. Back when mum was religiously following the Kayla Itsines program, Audrey was getting walked every day and I can remember after about a month she became a much calmer dog, pulled a lot less on her dog lead and generally didn’t seem concerned with the things that are currently setting her off.

Recently we received an invitation in the mail from Guide Dogs Australia to advertise their great initiative “PAWGUST”. Put simply “PAWGUST” is a chance to raise money for Guide Dogs Australia by walking your dog for 30 minutes for 30 days in August. Friends and family can sponsor you to raise funds to help these gorgeous pups change someone’s life by becoming guide dogs.

For those of you who know Audrey, she is always eager to help her doggie friends. So, in a move that is not at all rooted in self-interest, she has put her paw up for the challenge. For those of you who would like to see how she goes, we will document our journey on our Black Lab Coffee Instagram and Facebook accounts.

We look forward to sharing our journey with Audrey (also affectionately known as ‘Dingbat’) as she returns to the chilled Labrador we know she can be. Better yet, we hope you and your dogs will join us in signing up to the challenge and share your journey with us by tagging us on our Instagram or Facebook page! For more information visit www.pawgust.com.au

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