Walking your adolescent dog and the pram at once, and why that walk needs a smaller job

You have 2 hands. One is on the pram, and the other is holding an adolescent dog who has spotted a hedge. This used to be your dog's walk, and it is now a school-run leg with a deadline.

Decide what this walk is for

A walk you have to finish by 8:50am is transport. Training needs a walk you are allowed to stop, shorten or abandon, and this is not that walk. So the standard drops to 1 thing: your dog does not get to spend 15 minutes practising dragging you toward every hedge.

Manage the pram walk this week

1. 1

   Shorten it. 10 minutes of steady walking beats 25 minutes of hauling, and the leftover energy has better outlets at home.

2. 2

   Use a well-fitted front-attach harness, so a lunge turns your dog rather than pulling the buggy sideways.

3. 3

   Keep your dog on the outside of the pram, away from the kerb, and always on the same side.

4. 4

   Carry food in the hand nearest your dog, and pay them every 3 or 4 steps for walking level with the wheels.

5. 5

   Walk with a second adult for the first 2 weeks where you can, so each person has 1 job.

Train loose lead somewhere else

1. 1

   Split the walks. The pram trip is transport, and a separate 15 minute dog-only walk is where the lead work happens.

2. 2

   Pick a quiet stretch with no deadline, 10 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week.

3. 3

   Pay generously while the lead is slack, and stand still rather than pulling back when it tightens.

4. 4

   Add the pram back in only once a quiet street is easy, and start at 5 minutes.

Behaviour change is built from management plus reinforcement together. The harness and the shorter route are the management, and the food you hand out is the reinforcement. Reward-based methods are what the veterinary behaviour guidance recommends, and a busy street is no reason to abandon them.

Today's version, in one line: put the front-attach harness on, cut tomorrow's pram walk to 10 minutes, and pay every 3 steps.