Crossing Streets with Dogs

Crossing the streets with your dog can be very tricky; therefore, it is important that you know how to cross the street and that you can control your dog.  You should avoid bigger streets and heavy traffic hours if you are not comfortable with either one of the two points I just mentioned because you can become a hazard to yourself, your dog and others.  Keep in mind that your dog does not know traffic rules, your dog walks the way you trained it to or from his/her born instinct.

As your dog age, his/her ability to walk might change, he might not listen to you as well because he/she may no longer walk as fast or as far as he/she used to be able to.  The last thing you want is for your dog to stop in the middle when you are trying to cross in heavy traffic.  This has never happened to me but Q has once stopped in the middle of a non-busy street with only one car approaching.

Make sure that your leash is tight/short when you are crossing the street and allow it the leash to extend only when you are done crossing so your dog can run ahead.

Remember, the bigger the street, the longer the wait because there's more distractions such as lights, non-working lights, stuff to smell, etc, etc.