We’re in a lazy phase.
Between ridiculous work schedules, travel (John and I are only home together 10 days this month), more doctors’ appointments than you can even imagine (mine here and in Indy, Emmett’s here and at Purdue, Newt’s and Coop’s annuals), plus two weekend visits from out-of-towners, our October has dissolved before our very eyes. Walking the dogs has – sadly, guiltily – become a rare occurrence this month.
And it shows.
With Lucas and Cooper, walking is so important because we constantly have to work with them on reactivity. Little slips result in big backslides. My most recent walk with Lucas demonstrated that clearly.
There’s this spot on our block where there’s a set of steps built into the side of a hill. You can bypass the steps and go into the park, or walk down and go along this windy little trail. I never, ever, EVER take Lucas on that trail because it’s super narrow and the woods are so overgrown that you literally can’t see a dog coming until they’re nose-to-nose.
On this particular walk, as we were bypassing the stairs, a couple of people were walking up them. They took Lucas by surprise, and he started to strain at the leash, growling. He’s not normally one to react to people, so I should’ve seen it as the red flag it was.
I had my cheese, of course, so I stuck the can in his mouth and got him past before it could turn into a full-blown reaction.
We turned into the park just as a guy with a big husky turned into the park from the other side. I immediately started in on “watch-mes” and picked up our pace, but he was whipping his head around to stare at the dog and whining his face off.
After one loop of the park, I could tell he wasn’t going to let this other dog go. He was responding to “watch me” but as soon as he got his reward, he went back to staring down the dog. So rude.
So, I decided to head home.
And, of course (of. course.) as soon as we got to the spot with the stairs, not only were more people coming up – starting a round of growling and straining – but a man and his off-leash dog were out for a jog on that same side of the street. We crossed immediately, but Lucas was just zoned at that point, ignoring my cues and the cheese. We were only a few houses away, so I timed our pace to cross the runners with a car between us to block Lukey’s vision then darted across the street and up our porch.
On the one hand, compared to the “old” Lucas, it wasn’t that bad. Nothing turned into a full-blown reaction. I’m thrilled about that and have been trying to focus on that instead of his lack of focus and growling at dog-less people.
Things look far more settled and routine for the November ahead, so my big and only goal for the boys is to get back into a regular walking schedule. We need it!!
How have your walks been going lately? Do you ever slip into periods like this where you just can’t fit it all in? Or, if not, what are your strategies for staying on top of walks?
An eye-opening visit to the UT vet school
Hey lady, stop being so hard on yourself. I fall into the really really bad mom category, the one that doesn’t take her only dog out for a walk due to lack of energy after a long day at work. I know I’m not really a bad mom for not taking Cash out but I really should do more with him. We used to do classes, any class really just to get him out and work on his doggy/people skills. I’ve had a few not so awesome sessions there so we’ve stopped going. I started looking at other places but most are in toronto and I don’t have the time to drive 3hrs round trip, I should start looking at other training facilities in Barrie Your boys are so lucky they have you home (usually) during the day and their brothers and Newt to play and cuddle with. Cash is a loner, he has started coming on little outings with me, drives to pick my daughter up, stuff like that. Even though he doesn’t like car rides he loves spending the one with me, it’s something. Ideally Id love nothing more than to spend everyday doing what Cash would want to do, lay in the sun or in front of the fireplace, go for long smelly walks in the woods but life/work other family get in the way. This is more for me than it is for you but I think sometimes we should look at what we do with/for our pets instead of what we couldn’t do with them. I’m feeling kinda guilty still
Things have been moving at a frantic pace, and although Juli has still gotten his pack walks in, I haven’t walked Ray in ages.
I am pretty consistant when it comes to walks, and due to me and Mojo’s last fiasco, I hired a dog trainer, to work with him on simple obedience. The trainer recommended I invest in a prong collar, and use it in conjunction with the clicker method and treats. Initially I was opposed to the prong collar, because my Mojo had already been through a lot. He is a rescue, and he had to undergo several treatments for heart worm. The prong collar looked barbaric, but when the trainer brought over an extra collar, and showed me how to use it. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s only used for quick correction, and my dog was not resistant at all. In fact he seems to feel more confident with the collar, and I rarely have problems with lunging. My trainer has not had the opportunity to see him react towards other dogs, so right now, I walk before any one gets up to go to work in the morning, and when i get home, we walk around 7:30p, and not many dog walkers are out at that time. When I do come across another dog, I don’t over react like I did before, by tightening up the leash, I simply try to go in the opposite direction, or create as much distance from the other dog as I can. I also reward him with lots of verbal praise and treats, when he walks nicely. Consistency is the key. I know that it’s easier said than done, but thats the only waymy dog will learn, and having a stress free walk is worth the sacrafice. Try finding 10 minutes twice a day to take your dog on short walks.
Ugh, I’ve been terrible recently. My landlord won’t let dogs in the backyard anymore (no one else uses it of course…) so we have to walk Billy but, as my husband has been stuck in the house waiting for a work permit to come through he’s been doing nearly all the walks for months. As his only other dog was a retired military dog with two missing legs he really hasn’t had any experience working with a dog like Billy. I should really be helping with the training…
Because Justice is soooooo reactive, I found a new leash that I really like. It wraps around the belly to a center ring in the middle of the back with a clip to the collar. I finally got to test it on Sunday. I usually try and walk my dogs off leash as much as possible because they just enjoy it so much. The place we were walking is very quite. In fact, it is an access road to get to powerlines. So, everything was gong good, until we came up over the top of a hill, and further down the path, I could see smoke. So I rounded them all up, slapped the leash on Justice, and proceeded. It went much better than I expected, actually. And with that experience, I now an fully aware that it is Justice that is the highly reactive one. I called the other two over to my side of the path and we went our merry way. He still pulls a bit with the leash on, but this was one of the best experiences that I have had with him!!
Sometimes those schedules just mess up everything. But we are understanding. Today we were on a walkie and we were coming under a tunnel and these bike riders were coming into the tunnel, flying fact! Mom screamed cuz she though we were gonna be killed and the bikers swerved to miss us. I was so scared, mom never saw me like that before. it took me quite some time to settle down.
Your Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Wow, that sounds like a rough walk. I’ve had a few of those before and it can be pretty frustrating, but it sounds like Lucas is making a lot of progress and that’s what matters. Yeah, we all have those busy times when our pups don’t get out as much as they should 🙂
Yep. Work is getting into the busy season and walks have gotten shorter and darker and colder. We try to walk during “off” hours: Before 7 am and before 5 pm. That way there are no dogs and few people and we have a little bit more freedom. But with the longer days at work, we’re really coming up close to “dog walking hour” in our small city and it’s becoming a real pain. I try to get her out as early as possible and put her on our 30 foot lead in an open walking area, so I can call her back in time if anyone shows up, but so that she gets to run around and sniff everything on our walk in a shorter amount of time. Luckily, her dog reactivity has mostly gone from, “MOM! I NEED TO KILL THAT BEFORE IT KILLS ME!” TO “MOM! I NEED TO GO MEET THAT DOG AND SEE IF IT WILL BE MY FRIEND!” So it’s a little less stressful, but no less rude on her part. I also befriended our trainer and Daisy befriended her dogs (it’s an excellent life strategy) so she offered to pick Daisy up for daycare when she’s headed that direction. It’s a nice cheat option.
I certainly have times when my schedule just gets crazy and the regular walks aren’t so regular. As winter approaches even a longer than normal workday can result in a night time walk in the dark. I try to add training sessions when a walk just can’t happen. Teaching a new game or trick can substitute occasionally. Sometimes the convergence of squirrels and rabbits is just a perfect strorm and my hound mix just gets crazy which can make for a bad walk. I try to just not get frustrated and focus on the overall progress I’ve made with him. Just like a bad day at work – Shake It Off!
Oh, don’t feel bad. I’m sure things will go much better this month when you have more time to work with him. I know it is also helpful to others with reactive dogs to hear about your occasional struggles because no dog or person is perfect.
I’m thankful Ace is not reactive, however I have been slacking lately by not working with him on staying calm and not pulling when we see other dogs. I mostly just hold him back, which isn’t teaching him a more appropriate behavior. This week, I started to make a point to carry treats on walks so I can get his attention and reward him for paying attention to me instead of the other dogs.
Hope November brings less stress for all of you.
Walks are so important. But I find other brain stimulating activities can take the edge off when you can’t take walks. It’s one reason we always feed Honey using food toys. And why we rely on nose work games when walks aren’t as plentiful as they should be.
Oh, believe me, I have periods like that all the time. It doesn’t take much to set me off my routines. We at least still get out in the yard to play almost daily, but I still want the dogs to get a walk for a change of scenery.
We have had such lousy weather the last couple of weeks, and we get out in the yard to play in between pouring rain showers, so walks have not been squeezed in.