Question for All You Dog Walkers Out There

carres1973

carres1973

Cathlete
I walk my dog pretty much every day...at least when it isn't raining. This winter, even when it was FREEZING, I put on a face mask and we went a-walkin'.

I have been walking anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on how much time I have. I would really like to speed up in my walks but here's the rub. My dog is a hooligan! She is just barely able to walk beside me. Actual walking to-heel with a loose leash? Forget it!! I spend the majority of my walk annoyed with her and constantly pulling back on whatever harness/collar/contraption we are trying that month. My question is, should I give up trying to get her to walk nicely and just go at the pace I want?

Even better, if I try jogging, she starts running like she is a husky and we are running the Iditarod! She doesn't just trot or walk faster, her front legs actually "mush" front to back like a husky...or a cheetah!

The other issue is dog-agressiveness. When we pass MOST dogs, she acts like she is going to attack - growling, barking, hackles raised... I have tried several different techniques to no avail. I have tried spinning her around, facing the opposite way and hold her neck (simulating biting with my fingers), holding her mouth closed, bringing her to the ground (supposedly to show dominance), etc. all to no avail. I am afraid to enlist her in any type of obedience class for fear of her reaction to the other dogs! I am going to try and find a one-on-one training session for her to deal with the dog-agressiveness. It is scary!

Carrie
 
Carrie,

I'm right with you on the walks in the frigid weather. Except I finally decided never to walk when it's icy -- just not worth the risk.

Think of training your dog's walking as though you were training any other skill or trick. I used treats as rewards for walking next to me, or for slowing down if she got too fast. Eventually, you use fewer treats, and then none. Your dog will start to get the idea that staying next to master has its rewards!

Another thing I've discovered is that when I don't want to stop (frankly, I'm trying to get some cardio benefit), but I see some distraction coming up, I will jog with her for a bit. Once in motion, a dog wants to move forward, so she just runs right past whatever tree or post she would have stopped at. You could try that to get past the other dogs too.
 
Jane A said:
Carrie,

I'm right with you on the walks in the frigid weather. Except I finally decided never to walk when it's icy -- just not worth the risk.

Think of training your dog's walking as though you were training any other skill or trick. I used treats as rewards for walking next to me, or for slowing down if she got too fast. Eventually, you use fewer treats, and then none. Your dog will start to get the idea that staying next to master has its rewards!

Another thing I've discovered is that when I don't want to stop (frankly, I'm trying to get some cardio benefit), but I see some distraction coming up, I will jog with her for a bit. Once in motion, a dog wants to move forward, so she just runs right past whatever tree or post she would have stopped at. You could try that to get past the other dogs too.
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Great suggestion! I am going to try this one tonight.

I will also take some small treats with me. DH bought a "clicker" but I have no idea what I am supposed to do with that!

Carrie
 
My dog Shiloh has the same dog aggression problem that you decribe with your dog. I initially tried the same things you did, make him sit, grab him by the neck, turn him around, etc. Nothing worked! In order to find what is working, it may help to know if the aggression is dominance, or if it is fear aggression. In my dog's case it was fear aggression. What has worked for me is having him sit while the other dog walks by and I have a treat in my hand. It used to be that he would go ballistic every time he saw another dog in a 5 mile radius, we are now to the point that another dog can pass by on most occassions without him freaking out. So now he associates another dog walking by with something positive, the treat. There will be occassions that he still goes off on the deep end which is when I use this http://www.amazon.com/THE-COMPANY-O...ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1274733649&sr=8-1

As to your dog pulling, the harness the has helped is a sensation collar as well as every time they pulled ahead of me. I stop, pull the leash, say uh uh and walk in the other direction. It will take a while for dogs to get it and consistency is key. I know it's pretty annoying but try to keep your emotion under control because dogs can sense that you are tense and it will trigger even more of the unwanted behavior. Same is valid for the dog aggression. I noticed with myself that every time we saw another dog I dreaded it and probably triggered some anxiety in my dog myself.

It's hard to tell without seeing you and your dog interact but it may be worth a try.

HTH
 
Hi Carrie, . . . I don't know if I'm someone that should even be giving you advice since I just had to return my dog to the shelter because of dominant agression :( it broke my heart, . .but I can tell you what I think. If you think your dog has agression, . . . seek the help of a professional. He/she will be able to tell you what kind of agression, . . .fear, protective, dominant etc. Each type of agression has a different treatment. My dog had the hair standing on the back gums exposed "I'm going to win" expression on his face. Dominant agression. Aparently the worse kind. :( It was down right scary. If you have a puller I reccomend the Premier Gentle Leader Headcollar. Worked wonders when trying to get control of a situation. Just make sure it fits just right. I love huskies. Good luck. Trust me I know how frustrating it can be. Keep us posted. Just be careful when correcting him, . . .when I corrected my dog it made things worse. The Gentle Leader allows you to correct him without pain.
 
Carola - you are so right! Any time I see another dog or Sandy (that's my girl's name) starts pulling, I get frustrated and anxious. Maybe Sandy feels that tension through the leash and in my demeanor. I will try a couple different options but give each time to work. I am thinking it is fear agression just based on some of her behavior. She wines like she wants to "meet" the dog but when a dog comes up to her and tries to "greet" her as dogs do (butt sniffing), she immediately puts her backside down and spins around barking and growling. That has happened with the dogs owners don't have on a leash (GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!) who run up to her. And I would be responsible if Sandy were to bite their dog??!!

Janie - thank you for your suggestion. I value your opinion, especially since you went through an episode of dog agression. I found a couple dog behaviorists in my area. One actually works with your dog while they stay at their "hotel."

While searching, I did find my dream job...at Barkley Hotel! http://www.thebarkleypethotel.com/

Carrie
 
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carres1973 said:
That has happened with the dogs owners don't have on a leash (GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!) who run up to her. And I would be responsible if Sandy were to bite their dog??!!
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I don't think so if there is a leash law in your area. I'm pretty sure it's owner with the dog off leash.

Boy, my heart goes out to you. My neighborhood is full of dogs off leash. Most of them are little ankle biters who come charging at us from across the street. The owner has no control over the dog charging toward us (Maximus). They all say the same thing..."Oh Pookie(whatever) that big dog will eat you." Umm hello, my dog is under control!!! I want to say, "No, my dog doesn't eat junk food.":p

No matter the size of the dog charging toward us, it's always a heart pounding experience. :( I never know what is in the head of the dog off leash.:confused: I've really had to work on the anxiety I feel when I'm faced with this situation, which is almost every walk. I'm taking the Cesar approach and trying to look at it as an opportunity to work with my dog ,and my own anxiety.
What I really want to do is choke the freaking owners!!!:mad::mad::mad:
 
I know! I had one guy actually lie and say "I don't know how he got off the leash." Ummm, riiight! And I didn't see you take your dog back OFF the leash as you walked away. He was also the guy that when the dog came running up to Sandy yelled "He's a good dog. He'll be fine." What is a "good dog?" His dog came running at mine across the street because he was naturally curious. Sandy doesn't like to be sniffed. Was his "good dog" supposed to intuitively know that? I ended up grabbing my 50 pound dog and holding her in my arms until he came across the street to put his dog back on its leash.

Carrie
 
On the whole off leash thing -- I don't get it. It's totally illegal where I am and I would never want to deal with the legal crap if one dog were to bite another during an off leash issue. Just don't get it.

My Evee was pretty aggressive when we got her. She's still one of the more aggressive ones in the dog park (until the great dane or the st. bernard tell her to shove it), but she's a lot better and I think its because we were diligent on her walks. She is more playful with other dogs but most of the other dog walkers in my area just freak when dogs are being dogs so we had some real control issues. Being consistent with the dog park has certainly helped our dog with socializing and being around other dogs but unfortunately, I think sometimes with our schedules we haven't been doing enough (I even started testing out people to take her to the park while I'm still at work so she can get her socialization).

We did two things that really seemed to help. One, whenever she got in front of us, we turned around so we'd be in front of her and keep on doing that until she learned to stay behind or to the side of us. It made walks take forever but it seemed to work; Carola seems to say the same thing (great minds...). The other thing is we make her sit on the corner of every street. In the beginning, it took forever for her to learn it but I would bring treats I could break easily and give her small pieces whenever she sat. Again, made the walk take forever but now, at least with me for the most part, she's loose leash next to me and patiently sits at each corner waiting for me to step into the street.

As for running, DH runs with Evee and man, she's fast since she's part greyhound. But he did the same turn around trick we did with the walks and now for the most part she's behind or to the side of him. Also, we realized our dog tires out earlier if you take her running when its warmer so DH endured going later in the day during the summer runs to basically tire her out until she'd be more compliant at cooler temperatures.

hth
 
Don't even get me started on the off leash dogs in my area. We have very clear leash laws and it seems for some people these only apply to other people. :eek: I don't know how many times I have an ignorant owner yell at the top of their lungs for the dog to come back, the dog doesn't and then they assure me that their dog is nice. Really? So comforting, while I try to keep the flippin' dog to jump one of my 5 dogs, one of which does not like other dogs. So even if your dog is "nice", maybe one of mine isn't, particularly when he gets jumped.

I think it is really inconsiderate. I don't mind it if people really have control over their dogs but most don't. The other day I was biking in the park with my dogs when these 2 huge chocolate labs were charging at me. Here I was on my bike with 2 dogs. And those idiots don't even think this is a problem. So I yelled at them if they would be so kind to control their dogs. Then THEY read ME the riot act about being "difficult". Excuse me? Your two 100+ lbs dogs are running towards me at full speed, I have to jump off my bike to not be knocked off the bike by your out of control dogs, you break the law and I am being "difficult"??? Do I think that two labradors will bite or attack me? Probably not. But I don't want to be knocked over and have to control your dogs on top of mine either.



Geez!!! Off my soap box now and back to our regular scheduled program :eek:
 
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