Group Walk Was Not Fun

[corky]

Corky and I have been walking and running together since mid December. He's become very good on leash and knows basic obedience commands including "heel". He usually walks or runs on a loose leash. He has a high prey drive and is easily distracted by smells, so when he's walking, its not uncommon for his head to be down and for him to sometimes pull back when he's interested in something other than our walk. We have a few routes that we use on a regular basis and they're all near my home.

Last night we did a fun walk with a large group of about 50 people including about half a dozen other dogs. I knew it might be overwhelming for him so we arrived early, did some walking around the area on our own and as the group assembled for registration, etc., we stayed back so he could watch without being surrounded. He did fine most of the time.

I don't know if he became bored, if he was cold (despite his jacket), or if something else bothered him, but by the time we were supposed to walk with the group half an hour later, he was DONE. He wanted to go back in the Jeep.

When we started walking, though, he was good. We let everyone else go ahead so we could be at the back of the pack and no one would gain on us.

We crossed a wooden foot bridge (noisy, small, over water) and at the same time a young baby started to cry. Corky was very upset and started pulling me HARD. I do not know if he was trying to get to the baby (to comfort or to attack -- he's never seen a baby) or if he was trying to get away from the crying or the noisy bridge. He would not heel for the rest of the walk. I think he was scared.

I could get him to stop and to sit. Every time he pulled I either had to walk him in a circle or to tell him "stop" and "sit". For half an hour he would not heel. His nose was constantly on the ground, his ears were back, his eyes were not on me, and he was pulling as much as he could.

When we got home he was full of energy. He tossed his Kong and had the zoomies all over our back yard.

Any ideas on how I can make group activites more successful for Corky? I am in a running club and it would sure be nice if he could join me but now I'm not so sure

 

[ihartgonzo]

It sounds like Corky was WAY overstimulated/over threshold. Going from running alone to running with 50 people is a ginormous leap! Try jogging with one or two of your friends and build from there. If you must go on group walks, stay much, much further behind the pack. Far enough that Corky is calm and is not reacting. Bring lots of tiny high value treats, and a clicker, and click-treat him consistently for being calm, watching you, loose leash, etc. Make it a very rewarding and positive experience and don't push him when he obviously doesn't want to do something.

It sounds like Corky was afraid of walking on the bridge. Some dogs are very sensitive to their footing, especially if they weren't introduced to lots of surfaces as a puppy. Practice walking him on bridges/drains/etc. Keep the training sessions very short and calm, and give him a huge jackpot of treats/play for just taking a few steps on an unfamiliar surface.

 

[Maxy24]

Sounds like he was just WAY overwhelmed. He couldn't handle all those people. If you could start by going with a smaller group (3-5), first just people, then maybe people and dogs, he would slowly get more comfortable. Then over time work up to larger and larger groups. You also may want to start rewarding frequently again (as if you were earlier in training) for following commands like heel during group walks. It's similar to when someone goes from training their dog in their yard to training the dog in the pet store, it's much more distracting so you need to make it easier again, go back a few steps in training and rebuild the dog's understanding.

 

[corky]

Thanks. Unfortunately, treats are not a high-value reward. Running or playing is his reward, so usually he behaves if I threaten to end our run because he's pulling. I agree that this event was a big leap for him. When he asked to go back in the Jeep before the walk even began, maybe I should have let him go.

 

[Maura]

Well maybe not let him go, but only accompany the group, in the back as you did, for a short way, finding his comfort zone. Once you found his place of comfort, walk with the group, way behind, but only for a few minutes, then separate from them. Each time there is some sort of group walk you can give him another little taste, knowing that you will quit early.

 

[CaliTerp07]

I'm curious what you're using for treats? There are some dogs who just aren't food motivated, but they're the minority that I've found. Usually the treats just aren't exciting enough.

 

[corky]

We've tried cheese, another dog's food, cat food, a number of different dog cookies and jerkey. All of these items are appealing when we are doing obedience in the house (he loves bits of another critter's food) but when we are outside, especially in a new environment, he's not interested in food.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Yeah, when you up the stimulation, you have to up the treat quality too. Cheese is what we use, but others have had success with shredded chicken, hot dogs, pepperoni pieces, etc. Worth a shot at least, because it will make your life easier if it works!

 

[ds5160]

I'm not sure I could handle a walk like that, let alone my dog. I hope you can figure out a solution. I am taking my neighbor's dogs for a walk with our new dog (she has 2) before we head on vacation in a month. Our neighbor is our dog sitter.

 

[corky]

Today we discovered Zuke's Z Filets - Prime Beef Strips. Corky loves them and responds to them. Yah! (Whew!)

 

[BostonBanker]

Glad you found a treat that is working! I wouldn't be at all hesitant to up the ante even more in such a tough environment. I had cheese and dried liver two weeks ago at agility class (same environment/same dogs as always) and for whatever reason, it just wasn't enough to keep her nose off the ground that night. Cooked hamburg and chicken this week had her full attention back on me! If I don't have time to cook stuff myself, I'll buy an end cut of roast beef or turkey from the deli and cut that up. Dog treats just don't cut it for Meg if she gets stressed.