Walking/Not walking your dog

[Squishy22]

We rarely "walk" in the normal sense of the word. We do have a great neighborhood with a really nice path, and it is rare to be charged by an off-leash dog. But honestly, when we are home, Meg is just as happy to hang out and sleep. She's off leash at the barn with me for 5 - 7 hours a day. She does a bit of agility (generally groundwork, but sometimes equipment) at least once a day. As long as it isn't bunny season, she does 30 minutes or so of fetch outside in the evening. Two or three times a week, we do an hour or so of off-leash hiking in the woods. She swims in the pond at work if it is nice out. She's plenty tired, stimulated, and socialized without having to walk slowly around the neighborhood on a leash.



Well, if the dog isn't reactive to every dog it sees, why not? Dogs don't really "interact" at places like that. As long as the DA dog is walking nicely on leash, there's no reason to even know if they are DA.

I think my post might have been read wrong.

Of course you can go if your dog is just fine and keeps to himself. Thats no issue. When I think of DA, I think of a dog that actively goes after other dogs, not a dog that just doesnt want another in their space. . It depends on your definition of DA. I do not consider reggin as DA, but he will bite if a dog gets in his face and wont leave him alone.

EDIT: after reading other peoples posts on dog aggression, then yeah, maybe Reggin IS DA. His aggression comes from fear, because most of the dogs he has met has tried to attack him. He does not trust other dogs, so he is ALWAYS on the defensive. As a pup he would cower away from other dogs, deathly afraid. Hes got to the point where he has enough balls to defend himself now that he is older.

 

[Squishy22]

Hey Reg, this particular item caught my eye because I had a dog that also liked jumping up and from a young age .... she was a Golden and they are known for that!

I found it really helpful to do 2 things: First was to teach her an "Up" command ... an actual invitation to jump up on me. Closely followed second was to then teach her "Off" ... meaning get off from jumping up. Ths combo solved the problem of her jumping up on folks who did NOT appreciate that from a dog. (I personally don't mind my dogs jumping up on me ... but realize visitors may not be of the same mind!)

Teaching "Up" allowed me to really study her movement to see just what she did before she jumped up. If I saw those movements when visitors came over then I could give the "Off" command before she jumped up on them ... it worked because the thought of jumping up was already in her mind as the pre-movements already started. Once reliable with these two commands she never jumped up on any visitor without an invitation, and without any physical restraint which I agree just upsets a lot of dogs.

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. Along with his jumping, he has this thing where he will push his body up against peoples legs and in between them, with so much force that he nearly pushes them to the ground and knocks them down. He is just so WILD when people give him any kind of attention.

 

[Squishy22]

I have the hardest time getting everyone to stop grabbing Pepper's collar. YOur husband is right, it sends the wrong message.

She would also raise hackles when we ran into strange dogs but that is a thing of the past now. Now she looks to me and the other dogs before making her own reaction.

And its just an immediate reaction for me to grab him, but I REALLY need to stop that. Stupid me.

 

[vanillasugar]

Yes I walk Sierra, we walk two from work which is a minimum of 20 minutes a day, and I try for a longer walk every day, but that truthfully happens 4 or so times a week on average.

Honestly - she needs more exercise than she gets. I can't WAIT until we have a fenced yard that I can take her out to play in.

 

[smkie]

ITs' an immediate reaction for a lot of people. I watched Logan's mother walk quickly over to Butch and grab his collar when Mary approached. Mary who has kissed Butchie boy on his noggin almost every day we walk by tho his MOther didn't know that. THere was no aggression being expressed by butch, after all that's his mama mary too. But when she ran over and grabbed the collar she was enforcing the opposite of her intent.

 

[Baxter'smybaby]

not daily walks--but daily play time. Truthfully, Trav just lives to retrieve--so she gets time to play, but I have to limit it or she will overdo.
Baxter needs his 'nose time"--so walks aren't the best avenue for that--he really loves the dog park (you've seen the pics!).
Wilson, we are working on. Right now, he is out walking daily with my husband, since I have a hard time walking fast enough to tire him. But, it's hard to do three different things and balance work, and my daughters needs.
Haven't fully found our rhythm yet since Wilson has been reactive to other dogs.

 

[elegy]

EDIT: after reading other peoples posts on dog aggression, then yeah, maybe Reggin IS DA. His aggression comes from fear, because most of the dogs he has met has tried to attack him. He does not trust other dogs, so he is ALWAYS on the defensive. As a pup he would cower away from other dogs, deathly afraid. Hes got to the point where he has enough balls to defend himself now that he is older.

Mushroom's dog aggression comes from fear as well. He has never been the same since he was attacked by an off-leash dog that I never saw coming.

But we have done a lot of work together on building trust and on learning that he doesn't need to freak out every time he sees another dog. It was a pain in the neck, but I simply cannot have a dog who flips out and acts like a raging idiot every time he sees another dog. It's not practical, and it's not fun. I want dogs that I can do things with, and I had to work at length with both dogs to achieve that. I still have problems with unleashed dogs who run up in my dogs' faces, but aside from that, they're both pretty well behaved.

I would suspect that it is not that your dog has "balls enough to defend himself" but rather that he's doing everything he can to back a potentially scary dog down before it can get close enough to him to do him any harm.

I hope you're working with a trainer on this. It's no fun for the dog to feel constantly afraid, and it's a really really bad image to portray to the public.

 

[Jules]

Mushroom's dog aggression comes from fear as well. He has never been the same since he was attacked by an off-leash dog that I never saw coming.

But we have done a lot of work together on building trust and on learning that he doesn't need to freak out every time he sees another dog. It was a pain in the neck, but I simply cannot have a dog who flips out and acts like a raging idiot every time he sees another dog. It's not practical, and it's not fun. I want dogs that I can do things with, and I had to work at length with both dogs to achieve that. I still have problems with unleashed dogs who run up in my dogs' faces, but aside from that, they're both pretty well behaved.

I would suspect that it is not that your dog has "balls enough to defend himself" but rather that he's doing everything he can to back a potentially scary dog down before it can get close enough to him to do him any harm.

I hope you're working with a trainer on this. It's no fun for the dog to feel constantly afraid, and it's a really really bad image to portray to the public.

Amen! :hail::hail::hail:

 

[Squishy22]

Mushroom's dog aggression comes from fear as well. He has never been the same since he was attacked by an off-leash dog that I never saw coming.

But we have done a lot of work together on building trust and on learning that he doesn't need to freak out every time he sees another dog. It was a pain in the neck, but I simply cannot have a dog who flips out and acts like a raging idiot every time he sees another dog. It's not practical, and it's not fun. I want dogs that I can do things with, and I had to work at length with both dogs to achieve that. I still have problems with unleashed dogs who run up in my dogs' faces, but aside from that, they're both pretty well behaved.

I would suspect that it is not that your dog has "balls enough to defend himself" but rather that he's doing everything he can to back a potentially scary dog down before it can get close enough to him to do him any harm.

I hope you're working with a trainer on this. It's no fun for the dog to feel constantly afraid, and it's a really really bad image to portray to the public.

Well, I guess you can say he has balls enough to try and back a scary dog down. His nick name was pussy bull, by my fiance. As a joke, because he used to cower and even scream bloody murder when another dog approached. Never ever did he show aggression, until he turned 10 months old and the testosterone started flowing.

I wish I could work with him on that but we just dont have the resources. Dont know any dogs who are nice. Of course, I need to seek out a trainer, and dont know how you go about doing that. Hmmmm. He really does need training.

 

[elegy]

I wish I could work with him on that but we just dont have the resources. Dont know any dogs who are nice. Of course, I need to seek out a trainer, and dont know how you go about doing that. Hmmmm. He really does need training.

there are plenty of books available that explain how to work with a reactive dog in pretty straight-forward terms. scaredy dog by ali brown is the one i just read. feisty fido by patricia mcconnell is another. control unleashed by leslie mcdevitt is fantastic but a little bit different.

you don't need to know any dogs who are nice to teach him to be calm around other dogs. go somewhere that has plenty of space but where there will be other dogs. parking lot at petsmart works for many people. stay far enough away that your dog is not reacting. work on attention. work on rewarding him for looking at dogs and remaining calm. then slowly slowly slowly move closer.

almost none of the work i've done with my dogs has involved any kind of official helper dog, but i learned early on the processes of desensitization and counter-conditioning. i had to. luce was absolutely out of control when i first got her.

reggin is a big, strong bully dog. you *need* to get this under control before something bad happens. for his sake as well as yours.

 

[Squishy22]

there are plenty of books available that explain how to work with a reactive dog in pretty straight-forward terms. scaredy dog by ali brown is the one i just read. feisty fido by patricia mcconnell is another. control unleashed by leslie mcdevitt is fantastic but a little bit different.

you don't need to know any dogs who are nice to teach him to be calm around other dogs. go somewhere that has plenty of space but where there will be other dogs. parking lot at petsmart works for many people. stay far enough away that your dog is not reacting. work on attention. work on rewarding him for looking at dogs and remaining calm. then slowly slowly slowly move closer.

almost none of the work i've done with my dogs has involved any kind of official helper dog, but i learned early on the processes of desensitization and counter-conditioning. i had to. luce was absolutely out of control when i first got her.

reggin is a big, strong bully dog. you *need* to get this under control before something bad happens. for his sake as well as yours.

I've seen Its Me Or The Dog before, so I've got an idea how it works. Now I just need to find a place to do it. It makes me so nervous when I see another dog, I start to shake, its so bad. Because I know how he reacts so badly.

I'll have to look into those books for sure.

I've been thinking about getting a clicker too. I think that would be good.

I take treats with me when we go out for walks, so I can distract him. He just spits it out and starts pulling after the dog.

I want this really bad for him to act like a normal dog. This is our #1 problem, by far. He freaks, people stare, I cant get him to walk, he tries tearing his halter off, its embarrassing, and no fun.

 

[elegy]

well, if you do it correctly, he *won't* act out. if he does, you've gone too far too fast. start within your comfort zone as well as within his. it's normal for a dog who is over threshold to not take treats, which is why you need to start far far away where he's not reacting. in fact, it's a really good indicator and one you should listen to. if he won't take treats (or gets snappy grabby about taking treats), you need to calmly and cheerfully get him out of the situation.

the more you let him practice this kind of out of control behavior, the harder it's going to be to stop.

i hate how cesar milan it makes me sound, but your state of mind is extremely important in all of this. if you're extremely nervous, you're telling your dog on a number of different planes that he should be afraid as well. a big part of all of this is teaching him to look to you as his leader and his protector. he isn't going to be able to do that if you're acting as scared as he is.

 

[Squishy22]

well, if you do it correctly, he *won't* act out. if he does, you've gone too far too fast. start within your comfort zone as well as within his. it's normal for a dog who is over threshold to not take treats, which is why you need to start far far away where he's not reacting. in fact, it's a really good indicator and one you should listen to. if he won't take treats (or gets snappy grabby about taking treats), you need to calmly and cheerfully get him out of the situation.

the more you let him practice this kind of out of control behavior, the harder it's going to be to stop.

i hate how cesar milan it makes me sound, but your state of mind is extremely important in all of this. if you're extremely nervous, you're telling your dog on a number of different planes that he should be afraid as well. a big part of all of this is teaching him to look to you as his leader and his protector. he isn't going to be able to do that if you're acting as scared as he is.

Thanks for the advice. I've been doing my best at keeping my cool, because I know how it can affect your dog. I've got some work ahead of me, thats for sure.

 

[adojrts]

Reggin

Elegy's advice is bang on. I too have a reactive/DA dog which is really Fear Aggressive, he has also been attacked and jumped by other dogs. It took a lot of work and dedication but I finally helped him over come his fears, therefore he can now walk through a crowd of dogs without lunging, snarling and trying to force them out of his comfort zone. In short his comfort zone is very small now.
Please feel free to PM me if you want to know how I did it (I have also posted here on Chaz as well in other threads).
I also recommend those books, although I read them after I had him ok with other dogs lol. But having said that, those books would have helped, no doubt.

Lynn

 

[Sunnierhawk0]

Well this thread inspired me to acutally load up one of my girls and go to the park LOL Im glad I took the one I did, because it was jammed packed with people and kids. She absolutley loved it, met alot new people and had her picture taken atleast 5 times lol.

I think I will be taking the other two who arent as socially interactive during the day time, when its for sure not as crowded.

We have a big back yard, and they do keep themselves entertained, but it was great exercise for the both of us, and it kicked the depression blues.

 

[Laurelin]

I'm enjoying reading all the replies.

I enjoy the walks almost as much as Summer. It's a great stress reliever.

 

[Tahla9999]

Wow, I thought everyone walked their dogs every day. I have to, since I live in a apartment.

 

[puppydog]

Oh yes! I walk my girl with my mother and her girl 3 times a week. And we go far! They are off leash the whole time and they love it. It is a very bonding time too. I really enjoy the time with my mother and the dogs. It is wonderful.

 

[Dakotah]

Bear goes outside and plays at least 3 times a day for at least 30 mins. (This heat KILLS him some days and he just wants to go inside and lay down on the cool kitchen floor lol.)
But we live on 20 acres, and have access to mountain trails, I have yet to be on them due to some idiots who have been riding the mountains like crazy people.

Jet goes outside, does her business, barks and comes insides and sleeps.
She only goes walking if my dad or I are going with her, and half the time the walk last 5 minutes before she starts limping cause her back legs are wearing out.

But no, my dogs don't get walked everyday.

 

[smkie]

Victor was pretty much scared of everything when he came. Spooked by the slightest and would rear up, and bolt. IT wasn't easy. WE did the outskirts of things walking in circles burning of energy coming closer slowly.

I was beside Pepper this morning thinking to myself how much closer she and i are since we have begun our harder training. The parking lots, and hardware store thing. All in all she looks to me differently then she did. I think that is the important part of taking your dog out into the community. You show them two things. ONE that they are important, and that you value them enough to make the effort. ANd secondly they have to conduct themselves better. IT is uncanny how well they behave when they know they public eye is on them. We chuckle at dogs that bark bark bark when we walk past. THey know they are ultra cool that they get to do that. WAlk down the street, see the world. WE dont' have sidewalks, but we move to the side of the road and sit when cars approach. ON busy streets we walk single file slowly, on the side, carefully. THey follow my lead. WE watch when we cross the road. All things i hope that if for some reason say i have a car accident and they are thrown out of the car and on the road on their own. Or i drop dead and they live with someone else that isn't as careful and they find themselves out, i pray will be ingrained to beware of cars, to look before crossing, to listen and get to the side when they approach. WE do our daily training stuff in the street not in the yard. THe yard is their play ground and i leave it at that.as is the field and the off leash dog park.. I hope that sends the message that outside of the yard or the field is serious business. Always.

I am pretty sure that my mom's dog died of an impacted bowel. IT wans't my dog, or my decision. They felt a mass and she was pts. BUt fact is the dog layed around, went outside and pottied, and never much more then that. A good walk cleans Mary out, gets everything circulating as it should. That is critical for an old dog. Critical for anyone of age. She doens't want to stop and chat every little bit, i get that, i don't either, IT is so hard for me to get rolling that to stop i just want to drop to the ground. But she does it and when we are done her appitite is up, she drinks more water, and that is really the best thing for her. YOU lose what you don't use.