So as some of you know I spent the weekend back "home" where I grew up to say hello to family and friends and of course do some in-home consultations. I wanted to share some of my experiences so those of you in similar situations can relate and perhaps benefit from others stories.
I wanted to talk about my last session. One that was almost missed, but as I was packing my truck to head home a neighbour approached with his adorable min pin/ yorkie cross. To protect the identy of this neighbour lets call him Bill and his dog....Foxy.
So as I am packing my truck I happen to hear a bit of a boisterious commotion behind me and was of course not surprised to see the small package of joy that was behind all the chaos. Foxy was 10 ft ahead of Bill at the end of a 'flexi-leash' and dancing on her hind legs , barking up a storm, something that was obviously very important to her but the message was lost in translation.
I greeted Bill, tried to get around Foxy to shake his hand but was unsuccessful at avoided the dancing dog. Bill then proceded to tell me that Foxy was quite "anti-social" and difficult to deal with. He went on to explain that he and his wife could not believe how one little dog could manipulate a household the way Foxy did.
I check my truck, check my watch, really had a long drive ahead me and should get going but I have a hard time walking away from a dog in need. (yes I said dog in need)
So I put my bag down on the ground and asked Bill if he has time for a walk. He agrees and head off to the house, turn to Bill and tell him I am just going to get my dog too.
"oh NO!" Bill says, "Foxy only likes one dog and unfortunately that dog passed away. She hates every other dog."
I assure Bill that everything will be ok and proceed into the house. I return with my wonderful sidekick a beautiful bronze Newfoundland Mariah. Well Bill wasn't kidding, Foxy goes ballistic! she charges to the end of her leash back up on her hind legs barking growling and lunging like she had every intention of taking down my Newfoundland. Of course Mariah is unphased by all this and we continue walking towards Bill and Foxy. I motion to Bill to start walking, he does, abit reluctantly but as I catch up I take his flexi leash, lock it in position and keep walking. Foxy is still lunging and carrying on but we pay no attention to it. We make it to the road, Foxy is still only walking on 2 feet and barking but the intensity is decreasing. Bill still looks worried so I start talking about the weather. Less than 50 meters into the walk, Foxy's front feet touch the ground. She is walking right inbetween Bill and I but she still keeps a close eye on Mariah. We reach the stop sign and head down the "loop " of the cresent. Bill starts to relax and talks to me about his other business ; horses which of course is my other passion. As we round a corner I see Bill tense up as a black and white dog comes charging down out of his house towards us. "Foxy HATES this dog!!!" I keep walking and talking horses. Foxy does turn to bark but I used my pinky finger to gently pull up on her leash to remind her that we are walking. She turns back to the road ahead and keeps going. Bill is amazed. "Normally she would be like a fish on a hook after that dog!" We continue on our walk. Bill looks down at Foxy and says "I wonder what she is listening to? her ears are down and back, I guess she hears something behind us." Well the truth of the matter is that Foxy was starting to relax. Her tail was still up and Bill mentioned to me that her tail never comes down that is just the way her tail sits on her back. I smiled at that. As we heading for his house I tell him I am going to give him back the leash but he had to keep doing what we were doing, keep her beside us, no tension on the leash and just keep walking. And as I let go and Bill took over, wouldn't you know it, Foxy's tail came down, level with her body. Bill was shocked and amazed. We walked the two dogs up the driveway and to his front door. I mentioned to Bill that when I took the leash and 'disagreed' with Foxy's behaviour, I took on a leadership role. A role that was once possessed by Foxy and it took less than 1 minute for her to give it up. The other 10 minutes was me proving to Foxy that I could handle the job, which was why her ears went down and she started to relax. But it was not a long enough walk to gain Foxy's trust. Trust takes time and that is why she only completely relaxed when Bill took hold of the leash. Leadership and trust and he and Foxy had a perfect walk. As we spoke the two dogs laid down beside one another on the front step of Bill's door.
Now of course there is still lots to do, Foxy has issues in the house with barking and such, but in less than 20 minutes we had a "anti-social " dog walking in perfect harmony with her owner, a stranger and another dog. Not bad if I do say so myself. Soooooo
I have said it before and I'll say it again
THE WALK. It's more than just exercise or potty breaks. The walk is like your reset button.
Use it correctly, the walk will change your relationship with your dog for the better!
If you would like more information about the 'structured' walk please feel free to contact me
Walk on
Tracy
I wanted to talk about my last session. One that was almost missed, but as I was packing my truck to head home a neighbour approached with his adorable min pin/ yorkie cross. To protect the identy of this neighbour lets call him Bill and his dog....Foxy.
So as I am packing my truck I happen to hear a bit of a boisterious commotion behind me and was of course not surprised to see the small package of joy that was behind all the chaos. Foxy was 10 ft ahead of Bill at the end of a 'flexi-leash' and dancing on her hind legs , barking up a storm, something that was obviously very important to her but the message was lost in translation.
I greeted Bill, tried to get around Foxy to shake his hand but was unsuccessful at avoided the dancing dog. Bill then proceded to tell me that Foxy was quite "anti-social" and difficult to deal with. He went on to explain that he and his wife could not believe how one little dog could manipulate a household the way Foxy did.
I check my truck, check my watch, really had a long drive ahead me and should get going but I have a hard time walking away from a dog in need. (yes I said dog in need)
So I put my bag down on the ground and asked Bill if he has time for a walk. He agrees and head off to the house, turn to Bill and tell him I am just going to get my dog too.
"oh NO!" Bill says, "Foxy only likes one dog and unfortunately that dog passed away. She hates every other dog."
I assure Bill that everything will be ok and proceed into the house. I return with my wonderful sidekick a beautiful bronze Newfoundland Mariah. Well Bill wasn't kidding, Foxy goes ballistic! she charges to the end of her leash back up on her hind legs barking growling and lunging like she had every intention of taking down my Newfoundland. Of course Mariah is unphased by all this and we continue walking towards Bill and Foxy. I motion to Bill to start walking, he does, abit reluctantly but as I catch up I take his flexi leash, lock it in position and keep walking. Foxy is still lunging and carrying on but we pay no attention to it. We make it to the road, Foxy is still only walking on 2 feet and barking but the intensity is decreasing. Bill still looks worried so I start talking about the weather. Less than 50 meters into the walk, Foxy's front feet touch the ground. She is walking right inbetween Bill and I but she still keeps a close eye on Mariah. We reach the stop sign and head down the "loop " of the cresent. Bill starts to relax and talks to me about his other business ; horses which of course is my other passion. As we round a corner I see Bill tense up as a black and white dog comes charging down out of his house towards us. "Foxy HATES this dog!!!" I keep walking and talking horses. Foxy does turn to bark but I used my pinky finger to gently pull up on her leash to remind her that we are walking. She turns back to the road ahead and keeps going. Bill is amazed. "Normally she would be like a fish on a hook after that dog!" We continue on our walk. Bill looks down at Foxy and says "I wonder what she is listening to? her ears are down and back, I guess she hears something behind us." Well the truth of the matter is that Foxy was starting to relax. Her tail was still up and Bill mentioned to me that her tail never comes down that is just the way her tail sits on her back. I smiled at that. As we heading for his house I tell him I am going to give him back the leash but he had to keep doing what we were doing, keep her beside us, no tension on the leash and just keep walking. And as I let go and Bill took over, wouldn't you know it, Foxy's tail came down, level with her body. Bill was shocked and amazed. We walked the two dogs up the driveway and to his front door. I mentioned to Bill that when I took the leash and 'disagreed' with Foxy's behaviour, I took on a leadership role. A role that was once possessed by Foxy and it took less than 1 minute for her to give it up. The other 10 minutes was me proving to Foxy that I could handle the job, which was why her ears went down and she started to relax. But it was not a long enough walk to gain Foxy's trust. Trust takes time and that is why she only completely relaxed when Bill took hold of the leash. Leadership and trust and he and Foxy had a perfect walk. As we spoke the two dogs laid down beside one another on the front step of Bill's door.
Now of course there is still lots to do, Foxy has issues in the house with barking and such, but in less than 20 minutes we had a "anti-social " dog walking in perfect harmony with her owner, a stranger and another dog. Not bad if I do say so myself. Soooooo
I have said it before and I'll say it again
THE WALK. It's more than just exercise or potty breaks. The walk is like your reset button.
Use it correctly, the walk will change your relationship with your dog for the better!
If you would like more information about the 'structured' walk please feel free to contact me
Walk on
Tracy
