So far this year I have been reorganising the dog pack into new walking routines. This has taken a bit of time to get right, I mean how to decide who goes with who?!
Lucy and Snoopy at play........
First off I used size and energy levels to split the dogs into 2 groups, all the large dogs together and then the Terriers, this was disaster on the Terrier front. The problem was too many Jack Russells with dominant high energy, and then Patsy very low energy (the eldest dog - only 8 but she thinks she's much older) - even with a lead on she won't keep up, she sits down and is harder to shift than a mule!
So, rethink needed. The large dogs work well together as a pack to walk, these guys go together because their energy matches. Also it made sense Max, the Dobey, is ranked as "alpha male" by the rest of the pack so gets to go out first. Joining Max is Monty (Gt Dane), Alfie and Lucy (English Setters and completely nutty), Snoopy (half English Setter half Terrier, but is in touch mostly with her "setter side") and as always Bob (Border Collie x Terrier - who comes on all walks!). Max is the dominant one and all the rest are neutral followers. I am happy with this walk it works well and have impressed myself that I can take them together, thanks mainly to my consistent behaviour of calm, assertive leadership!
Now the Terriers, quite a different issue to solve! I have now matched up their energy levels and ages as best I can splitting them into 2 groups - taking out the high energy, 3 younger Russells first. Then the older Russells including Eddie (nominated alpha female by the other dogs)with Jack (the Chihuahua x) - of course neutral happy-go-lucky Bob comes on both! What I don't know the answer to is this - How do I decide which of these 2 walks go first - the higher energy dogs or the elder dogs whose status is greater within the dog hierarchy? What should the decision be based upon - energy or hierarchy? - I have been muddling over this for days, I am going out in this order as it is easier for me to deal with high energy first but am I storing up problems?
This has taken a couple of weeks and now the routine is accepted and we all know where we are, at least I think we do! 3 walks a day is certainly keeping me fit. Haven't tried rollerblading with them yet as Cesar Milan (my inspiration) does, maybe in the spring! Of course this is all good during the week, just in time to change it at the weekend when Simon is home! More about that another time!
What certainly does work is Cesar Millan's recipe of exercise, discipline then affection. The difference in my pack is quite frankly amazing - much calmer, more balanced and niggling each other almost a thing of the past! Even Peter, the "difficult one", often nicknamed my "Bad Boy", is improving in his behaviour like I had only ever dreamt about!
More soon about Peter....my dog with negative behaviour issues - a challenge indeed! He's the Fox Terrier x Jack Russell - Peter Pan the little dog who never grew up....am sure I will gain lots of practical experience from working with Peter, to compliment my study and help me in my work as a Dog Behaviourist...now that is positive thinking!!
Be Calm, Be assertive, Be the Pack Leader!!
I am the "Dog Messenger" please let me have your questions, answers to mine and comments.
Thank you.
2 comments:
wow - congratulations! Incredible to read that you can find a way to walk that many dogs without mishap and some people can't even seem to walk one! Here's a little story, I'd love to know your opinion…
One fine, end-of-summer day I was in the local park with my partner, some friends and our 2-year-old sons. My son went chasing after a ball and I wandered some way behind, keeping an eye on him, as he wasn’t far from the water.
Out of the corner of my eye I see a large dog bounding up the grass (some kind of Labrador-cross I think), heading straight for the ball that my son was bending down to pick up. The dog knocked my son up into the air and made off with the ball!
My son was, thankfully, fine. After a full somersault in the air, he was just a little shaken. Thank God he didn’t try to keep hold of the ball! I calmed him down, gave him to my partner and angrily demanded to know whose dog it was.
A 30-something woman was speedily walking towards us and saying it was hers: ‘what the hell are you doing letting your dog run riot like that” is a polite version of what I actually said. She protested that he “only wanted the ball”.
A ‘discussion’ ensued. My point was basically that this was an area of the park out of bounds to dogs in the first place, there were lots of toddlers around and if she couldn’t control her dog, she should have it on the lead. She was lucky nothing more serious had happened.
She went to retrieve the dog and came back to us barely able to hold the dog on the lead! He was a strong, big dog and obviously fairly young, with bucket loads of energy. The ball was finished and she tried to pay us for the ball – like that was what mattered!
No matter what I said, she would not accept that she should have had that dog on the lead the whole time, or that the dog had done anything wrong (the poor little thing only wanted the ball after all!).
I gave up the argument, this was the kind of person who can do no wrong, let alone her dog!
I love dogs, have nothing against them, but owners like that make my blood boil. My kid was lucky; many, sadly, are not.
What would you say to an owner like that? How do you train owners to recognize that they have responsibilities too – after all, I agree that it’s rarely the dogs fault…Won’t one of your toughest challenges be to train the owners as much as the dogs?
wow - congratulations! Incredible to read that you can find a way to walk that many dogs without mishap and some people can't even seem to walk one! Here's a little story, I'd love to know your opinion…
One fine, end-of-summer day I was in the local park with my partner, some friends and our 2-year-old sons. My son went chasing after a ball and I wandered some way behind, keeping an eye on him, as he wasn’t far from the water.
Out of the corner of my eye I see a large dog bounding up the grass (some kind of Labrador-cross I think), heading straight for the ball that my son was bending down to pick up. The dog knocked my son up into the air and made off with the ball!
My son was, thankfully, fine. After a full somersault in the air, he was just a little shaken. Thank God he didn’t try to keep hold of the ball! I calmed him down, gave him to my partner and angrily demanded to know whose dog it was.
A 30-something woman was speedily walking towards us and saying it was hers: ‘what the hell are you doing letting your dog run riot like that” is a polite version of what I actually said. She protested that he “only wanted the ball”.
A ‘discussion’ ensued. My point was basically that this was an area of the park out of bounds to dogs in the first place, there were lots of toddlers around and if she couldn’t control her dog, she should have it on the lead. She was lucky nothing more serious had happened.
She went to retrieve the dog and came back to us barely able to hold the dog on the lead! He was a strong, big dog and obviously fairly young, with bucket loads of energy. The ball was finished and she tried to pay us for the ball – like that was what mattered!
No matter what I said, she would not accept that she should have had that dog on the lead the whole time, or that the dog had done anything wrong (the poor little thing only wanted the ball after all!).
I gave up the argument, this was the kind of person who can do no wrong, let alone her dog!
I love dogs, have nothing against them, but owners like that make my blood boil. My kid was lucky; many, sadly, are not.
What would you say to an owner like that? How do you train owners to recognize that they have responsibilities too – after all, I agree that it’s rarely the dogs fault…Won’t one of your toughest challenges be to train the owners as much as the dogs?
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