CHAPTER 4.
WHAT? ANOTHER WALK? Oh, great.
URBAN WALKIES
Urban life has changed in the 21st century . Olde-time dog training experts authored standard clichés that were suitable to a more relaxed, less connected lifestyle, when alone time, outside space and open roaming for dogs was more available. Times where not every other house had a dog and owners didn’t fast-walk their pooches thrice daily as part of some haywire personal fitness regimes.
Just want to say early on, I do not want to be a pack leader or to dominate my pooch. But I am honest enough to admit that it is very unlikely I will completely hold my calm resolve on an urban walk. At times I’ll probably curse and generally stuff up when I get frustrated with my girl’s seemingly bloody minded stubbornness as she ignores, charges or refuses to obey. There is space in dog training for expressing one’s dissatisfaction. I try however to remember there is a beautiful little soul who is as individual as I, and she is just trying to make it through her day as happily as she can.
If there is lesson that is the hardest for me, it is to realise that patience, kindness, understanding and gentle persistence in training means that I must be even more patient, kind, understanding and gentle on a distracting urban walk. It is a keen skill to then ensure my actions and guidance in times of urban challenge will send pup a strong and consistent message that I can be a calm, safe place to come back to, every time.
That’s a lot of personal development for me as I work towards expecting consistent training results.
I can say, on occasion of a scary sound or when other dogs are presenting a dominating situation, Bindi does now break away from the activity or conflict, on my command! And she does come running back to me now, a major and extremely rewarding change in behaviour which I love her for. She will always defend her virtue if another dog tries to dominate by mounting, as I would expect any respectable lass to do. She will, as she is a dog that comes from a long, long line of police dogs, react by approaching with intent, sometimes with too much intent, but that is something my consistency in being gentle will in time blunt. It is about providing her with calm example and gentle approach tools that she can rely on. Mindful always of her genetics.
These tools I outline are based on showing pup that her being and staying calm is far more enjoyable and feel-good than thrusting into challenge, defence, confrontation or protection.
TIME FOR WALKIES
Being busy people, our urban dog walks are often scheduled into irregular windows of opportunity in our daily timetable. Owners may set times in every day to drag the dog around a pre-determined route.
A DAILY WALK IS NOT MANDATORY!!
That is some news that may surprise you. It’s okay to walk the dog every other day or so. On non walk days the pup can unwind, relax, chill-out at home in the environment that is safe, calm and not needing constant vigilance or activity. Conversely, it is NOT okay to deprive your dog of various outings into the local community and surrounds. Like most things in life, it’s a balance.
If you have an enclosed area where the dog can happily toilet and lay in the fresh air, keeping cool or warm, then that chill-out time in a safe and comfortable place will be lovely and a de-stressing time for pooch.
When your urban walkie is one of buzzing new experiences, exciting memories and chance encounters, pup will naturally maintain a level of expectation and excitement. Like with our feel good chemicals, natural or artificial, pup endorphins are nice. So pup will want to get pumped by the walkie experience. Especially if that experience is frequent. If walked three times a day then the chance for pup to relax into calm in a safe place is very unlikely in pup’s remaining waking hours.
If your walkies are gentle, calm sniffing strolls, then I envy you your location and leave it up to you to decide how much of an occasional break your pup needs form the daily outing and exercise regime you are offering it. Regardless of how calm your walks are, when your pup is at home it still needs a safe place to relax in.
IN MY SAFE PLACE
When your little mate has found a good spot at home that it likes to curl up in, it’s up to you to honour that place or direct it to a suitable spot as a ‘Safe Place’.
Safe places are those where the pooch is out of the way of the traffic of daily life, where it can be left alone, where sleep and calm and separation are always the norm. Safe places can be in rooms where family activity and noise is present, can be behind a sofa or under stairs. Anywhere the pooch feels comfortable and knows it will not be in the way, not disturbed or asked to move.
We all need a break, pooch needs a couple of places where they know they can unwind. Young pups can and should sleep most of the day and night. Old dogs too. Active dogs can still steal a good 16 hours of rest. The longer the calm period you can provide your dog, the more it will enjoy being calm, the easier getting it into calm behaviour will become.
Activity should be enjoyable. If you are not going out with pooch one day, then on that day, give the pup some things to do.
STAYING IN
Bindi and I play ‘Go Find’. I grab a handful of treats (evening meal kibble, low fat cheese) and let her see/smell them. Then with my other hand I briefly cover her eyes and give her the ‘Wait’ command. I leave the room, oh, and because I know she will cheat I usually close the door so she can’t watch, then I spend a couple of minutes placing the kibble around places she can smell but not see, places where she will not need to move anything to get to. I return to her, cover her eyes again and bring my now empty treat-scented hand to her nose, removing my other hand from her eyes I command ‘Go Find’ and the fun begins. She loves this game, I ensure she keeps looking until all found. Once complete, lots of praise, perhaps a quick game of tug of war with her tugga toy, then a calming pat and I get on with doing my stuff. She wanders for a while and then naps. Every time.
Search is mentally tiring for her and sniffing is good calming therapy.
I recommend you come up with your own find-it or solve-it or balance-on-this and move-like-this games that will exercise the brain muscles. There are lots of great games for dogs out there, just be sure they meet the criteria of a good amount of work for small but valued reward.
These play sessions can be remarkably short in time, say five to ten minutes and will probably result in a quarter to half hour pup nap in the following hour.
I don’t want to give you any more games as I think, like I know Bindi loves the ‘Go Find’ game, your pooch and you will probably discover other games that are great for you both.
I started this bit saying walking pooch every day was not necessary, but maybe for your pooch it could be mandatory, again, everyone is individual so I won’t draw absolutes. I do though want to paint the opportunity for calm into every day, so do be aware of how your dog relaxes to calm and ensure it gets to do that often and without interruption.
Despite the fact that an urban walk may be fraught with many things pup is unsure of, all dogs love both short break walks and nice long walks.
Mix them up through the week. Bindi and I enjoy short local treks to favourite ablution spots, past scent spots where recent adventures are logged. On these short walks, in fact even on longer walks I have to remember that I am walking the dog. I am not getting my exercise, I am not on my way to an appointed meeting at a certain time. I am walking my dog. It is a thing dog owners do. For the dog. In a set time.
Let the dog enjoy the walk, it really won’t care how far you go if it has lots to smell watch and hear, it will be happy with a sufficient period of time.
I see people dragging their hapless pooches around the town in a desperate conflict of doing a distance for the dog and getting chores done within a schedule.
WALKIES IS FOR THE DOGS
Here are some things to remember about walking a dog. Yes, it’s for the dog. It is a lovely thing to see a pooch deciphering the smells of the day, interacting with the landscape and the animals it comes across. It is rewarding when pooch is looking to us for guidance or support when the cyclist’s bell rings, a horn or siren blares or any of the myriad distractions happen in normal daily urban life. There is a joy in calming the pooch and sharing the pats and play a walk can include. It is probably why you wanted a dog. So, walking the dog is for you to enjoy too. But it is walking the dog.
Walking helps pooch use the energy it gets from the food you supply, walking reduces the need to cut nails, something Bindi would prefer not to have happen at all. Thankfully, as she is still active, nail clipping has not been required for years.
MARKERS OF IMMINENT BEHAVIOUR
Are you paying attention to your pup on its walk? Do you recognise the telltales your dog’s body gives you as warnings to what it may be about to do? Once again it is about observing your pup to figure out if it is stressed, fearful, excited or uncomfortable and how those emotive states may make pup react to urban stimuli.
Excitement markers can be fidgeting rapidly in position, circling, high pitched yipping, unnecessary barking.
Fear markers are typically pooch’s head held still and lowered, ears alert, hackles up, tail raised still or quickly vibrating?
Discomfort markers, favouring a limb, hunched back, eyes squinting, sensitivity to your touch/strokes. You may have to be good to spot discomfort markers as it is doggy nature to mask any sign of pain lest it be seen as a weakness to be taken advantage of by others.
And here is the kicker. STRESS MARKERS. No matter what your dog is telling you, one of the best ways to judge your pooch’s comfort and emotional balance is by observing for stress markers and working with your pup only while the most obvious are not apparent.
The most obvious stress markers are lip licking, panting when rested and the can’t-be-missed Yawnnnn. I will say that every time the pup licks its lips or nose is not necessarily a stress marker but consistent lip licking is. Lots of panting after exercise is not stress behaviour but may be an indicator of over exertion. Finally not every yawn indicates stress but in this case almost every yawn following some interaction is a stress indicator. Yes, if you have just given your pup a huge cuddle and great loving pats and it yawns, ,,. Guess What? You have plastered too much hooman on your pup and it can’t be dealing with that much gooey lovey dovey stuff at one time. Yawns are a fantastic stress indicator and you will soon learn what is a just woke up tired yawn and what is a too much for me yawn.
Every breed is different, every individual in the breed will have variant default behaviour and stress markers. You need to learn to see these indicators as your pooch displays them and react appropriately. Remember always that pups no matter what breed or personality all prefer calm and grace in their day. A calm pooch will react to the urban world stimuli in a calmer way than an always excited or worried pup. We are responsible for enabling our pup to be calm. Note the physiology of your pup when it is calm and relaxed, that will help you see changes when out and about. Things to observe are how pup’s ears are held, tail activity, angle the head is held, how pup spaces its stride in walk...any movement that seems relaxed.
Observing these indicators will allow you to forecast the reaction and the likely impulse actions from your pup. No, to start with you won’t notice them in time to distract the pup before it reacts, or you will wrongly identify the pup’s marker. Its about practice, observation and persistence.
Life is like that, we all stuff up a process until we become familiar. I can assure you that you will become a savant in noticing the shifts in your pup’s demeanour. If you remember to, as much as possible, observe your pup.
It is not enough to just be looking at your pooch on walks, watch pooch for signs of over excitement or fear at home, in the car, on transport, everywhere.
You own a dog, and that comes with responsibilities. We all want calm dogs and calm owners. Observe behaviours before you both go out, while out, on the way home then again when you have returned home. Watch for the stress and the sometimes more muted behaviour indicators.
Head lowered? Ears alert? Tail elevated? Hackles up? Maybe pooch feels uncomfortable in your neighbourhood, feels exposed or that it needs to display self protection poses to ward off unwanted approaches ... Be aware, if fear is evident in a place or at a time, avoid those places, give short safe exposures to it over time on different days, calm direction, avoidance of interaction and confrontation, distract focus from being in the place with reward calm behaviour, a favourite toy or valued treats. As pup shows less stress to that place gradually allow pup to get closer always having a clear and calm exit or avoidance route to take if stress becomes evident. Don’t drag pup into a stressful place using calm words and treats. Obvious but, don’t.
If you have a totally excited pup the same tools are yours to use, wait until pup is calm or return to the walk opportunity later.
It may be that you can’t get past your front step before pooch tells you it is not feeling calm. If you notice, then distract pup with a good thing, a pat, a treat or a toy depending on their focus level.
Stay where you are and play or pat or whatever you both enjoy, or if pup is feeling not safe, retreat until pup does not show fear markers.
If you continue to observe and pooch does remain relaxed then take the lead and continue on the adventure. If pup does not relax, return to a calm place and relax. If that means no outing that morning then fine. Play an inside game in the time you had planned for the walk.
Your pup will probably tell you it wants to go out again later and you can try again, I would think you’ll get to the same place or a little further. Do the same thing and in time pup will trust that you are not dragging them into an unpleasant thing and will also probably relax and have a sniff around and make some headway into the preferred route.
Dog training is not a course of dealing with frustration it is a path of caring, observation and joyous reward for both of you.
A dog walk can be no walk at all, just time together outside.
I am nothing if not a pragmatist and I know there are some readers who will say that their dog loves going on a daily jog with them. It’s the one time both of you get to have real time together. It has been happening for years and there is no problem with it at all.
That too is great. As long as you are aware of the things I have said, you are sure your pooch is not damaging themselves in order to be with you, and that the duration is within the pups endurance. Training rules are not binary but should be implemented with balance.
I have a neighbour who went jogging/running daily with their new and very young pup. A pup’s heart and lungs need time to grow and become strong and sound. Foam at the nostrils and ongoing breathing difficulties indicated a vet visit was required for this puppy. I thought a psychiatrist visit for the owner would have been more help but, hey ho. He continues to run with the pup.
As long as your pup is not suffering and has good opportunity to rest and has a safe place at home, then I guess, although I would still be concerned, then it is, probably, okay to take pooch for a regular run with you. But how about, every other day you take pooch, and let it have some days off.
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