“You can take your dog to movies and bars. But does he want to go?” On WaPo

[joshuawithmartin]

“As more human-centric spaces open up to dogs, animal experts caution that some pups are simply happier at home”

Very interested to see this article on Washington Post! It’s always refreshing for me to see this sort of thing get some more mainstream coverage.

 

[williamsnodo]

@joshuawithmartin One of the worst things about getting better at reading dog body language as I’ve walked this journey of being a reactive dog parent is seeing obviously uncomfortable dogs in public like at street fairs, bars, etc. and their completely oblivious owners ferrying them around. It’s a “once you see it you can’t unsee it” type situation.

 

[hiccup]

@joshuawithmartin For me, I also can't unsee dogs not being allowed to sniff. Everyday I see dogs pulling towards a tree to explore a scent and it being yanked off to continue to walk with discipline.

It's actually quite sad.

 

[johnny1973]

@hiccup To be fair, if I allowed my dog to sniff everything she wanted on a walk we would move 10 feet per hour lol. But I don’t yank her away, I use a command that she knows to listen to for a treat and get back in heel

 

[hiccup]

@johnny1973 Assuming your dog is reactive, don't want to be "that person" but your dog is telling you it wants to sniff, you should allow it at the 10ft an hour and see where you land. Especially if you have a scent hound. Thought I'd share my experience.

My trainer would make me stop dead everytime my dog went nose to the ground and I was only allowed to distract to avoid a developing situation. Initially for a few months, I covered very small distances and it gradually became more.

As my trainer said "A 100m sniffari is better than 1000m no sniff walk". It seems to work amazing for my dog and had a huge impact to his reactivity.

 

[lizlugo51]

@hiccup When I have plenty of time, I tell our dog we’re having a Choose Your Adventure walk. We let him choose which direction when walking in our neighborhood. He absolutely loves it and helps us practice his Wait and Let’s Cross. We wait at all road crossings to look both ways. Our large neighborhood has a walk path through the middle and surrounding the community.

 

[hiccup]

@lizlugo51 I do this too! Funnily he organically learnt wait and let's cross without having to "train" him. It was more communication than conditioning if that makes sense at all. The poor trainer had to rewire and reframe my views constantly towards communication than conditioning.

 

[johnny1973]

@hiccup I mostly follow this sub for refreshers and to see if I can offer any advice. My dog’s come a long way. She has the rare moments (maybe one or two instances a week) of getting overexcited on the leash but overall is very calm and loose leash walks (hence her returning to heel when I ask). Also, I am busy and she will not poop within 1/4 mile of our property if she can avoid it, sometimes to the point of making herself hold it for 30 hours if i try to force her to go nearby (we live in a complex with a lot of dogs and she doesn’t like going around other dogs’ business). I cannot stand there with her all day. She gets PLENTY of activity and sniffari time- we go to off leash trails where she has 100% perfect recall at least 4x weekly and we do tons of scent enrichment every day whether that be scent work, treat hunts, puzzle games, etc. Our walks are important for me on days we can’t do trail walks to get some exercise as well since I’m pregnant and can’t do much but walk right now.

 

[jamfitz001]

@johnny1973 I am with you, I try to let my dogs sniff as much as possible but it’s just not realistic to let them sniff everything they stick their noses to and I don’t have endless amounts of patience although I wish I did. My girls get more than enough time off leash, on leash walks, etc., but when you’re doing multiple walks a day or even walking back home from an off leash activity it builds up and fr putting a command for when to sniff/continue waking has been great

 

[hiccup]

@jamfitz001 If it helps at all, I don't have patience either. My trainer advised me not to walk the dog the days I don't have patience. So I skip the occasional walk if I know I'm going to get antsy or take a shorter route and it's eased up a lot of the pressure. Apparently, interrupting a sniff was accruing frustration for my dog.

It worked well for my dog because when we had hit rock bottom, I was advised to maximise positive experiences and minimise accrual of frustration at both ends of the leash and within a couple of months, the difference was night and day.

But then again, I did have it easier having to manage just one dog.

 

[jamfitz001]

@hiccup I came across a video a few months ago of an owner talking about this feeling and the overall struggle of when your in a mental state that makes walking and training just so taxing on yourself. It was honestly one of the first times I had really heard what I was feeling, she acknowledges that there are moments when she’s almost a liability and an unsafe owner/mentor when in these states. Pretty much everything your trainer told you!!

I can’t stand owners who genuinely judge others for texting while walking and trying to keep walking and not getting stopped by sniffs every few feet. Like in essence, I understand what we’re judging lol but at the same time ppl totally skip over the situational factors and liek to assume that’s a depiction of your relationship when it’s just a mere few seconds. In a dream world where I had all of the patience I’d let my dogs sniff and play with me all day, but heck in my dream world I’d live near the woods somewhere where they could roam all day not in an apartment.

Having 2 pups can definitely be a lot of work, frustration, and oh so much patience, buuut it can be a heck a lot of fun and love. They’re so different so it has given me the chance to do more things and it has really opened up my world. I would say the most pressing and consistent annoyance though is just that first walk of the day on our short leashes especially the first like 5 minutes is when I’m probably pissed off lol. I need to step it up on training, but those first 5 minutes always feel like ineivetable leash tension and frustration.

I hadn’t heard of nor honestly thought of the frustration that builds with interrupting a sniff, so thanks for that!!

 

[hiccup]

@jamfitz001 I feel you on your description of the first 5 minutes. I was surprised that I was even capable of feeling so pissed off. But the process has made me extremely empathetic and I've been able to reflect and drop my judgements on so many topics.

The sniffing frustration analysis was done through observing behaviour. In the minutes succeeding the interruption my dog was pulling more, occasionally picking up stuff from the street and walking much faster. When allowed to move when he was "done", none of these happened. We've reached a point today where the occassional interruption doesn't have much of an effect as it used to. But those early days were so meh.

On days where I have important meetings, my partner steps in if they can and during tough work weeks means I hire a dog walker for that week.

When I see advise on this sub, I always keep in mind that each dog and each situation is unique with their owners having their own constraints.

 

[nimianima]

@hiccup Haha I love sniffari

 

[tass]

@hiccup This makes me so sad. I swear that every dog owner in our neighborhood is always on a phone call while walking their dog, which at best means they're not attentive to waht their dog wants, but also that they're not alert to the body language of others (us with our reactive dog desperately trying to avoid them.)

 

[kjrambo]

@hiccup We use a harness for "sniffy walks" and a collar for "walk walks".

He mostly gets it.

 

[maizeemay]

@hiccup You only see a blink of their life. When my dog is in a heel he isn’t allowed to stop and sniff (except dog encounters) and he isn’t allowed to pee or poop. On the short leash (~8ft) he isn’t allowed to pull me around. He can sniff but we are walking. BUT he has plenty of time on the long line (~50ft) where he can sniff, stay for minutes at one place, run around and explore his environment. We were on a 2 hour walk today and he was in heel ~20 minutes, short leash ~25 minutes and the rest on long line. But his long line time was in the forest where we didn’t meet many people and when we’re around houses he is on his short leash. So you would see me telling my dog to not sniff and continuing to walk but that doesn’t mean he isn’t allowed to sniff.

 

[hiccup]

@maizeemay My comment was based on observation of the dogs body language I see regularly on my walks. It's sampled over a significant period of time and it's usually always the same set of dogs.

The comment was made from the point of view of the dog trying to communicate a need in a moment and being ignored or dismissed. The need itself isn't even a potentially dangerous need. It's just a sniff. It's not like the dog was trying to go towards another dog or pulling to cross the street.

If a dog is pulling to an area for a sniff, it wants to sniff. It's saying it loud and clear.

This is hardly a debate of whether it's right or wrong or owner circumstances and logic. It's simple fact and observation.

If I prevent my dog from sniffing, I know I actively denied a need. The justification for doing so are mine but they mean nothing to my dog.

 

[finlandia]

@williamsnodo That and damn near every "funny" dog video is a dog being uncomfortable, scared, or dangerous

 

[sheasapothecarys]

@finlandia So many “funny cat” videos are just animal abuse it’s so sad

 

[finlandia]

@sheasapothecarys Seeing a cat with the largest pupils on earth, tail flailing, etc "tee hee"....