Pack walk (no Hector)

[Hector]

I am currently working with a 5 month old pup that has some insecurity and reactivity issues. I take him out for socialization 1x a week. I expose him to lots of people and things and we work on leash pressure and some confidence building activities. Strangely, he has some reactivity issues towards dogs even though he lives in a home that fosters so many dogs that it's hard to count and so far has not shown anything concerning towards people. Today we went on a pack walk with the local rescue lady and 7 other dogs. Two are active working SAR dogs and this lady is a blood hound fanatic if you can't already tell. We did 3.4 miles and everyone got along with everyone. It was great. In the photos he kept on wanting to pull towards me - another sign of being insecure. We are working hard on building his confidence.

 

[tmricciuto]

What a great looking pack. He'll get there. It might just take some time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hector]

What a great looking pack. He'll get there. It might just take some time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, confidence takes time to build and I just wish I wasn't the only one who knows how to work him. His owners are not equipped with the knowledge nor have the time. The owners have reported positive changes in his behavior towards meeting new people. This dog is super chill, way too chill if you ask me, so he will grow up to be a great dog if we continue to do a great deal of socialization with him.

 

[joshua8838]

Do you think that households with children help boost a dogs cofidence to be social with others? I have never had a problem with my dogs being social and I can't help but if the kids help as well as me taking them out experience everything

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

 

[Hiraeth]

Do you think that households with children help boost a dogs cofidence to be social with others? I have never had a problem with my dogs being social and I can't help but if the kids help as well as me taking them out experience everything Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

I think households with kids can go both ways. If the kids are quiet, calm and taught how to appropriately interact with animals from a young age, then they're a wonderful socializing tool. But if the kids are loud, hyperactive and chase the dog or run from the dog, they can easily traumatize a sensitive puppy.

Taking the puppy out to experience everything is probably why you have well balanced dogs. "Socialization" isn't just meeting people - it's learning how to act "in society". So how to behave around cars, loud noises, people on skateboards, other dogs, etc. That's all an important part of socializing that cannot be done in the home, whether kids are in the home or not.

Those Bloodhounds are gorgeous. My neighbors have a Bloodhound/Mastiff mix and he has the coolest baying bark ever. Well, it's not so cool when I hear it at 6:00 am like today, but otherwise, the volume he gets is amazing.

 

[Hector]

Do you think that households with children help boost a dogs cofidence to be social with others? I have never had a problem with my dogs being social and I can't help but if the kids help as well as me taking them out experience everything Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

Everything Hiraeth said. I'm not sure what you mean by boosting the dog's confidence to be social with others. Social with who and what? Socialization is not about meeting people or dogs or dog parks or anything forced. It is about teaching dogs how to act in public. It's about training them to become aloof to distractions and teaching them how to deal with pressure. Socialization is not so big deal if the pup is confident, curious, and stable because the dog is not going to react to every sound, every movement and if they do, they rebound fairly quickly. Socialization with an insecure, reactive, scared dog is harder. They have low thresholds. Everything they are unsure of, they react with growling, barking, fleeing. It requires way more work. It has a lot to do with exposure, positive experiences and the ability to expose them to stimuli and then help them disengage and re-engage with handler by using a combo of distance and obedience. At times you have to test and push the dog's comfort level, but at the same time know when to drive the stimuli away or control it.

For example, the dog is a bit people shy. He doesn't like to be approached let alone touched by strangers. Anyone that asked me to pet him, I told them no, we're training. During the pack walk, we kept our distance at first as he started grumbling just by the sight of them. We didn't approach anyone and we walked behind the whole pack. There were two dogs that were off leash and one of them was hyper, so I had to shoo her away like 5 times so Kit wouldn't be overwhelmed and react. He didn't like face to face greetings. Immediately he'd back off and close his mouth. He made himself small whenever dogs sniffed his rear or body. We kept the sniffings very brief and dogs were almost immediately pulled away. Towards the end (1.5 hr walk) he became really comfortable with himself and the rest of the pack. He was leading the walk, sniffing out other dogs, didn't care if dogs got close or sniffed him, hopped over a bunch of fallen trees, and even pulled to keep up. The change was amazing.

 

[Hector]

I think households with kids can go both ways. If the kids are quiet, calm and taught how to appropriately interact with animals from a young age, then they're a wonderful socializing tool. But if the kids are loud, hyperactive and chase the dog or run from the dog, they can easily traumatize a sensitive puppy. Taking the puppy out to experience everything is probably why you have well balanced dogs. "Socialization" isn't just meeting people - it's learning how to act "in society". So how to behave around cars, loud noises, people on skateboards, other dogs, etc. That's all an important part of socializing that cannot be done in the home, whether kids are in the home or not. Those Bloodhounds are gorgeous. My neighbors have a Bloodhound/Mastiff mix and he has the coolest baying bark ever. Well, it's not so cool when I hear it at 6:00 am like today, but otherwise, the volume he gets is amazing.

All those dogs in the picture are rescues. The old hound that's off leash and big looking is 10 yrs old with double hip displasia at a young adolescent age. She was going to be a SAR dog, but didn't because of her hips. She can go miles and miles and has no problem keeping up. It's amazing to watch her and Kit really liked her and she really liked me because of the chicken breast in my pocket lmao. The hounds would get frustrated if anyone walked in front of them. They'd bay and bay and bay.

 

[Hector]

Getting everyone to sit/stay. It was pretty funny. Little ninja dog did not want to be a part of this so you never see her in any pics lol. The big hound on the right is Savannah, the displasic dog.

 

[DennasMom]

Awesome! Love what a good walk with friends (human and canine) can accomplish!

When we hired a dog-walker for our Lab/Dane mix, I was a bit miffed when she showed up with two kids in tow (a toddler and an infant in stroller)... turns out that was the BEST thing ever! We don't have kids, but our puppy got to grow up with two well-behaved children in his life. He was always a hit with our friends kids, too... who he saw often - but not as often as the dog-walker's kids.

Denna also gets to see the same kids, but they're in middle and high school now (our friend's kids are also getting older now)... so not quite the same as learning to behave around toddlers and all their crazy movements. Still good for her, but she can be a bit over-excited around the smaller kids - often barking at them in her excitement, which tends to not put parents (or kids) at ease around my big girl.

 

[DennasMom]

That puppy sure looks like a sweetie!!! So glad he has you to help - and that his parents recognize the need and benefits of your help, too!

 

[Hector]

Awesome! Love what a good walk with friends (human and canine) can accomplish!When we hired a dog-walker for our Lab/Dane mix, I was a bit miffed when she showed up with two kids in tow (a toddler and an infant in stroller)... turns out that was the BEST thing ever! We don't have kids, but our puppy got to grow up with two well-behaved children in his life. He was always a hit with our friends kids, too... who he saw often - but not as often as the dog-walker's kids.Denna also gets to see the same kids, but they're in middle and high school now (our friend's kids are also getting older now)... so not quite the same as learning to behave around toddlers and all their crazy movements. Still good for her, but she can be a bit over-excited around the smaller kids - often barking at them in her excitement, which tends to not put parents (or kids) at ease around my big girl.

That's pretty freaking awesome! Socialization done right is such a huge deal.