TAG | walking
Ok – so Hubby was right - I did feel abit odd pushing a stroller around the neighborhood 7 months pregnant. I was thinking to myself that either people couldn’t see in the stroller and thought I was crazy for having two babies so close together or they could see in the stroller and thought I was crazy for pushing an empty stroller. I will say there was an advantage with pushing a stroller just from a support standpoint when you are waddling around.
Enough about me… on to the dogs. I started stroller training with my Cocker Spaniel, TJ, who is generally the easiest to walk. He seemed a bit perplexed by the stroller as it put a kink in his normal sweeping pattern. By this I mean that TJ likes to zig-zag in front of me when I walk to check out all the yards and smells. He tried to cross in front of the stroller, but then the leash would get caught and he would get tapped on the bottom by the stroller. With the help of a few treats and the command “With Me”, TJ quickly figured out that he needed to stay at my side and any zig-zagging needed to be done behind me.
TJ was able to adapt to the stroller with just one loop around the neighboorhood – here’s hoping it will be just as easy with my bigger dogs.
Another afternoon walk. We were trying to wait out the cold wind. I think the dogs behave better in the morning. The dogs, Deuce, Rookie, Ryder and Yazzie were a little edgy. We had some snapping and some low grumbling growling noises. It was very windy, we encountered a few people and dogs, nothing special.
Walked the lake with Deuce, Rookie, Ryder and Yazzie. A little out of practice, but after a few yards they fell right into step. Lose leashes, staying right by our sides.
Taxing walk in the afternoon, three times around the lake, walking 5 dogs. The first time around was eventful. The dogs were excited, and the time of day was different. A lot of people out and about. We encountered a woman being pulled around the lake by her three Samoyeds. They were out of control from a distance, and as they got closer the ferocity of the frenzy was insane. Now our dogs were adding to the craziness, with pulling, whining and barking. Fortunately we came to a wide spot in the path and we could pull our dogs aside and try to redirect their focus. This was not easy. We went around twice more so that the experience could end on a positive note.
Tip: To redirect focus, you can use Watch Me and issue various commands as found in our FUNdamentals courses
