Hiking With Dogs
Off-Leash.
I recently constructed a info graphic regarding the ethics of hiking with dogs. I am part of many different dog hiking and outdoor dog adventure groups, the biggest complaint that comes up over and over again is off-leash dogs.
Please leash up for the safety of others if not for your pup.
Hiking Off-Leash
We understand the joy of having our dogs run free but not at the expense of their safety or the safety of other people, horseback riders, and other dogs. Ziva has excellent recall, want to know how I know?
I've been able to call her off of chasing a cat at a full on dead sprint when she was at least 100 yards away from me when she started and moving away even quicker. Our signal is I whistle (this signal means give me your attention a.k.a "look"), and then hollered out a very loud, "COME!" She promptly stopped, longingly watched the cat dash off to the safety of a blackberry bush, and then returned without another step in the wrong direction.
Dante? Not so good...he used to be but seems to be lazy recently so we're back to practicing.
When we allow our dogs off-leash while out hiking it is in an area where we can see people coming so that we have time to call in the dogs and leash up.
Going Off-Leash
- Is it a busy area? Are their other hikers around?
- Is it hunting season? Is your dog wearing any easily seen colors like orange?
- Do you have a clear view of the trails or area? Will you be able to see people coming and have time to leash up?
- Is your dog micro-chipped and wearing his identification should he happen to get lost?
- WHO IS WATCHING YOUR DOG? Don't just assume your spouse, friend, or child is watching your dog. It only takes a second for a dog to disappear on some happy adventure!
- Does your dog come when called? Even the best of recall dogs have their moments so practice and make sure you can get your dog's attention when you need to. Some trainers teach emergency words that are only used in an absolute emergency, that way the word doesn't become ruined like the word, "come" which tends to be abused and over used.
Why Leash Up?
Having worked through re-activity issues with Ziva I can personally tell you that you can undue months of HARD WORK and threshold training if your dog rushes up to greet. The only way to work on threshold training and increasing a reactive dogs' tolerance is for that dog to be around other dogs and not be approached. When working with Ziva we took every excuse possible to visit busy dog places like the pet store, local parks, and just walking around downtown - always on the lookout for off-leash dogs however.
It was extremely beneficial to just have her practice ignoring other dogs, even badly behaved dogs. One exercise we worked up to (please don't just jump into this if you have a re-active dog!) was being near a dog that was, for lack of a better word...going crazy, barking, jumping, lunging, you name it. We'd stop, recognize the threat/dog, analyze the situation, and if we deemed it safe we would slowly bring Ziva towards the dog. If she reacted we'd back up until we had her attention again. The goal of this game was for her to keep her attention on us and not pay any attention to the other dog. This is an example of threshold training - we were slowly building up her threshold.
However during this time it is important that you have your pups trust. Ziva trusted myself and the hubby to handle the situation, and we were careful to always set her up for success. Sometimes we'd get within 10-20 feet from a barking dog behind a fence. Sometimes 100 feet or more was needed for Ziva to be comfortable and able to ignore the other dog.
If however rushed, we can't control the situation as well. I mean think about it from Ziva's stand point: A dog is running up to greet her. She immediately sees a threat to her personal safety so the brain kicks in and says, "Fight or Flight!" Being on a leash, and not naturally a scaredy cat...She stands her ground.
First her hackles raise and lips curl. Second stage she begins growling. If the threat continues she starts snarling loudly and lunging.
Now you try to hold back a nearly 50 pound little gal who is all muscle and knows how to use her weight.
Way to go dumb as dog owner for letting your dog be off-leash, you just ruined our walk and destroyed all the threshold training we've been working on.
Many dog owners don't know anything about training a dog to do anything. I've not heard of that training (threshold) either. So that was news to me.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
It's definitely needed if you have a reactive dog, that's how I learned about it. :-) And it really does help! You use lots of treats or toys and the goal is to see how close you can get while maintaining their attention.
DeleteSome great tips here - thanks for sharing. Good example of threshold training, I just wish more folks would be aware of the proper way to approach a new dog and that just because their dog is 'friendly' doesn't mean that everyone they meet is!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I wish people were more considerate too..but since most aren't I just keep my eyes open for trouble. :-)
DeleteA friend of mine has a very reactive dog, but she has been doing well with him. These are great tips, and always good to share and reinforce to other dog owners who might not be aware that their actions and choices can set others back in training a few months.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to your friend! We know how hard it can be.
DeleteOff leash dogs are a pet peeve of Jan. Some people know their dog must be on a leash but they figure they're above the law. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys!! *wags!*
DeleteGreat post!! There are only a few places we take our dogs for off leash hikes. For the most part we leave them on with the exception of the one big off leash park near where we live.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. Too many times we run into dogs running loose that the owner clearly has no control over!
ReplyDeleteYour Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
OH yes...I just love having a dog run over with no owner in sight.. ugh I've gotten pretty good at chewing owners out.
DeleteWonderful post! Thank you for putting this out there!
ReplyDeleteThanks for spreading the word about how harmful it can be for a dog's training to have to deal with off-leash dogs. Luckily, Barley's bounced back from all of our off-leash encounters very quickly, but I spend days worrying about what kind of damage might be done every time.
ReplyDeleteWe just learned Murphy and Stanley are having posts stolen and posted to ur-dogs-training. com/ (We don't want to advertise the site so we broke up the url.) The reason we are leaving this comment is because when we scrolled down the site, we saw this post of yours we just read a little while ago. We figure you're not aware of it, so we're letting you know.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the notice we are aware of the problem! It was 2 Brown Dawgs who first notified me, i've been rallying others whose sites I noticed were stolen including Murphy & Stanley, ZoePhee, Two Pitties In the City, and a couple others.
DeleteWhat a great community! I love that everyone has everyone else's back.
Great article with safe and sensible off-leash walking tips. We do love to do off-leash walks when and where we can safely. I use a different collar (with a clip loop on the back of the collar) when doing off-leashes so that I can quickly leash Haley up without fumbling under her neck to find the metal leash loop. Even though Haley has great recall, I still carry treats with me every time we go and I reward her occasionally for her recall.
ReplyDeleteThere are dogs who can be off leash and it works wonderfully. Mom has had such dogs, but we are not. We are hounds, who are out of control at the sight of a wabbit or squirrel. We are off leash at the dog park but Mom is close by and picks up after us, makes sure we are not rude, etc. Simply letting your dog off leash, on regular walks is for most dogs and their owners irresponsible. Luckily, where we live most folks have their dogs leashed up. Great post and thanks for joining the hop!
ReplyDeleteGreat reminders! Nothing like having a Dogue de Bordeaux barreling at you and your dog, slamming into your leg while your Shih Tzu is trying to poop. Recall is also a favorite reminder -- reinforcing this training is such a life saver. Thanks for the post, and nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteGretel is anxious around other dogs but has gotten better over the years. She is pretty good on trail where the quarters are tight if the other dog minds their own business and stays a bit away from her. I had two off-leash dogs approach her (on a leash required trail), no owners in sight, and still trying to stick their nose her business even while shielding her with by body. She went nuts. THEN came along the owners of another dog and they had the nerve to comment on how obnoxious Gretel was! It's that kind of stuff that can ruin the whole hike for me...and probably Gretel too.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind that I am going to link to this post in my next post. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's fine with me! :-)
DeleteThis is a good post. I've been lucky enough to live in an area where we rarely meet anyone where we hike. Never, in fact. Ever. But before living here, we have been in iffy situations where a dog (sometimes mine) would be off-lease and another would approach. Oh dear. Things can happen so fast. Thank you for the wide advice. Hopefully people will take heed. :)
ReplyDelete