I started walking dogs in late August, and have been thoroughly enjoying my time. Recently, it dawned on me that my poor Wuppy was not getting nearly the time or exercise that she had, prior to my employment. This weighed heavily on my heart. In analyzing the situation, I knew I had built good/strong relationships with all the dogs I'm walking, I felt confident in understanding their temperaments, and being able to introduce something new and wild. So......I bit the bullet and brought Wild Wizzle to work today. What an AWESOME day we had!!!! :)
The first dog we walked with is a young lab, 10.5mos. She's extremely distracted by other dogs in her class (she's taking her FIRST class ever), and is VERY bouncy and happy. My concern was that the conversation would go like this:
Fizz: "Hi, I'm Fizz, I *LOVE* to play!"
Sophie: "Hi, I do too.......let's GO!"
At which point.......my shoulders would promptly be released of their duty as intact joints and happy mayhem would ensue.
Sophie walks on a pinch, Fizz was in her "blue nose collar" (as James calls it). After a very bouncy, happy, leash-entangling greeting (as I extracted Fizz from her car crate), I got them on each side of me, gave them approximately 1" of leash each, and off we went. There were several attempts at Mayhem and Madness, but quickly, both dogs settled into a good walk. Fizz was on my right, and was even working at giving me nice 'side walking, heads up' work. VERY happy with this choice! She was rewarded (and Sophie was oblivious!). Several times I asked them to sit, both did, though Sophie was slow....she did take her cues from Fizz (who sat fast and tight). Rewards to both for good sits. And, by saying a name before feeding, NEITHER dog tried to intrude upon the treat headed for the other dog. GOOD girls!! :)
In looking at this pairing, Sophie needs work on working around other dogs, and Fizz is always looking for opportunities to work through and around distraction. Lots of chances here to work with both girls on their "issues." I'm thinking of putting Fizz in stays, and walking Sophie around her, etc.
The next dog that Fizz got to meet is an older Lab bitch (approx 6yrs) who can be reactive to other dogs on our walks. That said, she's NOT generally a reactive dog, and is actually very calm and laid back. I knew if the intro went well, that they'd be just fine. With Keely on leash, I got Fizz out of the car, and it was very interesting to see Fizz read Keely and react differently to her. She tried one "hihowareya!" leap, and then settled into typical dog greetings. Keely was mildly stiff and I made sure Fizz didn't get too into her space. We headed off on our walk, and they were like two old souls who'd been walking together for years. YAY!!! I'm particularly excited about this b/c Keely and I typically go through downtown of a large town/small city, and see lots of stuff that Fizz would never see in our little town.
The coolest part of Keely and Fizz was their amazing response to "sit!" when we got to crosswalks. Both of those butts dropped like rocks on one gentle, "not loud" command. It was impressive to watch, and put a big smile on my face. I saw several heads turn to watch too! :) Looking forward to putting on the "LabWeiler" obedience show downtown over the upcoming weeks and months. At one crosswalk, Keely self-released after reward (I think that's what she's learned in her training), and Fizz continued to hold her sit. I was very proud of her....and thought ahead to Novice obedience and the line of stays, when one dog breaks......lots of ways to practice that with these two! :)
Fizz's final walk of the day was with a 3rd Lab bitch, this one is the same age as Fizz, and just out of standing heat. I knew these two would want to play, but also knew that Jasmine is not a total spazz like Sophie. Had them both on leash at the back of my car, and grabbed a bag of treats to put in my pocket. Didn't realize it had a hole in it, and treats went everywhere. Rut roh! Had no idea what to expect from either dog, and seeing as they'd *just* met, had no idea if 'diving for treats' would be viewed as an offense by either one. Quickly got them into a sit, and life was fine. Neither was bothered by the actions of the other in the initial treat snarfling.
We took a nice walk, and popped in to visit with an agility friend from a few years back. Poor JudyJo, I didn't quite have hold of everyone and she got a chest full of LabWeiler. Sorry JJ!!!! Fizz gave me lots of heads-up heeling on this walk, I don't think I'd have taken any bet that on Day 1 of "walking with OTHER DOGS!!!" that my Wuppy would choose to work with me (vs. play and be a wild child!). SO very happy!
The final 'learning event' of the day for me (about my dog) was that she doesn't care if other dogs join her in her crate. !!!! Upon returning to Jasmine's house, we went to the back of my van, and I had Fizz jump up into the crate. Jasmine decided she was going too (where ever it was that we might be going!), and hopped right on in. Suddenly, I have 2 24", 75-ish pound bitches in one 500 crate. Eeek! Had Jasmine outta there in a flash, and Fizz was like "where did my friend go??" :)
So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that:
1. My puppy is starting to mature, and will choose me/work over play with other dogs (MAJOR shock to learn this!)
2. My puppy does not guard high value treats, even from dogs she's just met.
3. My puppy has no crate space issues. :)
4. My puppy will hold high-reinforced behaviors under greater distraction than I thought possible, don't be afraid to challenge puppy / raise the bar.
:)
