Walking along a public lane with my dogs yesterday, both walking politely to heel on lead, when half dozen medium/large dogs appeared as if from nowhere and suddenly launched themselves headlong at us as one, barking rudely. I had no choice but to stand in front of my girls and shout for the person walking them to recall and put them on leads ... at which point a professional dog walker appeared, called them but was completely ignored by her pack.
The reason I'm sharing this experience is because, as an owner of a very sociable breed myself, I do understand completely the problems faced by owning dogs that like to say hello - however having a pack of six large barking dogs running towards you while you are walking your own dogs politely on lead, can be very very intimidating and is certainly not the behaviour I would anticipate from a paid professional dog walker, whilst on a narrow public footpath.
Thankfully I was able to extricate my girls safely because they were wearing their Halti head harnesses. Had they not been wearing the head harnesses, I don't for one second doubt that Polly would have lunged and attempted to defend us as the dogs swarmed us, which would probably have ended with someone getting hurt. I am often asked why my dogs wear the Halti and the answer is simple, this head harness gives me complete control if difficult situations arise, as having control of the dog's head means I can turn quickly and take them with me, yes, even when there are several excitable dogs surrounding us! My girls trust that I will take care of any situation for them while they wear their harnesses and so don't attempt to respond on my behalf in stressful scenarios.
As for the group of rowdy dogs, unfortunately their paid walker had far less control over her group so it took her a while to round them up successfully. Once she had done so, I had a rather firm word with her and continued on my way with my girls, to allow them to have a lovely free run in an appropriate green space.
Several things spring to mind:
1. Please teach your dog a reliable recall. It will help keep him out of trouble and safe.
2. If you know you have a dog who is likely to run up to another dog on lead, please put your dog back on his lead on until you have passed the leaded dog safely and politely, especially on public footpaths. Your dog may be friendly but the oncoming dog wearing a lead, may need a little space to cope well.
3. Don't be afraid to use a Halti head harness! They are a really useful tool and can help keep your dog safe in tricky situations. They are also a useful training tool for dogs who pull, or lunge and if you train your dog to walk to heel politely and with a slack lead, he or she shouldn't even notice they are wearing the Halti.
4. Check out your paid dog walkers carefully. Ensure you find out what their policy is for keeping your dog safe on group walks. Try to find one who also teaches dog obedience using positive reinforcement techniques.
5. Recall. Teach it. Train it. Work on it. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Yep, I'm repeating this one over and over as it is so very important!
:-)
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