Your Dog — November 2017

http://www.yourdog.co.uk

DOS AND DON’TS OF GROUP WALKING

1

Plan your companions wisely — while you may

want to walk your nine-month-old Great Dane

with your friend’s 14-year-old Chihuahua, no one is

going to enjoy the experience. Match activity levels,

fi tness, and exercise requirements carefully for

a successful walk.

2

Start off your walks with all the dogs on-lead and

just walking together without any interaction to

make sure they are comfortable. Don’t just turn up

and let everyone off-lead and hope for the best.

3

If your dog is worried about new dogs, walk him

with one or two calm dogs from the group fi rst,

before expecting him to cope with a large group.

4

If you own a crazily friendly dog (usually

a Labrador!), make sure he doesn’t bounce

on or intimidate more sedate dogs or those who

like to keep their friends at a distance. This may

mean putting him on the lead for a while, or letting

the dogs off-lead in well-matched groups, rather

than all together.

5

No matter how much you enjoy catching up with

your friends, watch the dogs all the time for signs

of over-arousal, fraying canine tempers, looking

worried — or just the terriers taking everyone off into

the undergrowth!

6

Remember that a large group of dogs can

be intimidating for other dog walkers or

non-doggy users of the space you are in. Behave

respectfully to others.

Your Dog November 2017 77

a ‘singleton’ dog turns up, they often show

some reserve, hold back a bit, and look to

their owners for reassurance.

“They’ll risk a bit of a sniff, but then

usually it is as if a light bulb has gone off

in their head and they come alive; you can

almost imagine them punching the air with

joy, as they want to get in and be part

of the group. It may take a few minutes

of group walking but, by the end of an

hour’s walk, they are fully integrated.

The next time they come, it is much easier

for them.”

Paul also thinks dogs recognise others

of their breed: “I remember at a Dandie

Dinmont show a few years back, there

were about 50 Dandie Dinmonts all

behaving well in the hall, when one of the

members brought in her Standard Poodle.

The dogs went berserk, all barking until

the Poodle was removed from the hall

— when it all went quiet again. I don’t

know if that was a one-off but it does stick

in my mind.”

DOGGY DAY-CARE

More and more people are having to

combine dog-owning with full-time work

too, with many using the services of a dog

walker or doggy day-care — with varying

degrees of success.

Calum McConnell is a committee

member of the Association of Pet Dog

Trainers (APDT). He runs doggy day-care

business, Hilltop Howlers,

based in Barnet, London,

and has previously

worked in larger day-care

businesses. He sees lots

of breeds and types

of dog coming into

day-care, and notices

their behaviour changing

when they are part of

a larger group.

“Day-care is not for

every dog,” he says.

“I take dogs on a trial

period and some will

instantly get on fi ne with

the group; others take

a few weeks, and for some, it just doesn’t

work out. There seems to be scope for

dogs who are generally more excitable to

be more boisterous, and for dogs who are

usually more reserved to become anxious.

“This is the same on group walks.

The breed of the dog should be taken

into consideration, but it is their

individual characteristics which is the

most important thing. For example,

a thirteen-year-old Shih Tzu who spends

most of his life sleeping on the sofa is

unlikely to enjoy being around a group

of energetic youngsters.”

Calum goes on to say that, in his

experience, socialising in a small, calm

group may help to bring a more reticent

dog out of his shell a bit, whereas a huge

group walk or a large, bustling day-care

group can be far too much and have the

opposite effect.

“Many people think their dogs love

being in a big group; they see their dog

is exhausted and think that’s good,” he

adds, “but they don’t think that, actually,

they may be tired because the day has

been over-stimulating and really stressful.”

Being part of a group of dogs can be

the perfect way to exercise your dog, and

for some dogs, it is their idea of a perfect

walk. Planned carefully, most dogs enjoy

canine company and you can see them

blossom as they interact and exercise their

social skills.

Group walks offer humans and

their dogs the chance to have

a good catch-up!

76-77 yd pack MJ AMCC.indd 77 22/09/2017 15:13