To not walk my dog at the minute?

[BourbonBon]

I really want to but she’s in season. She’s already a very reactive dog so I don’t think I should? But she’s desperate to go for a walk 😞 it’s snowing and I so want to take her out in it 😭

YABU - walk her
YANBU - you can’t

Your dog needs a walk. Take her out and keep her on a lead.

I walk my dog in season on a leash somewhere quiet. She loves snow too so you have my sympathy. Do you live somewhere quiet or you could go for a drive to somewhere out the way.

I don’t know much about dogs in season, you should get this thread moved to the DogHouse for better advice perhaps. Maybe hiring a secure field would work?

Hire a secure field or go somewhere quiet during off peak walky hours.
Keep her on a lead, and carry a spare in case an off lead male dog comes and tries it on.

Is this a thing? If a dog has a season (is that a period?!) They can't go out? Seems cruel.

Do you have a garden so she can experience the snow there?

Dogs on heat can tend to be more grumpy, and that on top of significant reactivity isn't going to be fun.

This is the advice from my local well qualified behaviourist on walking in season bitches - basically, go where other dogs won't be off lead. m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02JLAzuXfpD8Wp7m3zpf4wAME9yRexN4jG39cdzjbX5xxvgzT6ALcov1cr1RQkQA1Al&id=100063748774989

Depending on your dog's triggers, that might be a standard walk for you - though if your dog is larger and might be capable of causing you to slip in the snow when reacting, it might be best to give it a miss today in favour of some brain games.

PS are you planning on having her spayed? Unspayed bitches are at much higher risk for diseases like pyometra and mammary cancer, and breeding from a reactive dog would be utterly irresponsible.

You need to walk her somewhere quiet where she won't meet any other dogs if you want to take her out. It won't hurt to miss a few walks as long as you tire her out mentally with games etc.

@SnowLemons It can actually be cruel to walk her as male dogs will be able to smell her from distance away. It can have a really bad effect on male dogs, they can become distressed, go off food etc. Dogs don't always need walks if they have alternative stimulation such as mental sniffing games.

Please don’t do it. I would be less worried about your dog and more concerned about off lead male dogs in the area. My friends lovely dog was killed running across a road by a park to get to a bitch in season. He was normally exceptionally well behaved with perfect recall but the scent can drive them crazy.

You should take her to a secure field. Google or ask other people you know.

Please don't take her out on the leads - it's really dangerous for male dogs.

I can't see a need to do away with walks entirely, surely it would be better to just get it over with very early or late when no other dogs are around (avoid parks etc) or hire a private field, there seem to be a few around these days.

Put a couple of leads on her (one on the harness, one on the collar) for some extra security even if it's just to make you feel better.

Hopefully she will be spayed and therefore it isn't a long term issue. If you're doing shorter walks or even no walks then lots of exercise at home and toys or puzzles fo brain stimulation are very good.

Oh right! Learn something new everyday thank you!

Put your dog in the car, drive a few miles away then walk her on a lead in a secluded or on lead only area. You need to drive away from your house so stray males don’t jump your fence.

As the owner of a male dog I would plead with you not to even go to a secure field, it really isn’t fair on other dogs. The scent can last hours in dry weather. When our dog was in training classes they once had to cancel as a dog in season had been in the field a couple of hours before. None of the male dogs could concentrate and were all going crazy looking for the bitch. Our dog was out of sorts for the next 24 hours and the class instructor was furious with the previous teacher.

I decided against it, better safe than sorry.

for those who were asking, she isn’t spayed yet as she’s EXTREMELY vet fear aggressive. Just going in that place sends her loopy to the point where she wants to attack everyone in sight and pisses herself. It’s horrendous and traumatising for her (and everyone else). I’m looking into sedation that can be given at home so I can get her done but the vet is reluctant. I’m also concerned that having her spayed will make her even more aggressive.

Another thread about another reactive and aggressive dog.

What the fuck is going on? No fun for the dogs, no fun for the owners, bloody nightmare for the vets.

You have to get her spayed, not doing so is very irresponsible.

I was just thinking this, why are so many dogs at the moment "reactive" or aggressive? Who the fuck wants these dogs in their house? It must be exhausting.

My friends dog hates all other dogs and can be aggressive, it's miserable and she's not mine but I fine walking with them really stressful.

This isn’t a lockdown puppy before anyone suggests it is. She was a rescue and yes it is incredibly stressful, lonely and upsetting.

You have to get her spayed, not doing so is very irresponsible.

If there are health reasons why a dog cannot be spayed - be they physical or, as in this case, mental - there is nothing irresponsible about not neutering a pet. Another example would be a nervous male, where neutering tends to make things even worse.

Obviously breeding from a physically or mentally unsound dog is irresponsible, but it is perfectly simple and possible to have entire dogs without pregnancies or ill effects. (Not so easy with cats!) Posters here tend to make it sound as if an unneutered dog is obviously going to have puppies, and that just isn't the case.

@BourbonBon Have a chat to your vet; they've seen it all before and will have options

You might also like to try this group, where I guarantee others have had the same experience.
www.facebook.com/groups/605603546664098/?ref=share

Castration can affect behaviour in male dogs and would be contraindicated for a dog with issues around fear (testicles = testosterone = confidence boost) but I'm not aware of any such effect in bitches.

Is she used for breeding

How old is she? How aggressive is she? What training have you done?

From what info you've included you sound like a very irresponsible dog owner.

Unusual to get a rescue dog that hasn’t been neutered before rehoming.

Anyway, she needs exercise, and to be fair to randy boydogs in your locality, you should try and exercise her off the beaten track. Dogs need exercise to stimulate their bowels if nothing else. Seasons last about 3 weeks, you can’t not walk her for 3 weeks!

I've got a reactive dog. Honestly, he's absolutely fine so long as he doesn't see one of his triggers - and we've made great progress on how he reacts when he does see a trigger.

In the house he's a totally normal dog, and the same out on walks if we don't see a trigger.

I do spend our walks hyper aware and checking over my shoulder, but it is what it is. I'm very much used to it at this point tbh.

Much like having a child and that child going on to develop mental health issues or a disability, sometimes you just have to make the best of what you've got.

As for why there seem to be more of these dogs around - there's plenty of debate on the topic - but I think the two main causes are the rise of puppy farms (breeding from anything with a uterus in crap conditions), and better recognition of problems. When I was young, they weren't "reactive", they were "a bit snappy" or "don't like other dogs". I think there's also a bit of overuse of the term reactive; some cases are incredibly mild and self-diagnosed.

Or for the rescue to not insist on neutering as a condition of the rehoming.

If she's that reactive, you must know about local secure fields OP.