Thrown into the world of dog

[W2020]

Hi all! I'm taking care of Dm's dog while she's in hospital and have a few questions.
I've known ddog for 4 years so know her quite well but to be honest.. I'm more of a cat person so don't know a lot in general. But she's been here since Saturday and I have to say I'm completely in love!

So my questions, ddog is a puller, dm has never trained her not to. She came with a cheap anti pull lead that goes around her nose and neck but it was clearly uncomfortable and she hated it. I've been to the pet shop this morning and got a proper harness and it's magic! Not pulling at all and very comfortable. But is it worth trying to train her now? Does it take a long time, say if DM recovers very well and takes ddog back in a couple of weeks will the training be a waste?

On walks she is very well behaved and has excellent recall, so I let her off lead where appropriate. When I see another dog on lead it's best to put her back on though right?
We've passed a few dogs off lead who she barely acknowledged, but there was one smaller dog who she gave a good sniff then barked quite loudly at. I called her back immediately and apologised to the owner but she just laughed and said it's fine. So is it normal for them to bark at eachother and it's not a sign of aggression?

Lastly poo.. ddog only likes to poo off lead and runs a couple of meters away to do it. With all the brown leafs everywhere it can be quite difficult to find. This morning I spent an embarrassingly long time searching before picking it up. Is it normal to very occasionally miss one? Or is it a case of keep looking it's there somewhere, even if that means you spend an hour looking like a wally?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

I was a cat person till we got the puppy. OMG so different and so loving.

Poo - I've got a cut off in leaves of a couple of minutes - if its a bit off the path.

Dog walking etiquette - I tend to put ours on lead if I see another one on a lead - or ask - if possible - should I put on lead.

Dog barking is frequently excitement/frustration/hello/do you want to play? It is rarely agression.

Off lead dogs - call her away - walk on your self - unless everyone looks happy. Mostly we don't encourage ours to play with unknown dogs.

Agression tends to be a growl- hackles-lowered hunkered down stance.

Lead walking - can't help you there as we've been rubbish at it. But I think its something that takes a while and involves cheese or sausages.

Thank you giraffe, very helpful

Re: pulling on the lead
I can only tell you what worked for me but I do have a very eager-to-please staffie (who was even more so when I first rescued her), so it was successful quite fast. I saw a video by Victoria Stilwell (though I think other people also advocate this) and one of the things she recommended was to stop walking as soon as the dog starts to pull and just go nowhere until the dog stops pulling and the lead loosens, then you praise them and start off again. Then, of course, they pull again so repeat the whole exercise. This means a lot of slow stop and starting until they get it ; a smart dog will soon learn that pulling literally gets them nowhere. As my dog is a sort of terrier, with appropriate prey instinct, she will still pull when she sees a squirrel, etc, but I just stop (and say stop!) and stand still until she has calmed down. 97% of the time my dog does not pull on the lead now.

If she doesn't pull on a harness then just walk her on a harness, it's much more comfortable and safer for her. If she does pull then it might take more than a couple of weeks to train her not to or she might get it after only a few attempts, but it's really rewarding and makes walking much more pleasant. We use the method of stopping as soon as there's tension on the lead and waiting for the dog to stop and look at us before moving again, it soon teaches them that pulling is pointless and they can get where they want to go quicker by keeping the lead loose.

Poo - yep, generally if you possibly can please pick it up, but sometimes you just can't find it and after a couple of minutes you have to call it.

Dogs bark, it's one of their ways to communicate and it can mean lots of different things. Body language gives a much clearer insight into what's going on in their heads

But yes, please put her back on lead when you see another on lead dog. This is for her safety as well as just good manners; lots of dogs don't like being approached while on lead because it limits their options to escape if things go bad, so they might react aggressively if they get scared.

Pulling - if she doesn't pull on the harness, I would just keep putting her in the harness!

Always put her back on lead if you see another on-lead dog, but if the dogs are off-lead, I let them have a sniff and a play if they want to (and the other owners are okay with it, of course).

If she's going off to do a poo, follow her where possible and pick up. Don't just let her wander off and sniff, keep and eye on her and if you see her squatting, go over to her.

So glad its going well

Great! Thanks Everyone

If she doesn't pull on the harness, then I agree, keep her on it!

But is it worth trying to train her now? Does it take a long time, say if DM recovers very well and takes ddog back in a couple of weeks will the training be a waste?

I'd consider

• will the training make your life easier for the next fortnight?
• will DM want to keep up the training (e.g. if it makes her own life easier?)
• how likely is DM to recover swiftly and be able to take DDog back again in a fortnight (you don't state if it's a broken hip or if she's having her appendix out - which both point to a rather different state of affairs overall)

You may also find it fun teaching DDog new skills - and DDog will enjoy it too if you do so with lots of treats.

Lots of skills can be picked up quite quickly; bad habits (like pulling!) can take months to train out of a dog. There's no harm teaching the dog some new skills - even if they aren't used regularly, DDog will pick them up more quickly in future with 'refresher' training.

Is it normal to very occasionally miss one? Or is it a case of keep looking it's there somewhere, even if that means you spend an hour looking like a wally?

Look carefully, but if you really cannot find it, then don't spend an hour!

Instead, do your bit by picking up the next overlooked poo (or few) that you spot. Karma

Poo karma! If you miss a poo you have to pick up the next one you see to keep the 💩 karma in balance.

My dog pulled if the lead was attached to her collar & walked really nicely on her harness, no training required and I've no idea why so you might just be lucky.

@wetotter Great minds! 😂😂

Re: putting on the lead when approaching other dogs
If they're in the park, I would only do so if the other dog is and looks like it might react badly to mine. Otherwise I don't as generally many dogs like the opportunity to 'meet and greet' other dogs. Mine is a social butterfly....when she sees another dog who looks friendly, she will go and say 'hi' (ie sniff bums) and if that goes well will often play with them (ie running and chasing or playfighting.) There are a few she recognises straight away as being her ''besties'' and doesn't always go for the bum sniffing, just straight into playing. I love seeing her play with other dogs and it helps tire both dogs out.

Oh and as for the poo, it's normal, though obviously not pleasant to miss it in a pile of leaves when it's dark. It's not the best but not always something you can help. However, the whole lot does tend to biodegrade together and/or get swept up by the council. You could always bring a small torch or use the light from your phone if you want to make sure you've properly cleaned up.

I’m trying to train my lab to not pull with the stop start method. It’s a pain and we never get anywhere fast but I’m persisting as a big hefty lab pulling is a different matter all together. I’m not sure it’s a quick fix and if your mum doesn’t carry on with it then all your hard work will be wasted. It sounds like the harness is helping anyway.

If I can't find a poo I try to pick up someone else's when I see it. A cold poo belonging to a random dog isn't nice though, much prefer a warm one from a bottom I know!