Hi, as some of you know, I have been working on the reducing to eliminating my lab/shep mix, Hobbes, reactivity to strange dogs. We hsve made alot of progress but still have a long ways to go at least IMHO. That is what makes todays events so puzzling. today my daughter and I went to pick up a small bookcase we'd bought via a Hobbes drawn wagon with my daughter riding and i was walking along side. On the way there, we passed a confined barking dog and Hobbes walked right on by like he was deaf and blind. He just kept one ear firmly cocked in my direction and obediently followed my directions out of there. Then on our way back with the bookcase, he walked by a leashed nonreactive dog that was a little over a leash length away like it didn't exist. Just kept that ear pointed in my direction like always when carting and kept weaving through mainstreet sidewalk traffic like noone's business. Hobbes just proved he can ignore other dogs so at least while in harness so why oh why does he have such a hard time doing it while on a liesurely walk.

He's got a job to do while his harness is on! He's busy pullin!!

Thats great news Dawna- and I bet you can move forward with it. Try and give him a 'job' while on a walk! (Maybe you need that wagon around more. )

Reactive dogs like to know what to do, They like to be told what to do, what is expected of them. They need everything spelled out in black and white. If they're unsure they're much more likely to react "oh my word what do I do?!?!?!?" and they react.

So it sounds like pulling the wagon was just the type of "black and white" rules that Hobbes needed - "I know what I'm supposed to be doing (pulling) so I don't need to worry about everything around me".

Yup. He was in the zone.

A lower level of this same thing is when I set a rapid march-pace with a dog who tends to send his stink-eye around the neighborhood and look for some other dog to focus on. That dog who is walking fast beside me just doesn't have the leisure for those shenanigans. He has a job: hup two three four, hup two three four!

There is a thread here of Michael Wise's video of vacuuming in the pack that I can't find right now, but one of the best parts of it for me was the demo of that "in the zone" pace that he sets for his dog.

And that's a minor job! How much better is a big job like pulling that wagon!

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp329/jmwise80/Turbo/f2602aa5.mp4

The little black stray in the video was later adopted by a family down the road. Him and Turb are bros. It is the sweetest dog I have ever met, and I'm glad I get to see him every day.:smile:

Anyway, back to in the zone walking.

Being busy helps them learn to deal with distractions they may encounter on the walk.

Glad you found something that helps. Learn from it, and build off it.:smile:

 Quote: Michael_Wise

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp329/jmwise80/Turbo/f2602aa5.mp4

There it is!

Dawna, check out the pace Michael's little short-legged white dog maintains on that power walk. Can you imagine him trying to send some other dog a stink-eye? No way! He is BUSY, man!

AH-HAHA! That little tongue-hanging-out black dog LOOKS sweet and funny!

He's friends with Turbo now?

I meant that backpack for while you're just on a walk! or biking.... anytime you're out really. If he feels like he's working with a cart to pull, maybe a weighted pact will do the same.

I hope so because he's so good while he's carting. The scary thing is I almost quit using him for carting/drafting because of this reactivity. I had nightmares of him trying to go off while dragging a cart or tipping it over with either a full load or worse yet with my child in it.