Sorry Kiersten, last night turned out busier than expected and with the premier of the "The Voice" in there, I never did get back to my computer but let's see what I can do this morning, gotta love holidays.
Okay, so with my 4 being between the ages of 3 and 12, different breeds (all over 80 lbs though) and polar opposite temperaments, it's really important to know the individual dogs your dealing with.
And it's difficult to explain the scenarios without the conditioning background that leads to the outcomes we're looking for so bear with me.
None of my dogs have dog aggression issues but I know that could change in heartbeat should the wrong situation present itself, so the way I look at it, there's a bit of a bubble around each of them.
My dogs (and I can’t completely speak for our guest but my rules apply when he's in our care) have never been allowed, ever, to approach people or other dogs independently, outside of our home. I've posted quite a bit about my thoughts on socialization and how it pretty much means the opposite to me.
A dog that is ignoring other dogs and people with a neutral reaction is a much more social dog to me that one that wants to meet, greet or eat everything it sees.
It's a bit different in our home/yard with guests, not much but once (if) released, they're free to wander about, under close scrutiny if there are (what I consider) distractions around.
With two of them, conditioned from pups and I don’t know if Vince ever had any dog interactions in his first 10 months (not many if any) however his attitude towards people, narrowed down to certain situations at this point, has the potential to not be good.
And I say this simply because knowing each dog individually is going to give you a better understanding of how they're going to operate in the pack. The individual traits can differ dramatically when they get together yet the defaults are there.
In English - Will Vince be less tense in the presence of a stranger when a pack member is present and not responding? Absolutely. And will Echo be less timid of a new environment if Vince is out there having a good time. Absolutely. However, opposite reactions can trigger their default tendencies threefold, feeding off each other.
Gosh, okay there I go, 6 paragraphs to simply say, (but I can't stress this enough) know your dogs.
I'll try and be briefer, "try" being the operative word here but if there are any questions on anything, please don't hesitate to ask.
Our leadership starts (well never ends but is heightened) the minute my hand makes a move towards the collars (hanging on our wall - e-collars in another room but they know the sound of them being unplugged). As I'm sure most of you pack owners know, the excitement level, especially with a pack of larger, higher energy dogs, can get pretty high when an outing is in the wind.
No one gets a collar on, which is like an extremely high value reward in my home, until all butts are on the floor, (nothing like a little positive peer pressure) and a few other things but... brief, brief.
Then they’re released as we get ready for the hike. Preparing treats, filling water bottles, etc, etc. This takes about 15 minutes where I usually have at least 2 dogs glued to my every move.
My awareness is also slightly heightened because now there's excitement in the air an everyone has varying collars on. (They don't wear any for leisurely down time around my house).
All paraphernalia (back pack, leashes, etc) are put by the gate ready to load (cuts down on in and out gate time) and loading is a process in itself. Briefly, everyone is placed in a settled down, (for at least 5 minutes) while the gate is open and stays open until the gear is on and the boys are each called in the vehicle one by one. Again, an individually trained exercise everyone is familiar with. Won't get into placement and driving with these 4 but any questions, please ask.
Once there, Bob and I get geared up with an open hatch and doors. Boys do not make a move from the vehicle until they're released, each time, everytime. An open hatch and doors, as much as their little butts are wiggling in anticipation, does NOT mean you exit the vehicle. Another exercise in itself.
A quick scan of the area, noting any parked vehicles at the trail head (and Bob is great a spotting fresh tracks. ATV's, motorcycles, hoof prints, etc,) and we head out with the boys relatively free to wander about exploring.
My comfort zone is around 30 - 50 feet, depending on the visibility of the trail ahead. Maybe something to do with the length of my long lines and their training but it works for us.
Anything over (and these guys are pretty conditioned) gets a "Not too Far" command. They stop heading forward and are free to explore the area they are at until we catch up. Again, if more information is needed there, please let me know.
And they all have their comfort levels as well which can be influenced by any number of things. Having Chucky along definitely presents different challenges. He's got a fairly decent recall (which we've enhanced quite a bit) but under high, prey influenced drive, he can still fall short and is leashed under many circumstance because of it. He's not my dog so I can only go so far, e-collar training is not in his future.
My boys don't chase squirrels (they're too abundant and I don't want them getting conditioned to their every little chatter). Chucky on the other hand is a squirrel's nightmare and can dart into the bush at a moment's notice.
It's taking some work because of course, my boys are now alerted, but we calmly go get him, have him settle down walking calmly, on leash, for a few minutes (which brings things back into perspective for my boys) and then release him again.
After the first couple he settles down at bit but there's some noises they make that he finds hard to resist. Not a big deal in the wilderness but this does set my pack back a bit in their conditioning.
As well as our senses being heightened to any deviations from the peaceful surroundings, and those of you out there hiking in the wilderness know what I mean, Echo is our oncoming alert. I could write a book on this boy and his mannerisms but he can sense stuff (smell/hearing) way before any dog I've owned. Not terribly important to those of you that don't have an Echo but Bob thinks he's the neatest thing since sliced bread, especially since he's (Bob that is) getting older.
But I guess my point of that is that people like (and feel safer) hiking with their dogs in the wilderness. They have certain behaviors and actions that bring us more in tune with nature and we love them for that.
So the first horse was the lady with the Blue Heeler. We were heading down this fairly steep slope and we could hear them coming from down and around a bend. Bob spotted them first and calmly said "Horse" to me.
Just a couple of points here, "calm" (normal voice) being the operative word here. There are a lot of things that can be kind of exciting out there and if you're focusing on them, so are your dogs.
Take a herd of cows for example. You fling up your arms to try and chase them off, you're showing your dogs that they're something to be chased off. I don't want my dogs going anywhere near or disturbing them in any manner. If the cows get curious or are completely blocking our path, I may even leash the boys up as we work our way thru them. They (the cows) have a tendency to dart around and have sporadic movements in that close of proximity and I don't know their temperaments so I’m going to protect my dogs at all costs. If they're just grazing off to the side, we don't acknowledge them in any way, just like we expect the dogs to do.
In any case, this horse lady and heeler. Bob said "Horse" which is my cue to get the two big boys under control, by my side and he calls Garrett and Chucky. (We've been together for years and had many planning type discussions on what we do in different situations - bears, coyotes, people, dogs, etc., etc.) I always carry the e-collar controls and take care of the two big boys. He takes care of Garrett (and Chucky at this point).
In these interactions, we always take (what I consider) the high road. Much like a red light for us. Our pack stops, everyone is recalled and into heeled (sitting) positions while whatever is coming our way passes.
Again, with Chucky not being our dog and having an extremely friendly and un e-collared husky (and husband), Bob will more often than not just leash up the two, (we have a double leash for this purpose) leaving himself free for some friendly (or unfriendly) chat and full use of a free hand if necessary.
Vince and Echo by my side, a few steps back from Bob. Never on opposite sides of the road, always together in a tight group.
This first horse/dog duo was interesting in that the heeler did not appear to be under control, running ahead of the horse and approaching with a focus on us. The lady came around the corner and spotted us as well. She immediately call out "Bandit", getting her dog's attention and threw her horse into a quick uphill gallop forcing the dog to keep up with her as she passed us.
Bob and I just looked at each other and thought, Wow, that was cool. Somewhat relieved as well and as we're inhaling their dust we heard a faint "Thank you" off in the distance.
The other two horses didn't have dogs but very different temperaments in the horses. I won't go into a lot of detail but both were spotted on flat ground some distance away. Same procedure, much easier, plenty of time to get the boys by our side and standing off to the side of path.
Interesting with the one spookier horse tho, prancing and snorting at the sight of us, the girl yells out, "I'll turn around". I yelled back to her saying that "our guys are completely under control and if you want to pass, we have all the time in the world, take your time if you want." She took me up on it.
A beautiful young Thoroughbred that settled down nicely once they were passed, and again a "Thank you" in the distance.
The logging equipment was a bit more of a challenge. This stuff was big and loud and this part of the trail was more of a roadway but, extremely narrow.
We heard this coming quite a ways off so plently of time to get the boys in position and seniors leashed as the clanging and banging was getting nearer.
Vince and Garrett have no problem with big equipment. Garrett raised around it and Vince, well he's just a big boy kid at heart. He loves big equipment. Echo and Chucky were extremely skiddish in this particular situation.
Chucky was easy for Bob to control, I simply said let him back up into the bush. Echo is my pup though and I want him dealing with these situations as opposed to his natural instinct of flight.
I had a hold of their collars and when I saw Echo's wild eyes and felt the tension, I passed Vince over to Bob (yes, he's got three now, one in the bush, Garrett calmly enjoying all the excitement and Vince - Do we get to ride in this one daddy? Do we, huh, huh... in a fairly calm sit, hoping it would produce the positive outcome he so desperately wants. My truckin' fools.
So now I've got Echo, trying to gain as much of his attention as possible. He was focusing all around me trying to get a better read on this monster coming up the road. Broke to a stand, backing up, trying to dart to the side, in a bit of a panic mode the closer it got.
This isn't any kind of e-collar situation so I grabbed the leash I carry and snapped it on for better control. His focus was on the truck so I took step in the opposite direction it was coming and had him sit again. We were a few steps from the rest of the pack now, one on one. He knows this well and focuses much better.
I had him "look" at me. It was a quick glance and then right back to the equipment. I said "Yes" and we took another step (his reward at this point - he wanted to flee/run anything to get moving and away from this thing). Then it was passing by us and I had him sitting (paralyzed in fear maybe) as he looked up at the monstrosity going by.
It went by quite quickly and the moment we were eating it's dust, I released him with a "Yes" and a party. Treats for everyone, which he took no problem. This is an inherent flight response in this guy. He has very little actual fear and recovers tremendously fast.
About 3 minutes, poof, we're over that deal. Another hour of peaceful bliss and we hear the music. Okay we have people, in some wilderness setting, up ahead. Boys in fairly tight, getting a "Not too far" at the about the 20 foot mark. Up and around the corner we come to a field - two pick up trucks and a car.
Probably seven or eight young folks out enjoying the beauty of the woods (enhancing it with their beverages of choice). Our boys have all been recalled, just Chucky on leash at this point, Garrett knows to walk by people. My boys off leash heeling right by my side and we get the cat calls. "Nice dogs are they friendly". Bob - "Nope, they're not pettin' dogs. Beautiful day hey."
A bit of silence and then a "Yup, sure is", and they were back to their merry making as we passed thru.
We were fairly close to our vehicle at this point (about half an hour away) and the rest of walk was uneventful.
Really a great day had by all. A bit of excitement, and actually quite a few other training opportunities that I haven't mentioned but more just obedience stuff that we practice as we walk along. These walks aren’t a total free for all, in fact very little of it doesn't have the boys engaged with us in one way or another.
Okay, I hope these are the highlights you were askings me share, and again, anything more specific, please don't hesitate to ask.
Re: my pack and their visitors
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