Peaceful walk....in my dreams !!!

[JaniceH]

Hi,

I just thought I would share my walk with you.

I decided to take Teazle (now 9 months) for a gentle peaceful walk through the forest near where I live. First thing in a morning, it is very quiet, no people, just the birds singing, and there are no sheep or traffic. I just felt like chilling out. The walk would be easy for Teazle, all forest track/road and no hills, with water available from streams. It would take approx. 2 hours and we would go at her pace.

What I didn't plan for was Teazle's behaviour throughout the whole of the walk which left me feeling shattered mentally. She spent practically the whole time jumping in and out of any water she could find, whether it be pools, streams, drainage ditches or tarns. She would suddenly disappear and pop up again wet and sometimes muddy. Then she would have a zoomie. Then she would roll on the forest track which was mainly dust and compressed slate and dirt which stuck to her coat. Towards the end of the walk she got the scent of a deer and disappeared out of sight. I thought "Oh no, I am never going to see her again". There was no point in calling her as she was so focussed. She actually returned at speed within 30 seconds.

By the time I got home she looked like a dog that had just emerged from the rubble of an earthquake or war zone, but one with a grin on her face !!! She was so manky. I still can't believe why she even followed me round the forest or came back after scenting the deer, because obviously the forest was so much fun for her.

When Teazle is 2 years old I will be taking her on her first long distance walking holiday, albeit only a short easy one. I might have to think again. What will the owners of hotels think if I turn up with a rottie looking like she'd been mud wrestling !!!!!!

[Denise L.]

Yeah, I have those peaceful walk fantasies too! Me and Cyrus walking side by side, no leash, communing with nature....HA!

I know that isn't going to happen so the leash stays on, he gets his doggie zoomies, sniffs and mud rolls in a controlled environment.

Oh well, you may have been menatlly shattered but I bet Teazle had a ball!

[carolynnl4]

Denise is right! You should also be grateful there was no deer poop. Athena usually zooms in on that. I got a tip this weekend that you can wash animals in the lake, so if it's very important to you, maybe you could wash Teazle in one of the streams and leash her before you head back?
Personally, I just indulge Athena's obvious pleasure in life and try to share her rapture.
Carolyn

[flyballmom]

Well,hey, it sounds like Teazle had a WONDERFUL time! Seriously tho, 9 months is awfully young to expect an off-leash dog in the woods to not run amuck. The sights! The smells! Things that YOU may not even see or hear...I do tons of hiking here in the summer-my dogs are on leash (a Flexi works great for hiking) until I am as sure as I can be that 1.) my dog will stay relatively close, and that 2.) they have a reliable recall. With Charleigh (Rott) that happened when she was around 2. With Omen (Pit)...well, if he went chasing after something in the mountains I'm pretty sure he wouldn't come back. He's almost 3. He may NEVER hike off leash. Oh yeah, my guys LOVE to swim, and when we hike, I let them. And they DO get filthy. I carry an old towel and some water in the car for a quick clean up.

[SABELLESMOM]

(responded earlier today...got shut out )

You're lucky to have places in England where you can go for long walks in the forest like that. Around here, unless you own the property yourself, it's more difficult...at least for off lead.

Most of the time.I've have to use a long lead. I suppose there are advantages in that my dog was much older when she got her first off lead. Even then, I needed a 100% recall on her part. <sigh> At 9 months...we sure didn't have that!

[JaniceH]

I do love to see her enjoy herself which she obviously did. Flyballmom, if she is on the flexi she can't do that the same, but I do respect what you say.

However, I am working hard on the recall at the moment. When on a longer walk, I use the flexi or a long line, depending on the circumstances. In this instance, she had the long line on, but when she followed the scent, I wasn't quick enough to pick up the end. She is actually quite good at the recall, but then I only call her when I either know she will come to me, or I am in a position to reinforce the command (ie. when on the long line or flexi). She follows me well when we are out, but on this particular walk, she just had a good time keeping me on my toes !!!

[Brooke&Ryan]

Julius is on a Flexi for all of our hikes & he doesn't seem to mind. He gets just as dirty, swims just as much & has just as much fun. The only time that he's really ever off lead is when we're up at Ryan's cabin where we have acres to ourselves.

It's great when they get themselves filthy. Jules has a blast getting himself dirty & then we just pull out the hose when we get back home.


Brooke

[Greg_1111]

Playing devil's advocate here.... It sounds like tease had a great ime. splashing in some water, some dirt mixed in, running around crazed (zoomies) some extended freedom to explore. I find that it works really well if you allow that kind of freedom when you are out as long as you are in complete control ( recall command is obeyed) and you are fairly certain that ;A) your dog isn't in a potential harmful situation such as getting into traffic, and ;B) you are keeping an eye out for any other dogs or people that might be around. I make a point of keeping mine on leash until we get to a place where that can be allowed. At any time during, I can, and often do recall her and run her through some commands just to reinforce obedience. then it's back to her time again. As we approach home, she is in a heel, and then we get home,, It's "good girl" and a treat.

[Greg_1111]

The "recall" command or "come" is probably the most important command that you can achieve. Especially in a distracting situation. Probably easier to work on at an early age. I haven't tried the long lead technique, but I hear it works well, especially with a puppy. Some might say that Rottweilers are more difficult becuase they can be stubborn. That might be true to a degree, but they are also very intelligent. So if you play your cards right, you can appeal to that side of them and get results. Never give a command unless you are confident it will be obeyed. If the dog knows the command and chooses to ignore it. Then you have to take steps to follow through on it immediately. Eben if that means taking it by the collar and marching it back to the place where it was supposed to "stay". Each time a comand is ignored without any response from you, your dog get's the idea that commands are optional. It sounds harsh, but once you get the program established, it gets a lot easier

[JaniceH]

Hi,

I admit that I do like to give Teazle her freedom to run and play like she did, and the most ideal situation is obviously off leash. However, I also agree that the recall is very important. Whilst she may be 100% in a controlled training exercise ie; if I actually put her in a stay and then walk away and recall her, when out on a walk there are interesting distractions which potentially can make her ignore the command.

Therefore she is completely off leash where there are no people, traffic and livestock and the environment is such that distractions are limited and she is safe, nor can she disappear over a hill. I practice the recall quite a bit with high value treats and praise. Where there are open spaces I put her on her long line which for most of the time runs free, and then where there are people, I put her on a flexi. She is off lead quite a lot, and I am lucky where I live. I practise recalls whether on or off lead, and also do specific recall training with her near my house where there are a few people distractions. I keep her on the flexi whilst I do it.

There was one time, before I knew she was interested in following scents, when the importance of the recall really hit home. We were walking off lead along an old disused railway line, which we had done many times. Both sides were fenced as there were sheep in some fields, and there was an embankment full of bushes, and a wall with a 6ft drop at the bottom. Suddenly she rummaged through the bushes and disappeared, all very quickly. I then saw her in the field of sheep which scattered. Now, I have spent a lot of time training her to leave sheep and although she has always been on lead, I thought we were doing quite well for an 71/2 month old puppy. I couldn't understand how she got into the field and was horrified. I clambered down and saw that something had smashed into the fence and brought it down. I jumped into the field feeling sick, sheep and Teazle had gone under a bridge so I ran to the bridge and called her. Suddenly she appeared looking quite calm. I felt like really having a go at her, but couldn't as she had come back. In fact the whole episode had only taken less than a minute. I got her back up onto the track and couldn't really understand why she had come back so quickly. Surely she would have had the energy to chase the sheep for ages, but they looked quite calm too. That evening I took her on the long line to the fellside where there are sheep and I was prepared to give her the opportunity to chase. I would however, have hold of the end of the line, so could stop her. I was ready to give her a meeting she would not forget. She didn't put a foot wrong and ignored them, even though there were lambs. My set up hadn't worked and I was very confused. After talking to some friends we realised Teazle must have got a scent. The positive things that came out of this incident was that I really need to get that recall spot on and also be aware of her scenting interest. Although she came immediately when I did call her, I wasn't sure whether it was because she was obeying my command or just happened to be coming back for me.

Sorry if I have gone on a bit here. I suppose I have gone off the original subject. I just want you to know that I really do appreciate how important the recall is and am working on it.

[MaddoxsMom]

Originally Posted by JaniceH

and there are no sheep or traffic

lol...this sounded like a strange combination...when you said there are no sheep, I thought, "she must live out in the country," then you said no traffic and I got the funniest mental picture of a big highway running through the sheep fields...LOL...

[JaniceH]

Hmm....yes I can see the vision...and the look on the sheep's faces !!!

In a previous thread I think someone thought I was taking Teazle rock climbing. LOL. I must be more careful what I say !!!!!!