Walkies: Episode 2

Texas on the Porch

Having two dogs in the house, has made me extremely lazy, I will admit that. Well, I should say, having two lazy dogs in the house, as made me lazy. However, when my neighbor needed to use my computer while I was gone, I decided yesterday was as good as day as any, to take the dachshunds out on the town. So I loaded up their crate, and off we went. Let me tell you, they were NOT happy about being crated in the car, but it had to be done, if I wanted Texas to be any semblance of calm, once we arrived at our final destinations.

For Mr. Reactivity, sitting in the car, increases the likelihoods of him becoming extremely reactive, people walking around, dogs, birds, etc, will elicit an extreme reaction from him, to the point that if someone were to stick their hand in my car, they would get bitten. (If he were in there of course)

Hence the crate. I quickly discovered, that if I played music, they would quiet down, but listening to a book-on-tape, brought to mind, how much they could be missing, by not being in my lap, and the chorus of whining would resume. Needless to say, we were jamming on our way to the park. After a quick stop at a local pet store for more harnesses, (as our old ones have "mysteriously disappeared" .. Texas left the house with one on, came back a few minutes later without it. Haven't seen it since!) and another bag of dog food... and we were on our way.

Getting out of the car, took the most time, first I had to wait until they stopped whining and jumping around, then I had we practiced not lunging out of the crate as soon as the door was opened. Bubbles won, so she got out first, then we did another, longer round with Texas, until he too "got it" and sat quietly until I opened the door all the way.

Once that was accomplished, we harnessed up, watered up and prepared to start on our way.  However, the dachshunds, always on the look out for trouble, spotted some, in the form of a furry white dog, jogging with his owner.

ATTACK! DOG ALERT! INTRUDER! HE WAS LOOKING AT ME!

"Texas. Bubbles"

Huh? Wha? Treats? Cool.

I was surprised, and impressed at how quickly they redirected. All that work is worth something after all!

The park where we were, had several walking trails, most paved, but there was one that went through the woods.. perfect for my reactive dog, but to get to it, we'd have to walk around the dog park. I was mentally preparing for a fencing fighting scenario, but none came. Some of the dogs ran along side, but Texas & Bubbles ignored them.

WHY CAN'T THEY DO THIS AT HOME!?!?

We did practice sitting, as a jogger dashed by and continued on our walk. It wasn't until we were on our way back, that the ultimate trigger descended upon us, in the form of a loose dog.

Now I live in the country, so an off leash dog, isn't an huge cause for alarm in my book, I was more concerned about what Texas would do, to said dog rushing him, than I was about the dog attacking us. Turned out I was wrong to be concerned, not only did Bubbles & Texas come back to my side without even hackling, the dog in question, checked out the scene and decided that there were other things to do besides pester these little guys.

Never have I been more proud of my guys.

Seriously? A large dog rushed us, and my dogs turn to me for treats?

WHO ARE YOU GUYS AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DOG?

Once the owners got control of their way-ward animal, we were able to walk past them, and another dog without any problem.

By this time, Bubbles was definitely winded and ready to stop. I wanted to put her up and continue with Texas, but decided to end the afternoon on a high note.

Why Yes, I think we'll do this more often!

Erin




Check out My other Blogs: Big News on Chronicles of a Puppy Walker | Life is ... going.. at Life of a College Student.