My behavior....

[Anne123]

I want a bit of advice. This morning I walked Finn, not out of the ordinary you would say. The moment I stepped out of the door I saw someone walking 2 Australian Sheppard dogs. They live in the street right behind us and I know when he walks them they are out of control. He just hang in the leads, trying hard not to let them break loose. Finn is a very reactive dog on lead, so I immediately turned away from him and walked away. He just followed me...When I thought he was gone I saw him with the dogs walking towards me, so I turned and walked away again, very annoyed! But Finn hadn’t seen them, luckily!

My question is this: I have to be on allert when walking Finn the moment I step out of our house. Always on guard for cats, other dogs birds etc. Finn is always on high allert searching for cats, dogs and birds. How can I break through this vicious circle? It is not something from now, finn has always been like this. He can be distracted with yummy treats, but he never ever learns to look at me instead of searching for other animals. LAT works fine for the moment and after he gets his reward, he looks back and start again....standing still works also, for the moment and after that he continues to look again for the others. It never is a relaxed walk! When we are in our house in the woods it goes perfectly, even though we are surrounded with campsites and recreational areas with lot of dogs! Dogs he is not familiar with

 

[Jacqui-S]

Do you think Finn could maybe be picking up on your anxieties.....ever watchful just like you?
I know that isn't a help, just an observation.

 

[Anne123]

Do you think Finn could maybe be picking up on your anxieties.....ever watchful just like you?
I know that isn't a help, just an observation.

Yes, that is what I am thinking. I am on allert as soon as I walk out of the door. There are a lot of cats in our street. Also all the people out of our neighborhood walk their dogs alongside the pavement and bushes, as we don’t have other houses in front of us. I think Finn picks this up. He is not at ease when walking. He is so different in the woods, even though there are a lot of dogs and wildlife.

 

[kateincornwall]

Same as Jac , I do think that dogs can pick up on our anxieties , and that they can sense our stress/tension when on lead . Seems like this could be the case as he is good off lead ? Some dogs feel at a disadvantage when on lead too , so relaxing as much as possible is the best thing to do , not easy I know x

 

[JES72]

When we went to the vet behaviourist when we were at our wits end with Homer I asked him if my anxiety and reaction to noise was causing Homers anxiety. He asked if I was anxious about noise before, no I wasn't. He said that it's Homer's reaction causing your reaction. The anxiety had gone up the lead not down the lead. Somehow this helped me a lot. It wasn't my fault he was reacting. Realising that helped me to be in control and to be calmer when anticipating Homer's reactions which has helped Homer be calmer.

I still flinch when I hear a loud noise walking down the street and Homer's not with me, but I do try to be clam and reassuring when he is with me.

 

[Charlie]

To reduce your anxieties Anne could you drive Finn to an off lead walk? Doing this as much as possible will help you both to relax and give you both confidence. I know how you feel as Charlie can be lead reactive with some dogs, cats are a problem too. It's incredibly difficult to relax under those circumstances so you are not alone. xx