🌟Staying Safe🌟
Staying Safe, make sure your dog has all the skills required for you all to feel relaxed whilst on your country walks whatever you encounter.
It’s that time of year when we are all wanting to get out more and enjoy those walks. It’s springtime so everything is blooming and blossoming, not just my tummy from winter yummies, but this time of year as we inhale the smell the freshly cut grass, watching all the trees come to life and the bleating of those little lambs, yes the countryside is filling up with little lambs or wobbling sheep who are about to give birth.
Now if your dog is cool with all the springy spring lambs, then scroll on through, but let’s get one thing straight, if your dog has a wobble on the sight of sheep or any livestock, it’s time to buckle up and get down to some work! It’s our responsibility to have our dogs in control, yep that’s right, you & me as dog owners, have decided to share our lives which include any adventure of a walk with an animal that somewhere in their DNA is a desire to be an animal that loves to stare, track, chase, grab, bite (Yikes) poses, disect and gulp (that’s not just me as I type this but your pup too) digest!!! I know right, are lovely little bundles of joooooooy are ready to pounce in many case, not all, but many!! So ask yourself this now “would my fluffy, if given the choice, chase that pigeon, duck, squirrel, sheep, cow, horse???” be honest, also think about if you see your pup in the garden chase that squirrel and smile to yourself, but if that sheep or lamb was in proximity to your off-lead dog, what choice do you think they’d make?
It’s my honest opinion to always have your dog on a lead around livestock, even a very well-trained dog, I wouldn’t want to risk harming any livestock and feel the most sensible thing is to pop them on the lead, then no mistakes can be made, I’m not just talking recall here, we’re talking about their emotional state, come on you know me by now! their ability to be calm around these other animals, those animals that run out of the hedge unexpectedly or a lamb bouncing in a nearby field, how does your dog FEEL, can they cope, will the look then disengage? will they stare then start to behave a little differently? Any reaction, doesn’t have to be over the top, it is still a change in emotion, maybe they speed up their pace? Maybe their mouth closes and they look a little more intense at the distraction? or Maybe they are getting a little vocal?
Did you know a farmer is within their right to shoot any out-of-control animal on their land? On most National Trust properties they will always insist on your dog being on a lead, quite rightly, so having the skills to enjoy your adventure on lead is just as important as off lead.
I regularly witness on our Adventures, dogs that don’t have a scooby doo how to handle the countryside world, that could be horses, sheep, cows, ducks, pheasants, you know all those wonderful animals and birds we see during our adventures, I really hate to see dogs having a hard time and their teammates not able to support them.
Let’s change this, to start with I’m running a little webinar to run through some key skills that you should have under your belt to help your dog feel a little better when out on those long walks but also as FUNdamentals to navigate through this crazy world we expect them to live in, please join me whilst we hash this one out by registering HERE.
Happy Adventures
Charlotte & Diggory x