No harassment while walking! – eileenanddogs

I’ve been walking two to three dogs every day since April 2021. One of my goals is to give them as much fun and freedom as possible within the constraints of leash walking in a suburban neighborhood. I have an ongoing article on how I work on these goals. But in the meantime, I share this amusing contrast in the behavior of three dogs.

I minimize the control I put on dog walks. They are on a leash, but I give them all the freedom I can safely. I have very few “rules”. There are many paths on the streets of my quiet neighborhood, and they have a choice. I live at the end of a T-junction, so even at the start there are three directions to take. I don’t have a rule against backtracking, which makes walks alien to a goal-oriented human. One of my dogs (Lewis) sometimes goes on “walks” that don’t even go anywhere and seem chaotic to this human. We often spend a lot of time with him sniffing energy in my front yard in the flower beds. It’s his choice, so that’s fine.

A friend recently asked me what periods I had. Keep in mind we are walking in the suburbs and dogs are on a six foot leash. I said 1) a dog can’t go more than six feet in someone’s yard; 2) do not stay too long in the middle of the street; 3) If there is a car parked on the street, we walk around it by the outside (street side) together rather than walking in someone’s yard; and 4) the dog should follow my lead when I need to intervene, such as if a car is coming or we need to dodge something.

But I forgot a rule. The fifth rule is don’t stalk: don’t turn around to follow other walkers at close range after they’ve passed you. The funny thing is that the three dogs I walk with want to stalk, but for three different reasons.

Clear

Clara is curious. Although she was once feral and her human social circle is four people, she is curious about people. But not in an affiliative or sociable way. She is interested in the same way she might be attracted to an inanimate object with a new smell. Plus, people move, which makes them more interesting! But not as… people.

When we played catch-up socializing at the mall when she was young, she was comfortable enough to want to follow passers-by so she could take a deep breath. You can see it in the video at the link above. I sometimes let her do it in this place, because the harassment was less obvious with a lot of people walking around. But if you’re walking down a suburban street and someone passes you, they’ll notice if you instantly turn around and follow them. So I don’t let her do it right away, although if she still wants it when they’re at a socially acceptable distance, I let her follow or at least watch.

lewis

Lewis is often excited on his walks. He’s responsive, but in an excited Tarzan way. People and dogs excite him. He may emit a bark or two when he sees a person, but if they wave he will be all over them. Literally on them if I don’t interfere. We don’t interact with most people we see. There are three to whom we stop and say hello. But for the others who are moving on, nothing would make him happier than following them, seeing what they are doing, catching up and jumping on them.

Choo Choo

Choo Choo is my friend and partner’s chihuahua mix. She had a difficult start in life and has many fears. For several years, she learned to walk. She likes it and has become very brave for new things and small-scale exploration. His behavior is an interesting mix. When she sees people, she seems pretty calm about them (except she gets angry). But as soon as they pass, she wants to follow them and (eventually) catch up with them. His philosophy is that the best defense is surveillance, and his experience is that coming from behind is the safest. Since most people don’t like to be harassed by an intense little dog, I don’t allow it! But we stop and observe.

The follow function

I find it interesting that all three dogs want to follow passing walkers, but for completely different reasons:

• Clara: unaffiliated curiosity
• Lewis: reactive sociability
• Choo Choo: Fear

Their behaviors also seem different. Clara’s is calm and neutral; she is interested but not passionately. You can see her sniffing the air. Lewis is excited and can work to catch up. He might let out a yelp or two. Choo Choo is harassed and also intends to move on, but for the opposite reason.

If passers-by had wanted to interact, they would have stopped. So in any case, I prevent the behavior. Unfortunately, this is socially unacceptable. But if I was trying to modify it through training, I would need to know the function.

For Clara, there is no way to improve the situation with training at this point. Even if she approaches a stranger and accepts a cookie, she does so as a trained behavior. She is polite and cooperative, but doesn’t want to be friends. So letting her follow people around to sniff them can’t end well. Either they’ll be weird or they’ll turn around to be friendly, and she prefers not to interact. In most situations, you can’t say to a stranger, “Hey, could you just stand still with your hands at your sides and stare at that lamppost while my dog ​​sniffs you?” So I manage his behavior. The best I can do with passersby is let her turn around and sniff as they leave (but not follow them) and try to provide her with other interesting things to sniff and investigate.

For Lewis, we work on his excitement, but not methodically. As he makes friends, he may not want to harass people anymore. With his existing friends, we practice not losing our heads (four on the ground and no jumping or pawing). And when people who aren’t his friends (yet) come across us, he manages to look and smell (but not follow) like Clara.

For Choo Choo, we gradually work on his fear. We do ad hoc counter-conditioning when we’re unavoidably close to people, and that has made her much more comfortable over time. She is also very determined to shy away from anything she doesn’t like the look or sound of. But I think it will always be important for her to watch the people we meet, and she won’t want to stop following them. She can’t stand in line, but like with other dogs, we at least turn around and watch people leave.

The popularity of bullying

I learned that many other dogs want to follow passers-by!

If you walk your dogs on a leash, do they want to stalk people or dogs that have passed? What function do you observe? Do you ever leave them?

Copyright 2022 Eileen Anderson