Over the course of the past few months down here in NC, Diana and I have already met some great people. As we finally settled in, we were itching to to meet more doggy people. What better way to do that than to organize a get together with like minded folks. About 12 or 13 years ago, I implemented pack walking at a local shelter up in NJ where I was the volunteer trainer and also helped out with animal control efforts on occasion. Historically, dogs could not be walked together for safety reasons. But, luckily, I had a great relationship with the shelter management and local health department. And, they allowed us to choose certain dogs to begin these pack walks. I did these for a number of years there with select dogs and volunteers, most of them my students back then. And, it really helped improve the dogs quality of life and social competency. Over the years, pack walking started to take off in northern NJ. I'm not saying I had anything to do with it. But, it seemed that word hit the streets and many others, thankfully, started doing the same for other organizations. I am huge proponent of putting dogs in positions to safely confront their social deficiencies and help them overcome them. Some people say I "force" dogs into facing their fears. Maybe I do. And, I usually have success in helping dogs who are anxious in social situations and, thus, their overall temperament improves. So, yea, I'm guilty of making dogs better... Sue me - lol. I'll talk more about how I do this in a future blog post. For now, all I have to say is this: how the heck can someone get over a fear of flying in a plane if they never get on one? How can a dog face its fear, or aggression, towards others dogs if its never afforded the opportunity to be around other dogs? I have had such success over the years in socializing the socially inept dog. I figure why not do it down here in NC....
So, we organized our first pack walk gathering with some new friends. It was a beautiful winter morning here in southeast NC and the temperature was a comfortable 50 degrees with the sun shining. Obviously our purpose was to get folks and pooches together. But, also, we wanted to help some folks and offer them an opportunity to get their dogs around other dogs for socialization and to offer some tips on handling and safely socializing their dogs. We had a great group of people and dogs. It was apparent that some of the dogs were anxious to be around other animals. So, we started off by offering some guidelines and, for lack of a better word, rules for how the walk would progress. As we began walking, I was able to handle some of the dogs and offer some tips to the handlers. Everyone, dogs included, was very receptive and I appreciated their open mindedness and willingness to want better for their dogs. Some were owners and few others were there with their foster/rescue dogs. As these pack walks have a way of doing, all the dogs (and people) relaxed by the minute and really settled into this social gathering. There were some uneasy moments and some of the dogs displayed some erratic postures, etc. But, as we walked and talked and settled in, so did the dogs. We didn't walk fast. We walked relaxed. We took decision making out of our dogs' hands and took the responsibility of decision making on our own shoulders. I'll talk more about this topic in a future blog post as making decisions for our dogs is one the best things we can do for them.
Anyway, the pack walk took on the life it was meant to take on, as is the purpose. I even had the opportunity to walk a couple of dogs with my helper, Deuce - two dogs that didn't have too much opportunity to be around other dogs - this always makes me happy.. By the time we were done, we gathered in the middle of a nearby field and got into a circle so we can all share our thoughts and so I could answer any questions. And, during these last moments we saw our goals manifested right in front of us. With the exception of one rambunctious, but friendly, puppy, all the dogs were sitting or laying down; all relaxed and happy. The energy of the pack was completely different, and better, than when we started. Our purpose was accomplished. Afterwards, we gathered by our cars and chatted some more. We also were then better able to allow our dogs to interact more intimately now that they had become socially familiar with each other. With the exception of one little "verbal" argument over water, all the dogs did very well in close proximity to each other and the day was a huge success. We look forward to our next pack walk and both Diana and I left feeling very grateful for having met some new friends, both human and dog alike. We can't wait for the next one. We hope more people come out... heck it's free, why not! Here are some pics from our day...
So, we organized our first pack walk gathering with some new friends. It was a beautiful winter morning here in southeast NC and the temperature was a comfortable 50 degrees with the sun shining. Obviously our purpose was to get folks and pooches together. But, also, we wanted to help some folks and offer them an opportunity to get their dogs around other dogs for socialization and to offer some tips on handling and safely socializing their dogs. We had a great group of people and dogs. It was apparent that some of the dogs were anxious to be around other animals. So, we started off by offering some guidelines and, for lack of a better word, rules for how the walk would progress. As we began walking, I was able to handle some of the dogs and offer some tips to the handlers. Everyone, dogs included, was very receptive and I appreciated their open mindedness and willingness to want better for their dogs. Some were owners and few others were there with their foster/rescue dogs. As these pack walks have a way of doing, all the dogs (and people) relaxed by the minute and really settled into this social gathering. There were some uneasy moments and some of the dogs displayed some erratic postures, etc. But, as we walked and talked and settled in, so did the dogs. We didn't walk fast. We walked relaxed. We took decision making out of our dogs' hands and took the responsibility of decision making on our own shoulders. I'll talk more about this topic in a future blog post as making decisions for our dogs is one the best things we can do for them.
Anyway, the pack walk took on the life it was meant to take on, as is the purpose. I even had the opportunity to walk a couple of dogs with my helper, Deuce - two dogs that didn't have too much opportunity to be around other dogs - this always makes me happy.. By the time we were done, we gathered in the middle of a nearby field and got into a circle so we can all share our thoughts and so I could answer any questions. And, during these last moments we saw our goals manifested right in front of us. With the exception of one rambunctious, but friendly, puppy, all the dogs were sitting or laying down; all relaxed and happy. The energy of the pack was completely different, and better, than when we started. Our purpose was accomplished. Afterwards, we gathered by our cars and chatted some more. We also were then better able to allow our dogs to interact more intimately now that they had become socially familiar with each other. With the exception of one little "verbal" argument over water, all the dogs did very well in close proximity to each other and the day was a huge success. We look forward to our next pack walk and both Diana and I left feeling very grateful for having met some new friends, both human and dog alike. We can't wait for the next one. We hope more people come out... heck it's free, why not! Here are some pics from our day...
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