Walking Two Dogs Together

[kasoo]

Background - I have a three year old Sheltie Chelsea and a 5 month old Australian shepherd Hunter. Both have learnt loose lead walking at basic obedience classes (pup is currently still in his class)and both behave beautifully on lead in class and on casual walks. BUT only when they are on their own with me.

With the recent good weather this week I have started taking them both out for walks together. Im not sure if its because Hunter is going through his adolescent stage but he is constantly harrassing Chelsea, nipping at her tail, and just trying to get at her. Of course she is tying me in circles trying to avoid him and also giving some back in defence. I can eventually get their attention for a few moments and reward this but as soon as I reward Hunter he goes back into crazy mode again. At home in the house or yard they play together well. This is only happening on walks (so far).

I am wondering if I should just go back to single dog walks for now and get the loose lead walking behaviour back in line? Would it be better to wait till Hunter is older before trying this again? Or is it worth the challenge and persue this?

[poodlefan]

Any reason you can't walk one on one side of you and one on the other.. if Hunter is kept to his own side, he can't harass Chelsea.

[kasoo]

Any reason you can't walk one on one side of you and one on the other.. if Hunter is kept to his own side, he can't harass Chelsea.

Thanks PF. This is the way I've been trying it. Right now Hunter won't keep my focus and stay on his side while Chelsea is with us. He just wants to jump across me to get at Chelsea. I use a marker for when he is doing the right thing but he is only holding that focus for a moment or so. The distraction of Chelsea being there seems to be a huge one.

[poodlefan]

Any reason you can't walk one on one side of you and one on the other.. if Hunter is kept to his own side, he can't harass Chelsea.

Thanks PF. This is the way I've been trying it. Right now Hunter won't keep my focus and stay on his side while Chelsea is with us. He just wants to jump across me to get at Chelsea. I use a marker for when he is doing the right thing but he is only holding that focus for a moment or so. The distraction of Chelsea being there seems to be a huge one.

He won't be jumping anywhere if you keep the leash fairly tight to hold him on that side. What he can't reach, he can't harass.

[Guest DBT]

Just for a while are you able to get another person to walk Chelsea while you walk along next to them with Hunter so you can focus on his behaviour without bothering Chelsea. If you continue as is , Hunter will learn very quickly that tandem walking is all about jumping and nipping at the other dog.

If you can get someone to walk Chelsea next to you & Hunter, once he is settled, ask them to pass Chelsea over and walk them together a short distance. If he starts acting up pass Chelsea back to your co walker and regain Hunters focus.

Remember Hunter is only 5 months old, so don't combine training & walking for more than 5-10 minutes at a time.

[kasoo]

Thanks DBT thats a great idea. I might do the exercise walks separately but also do a 5-10 min short session training the tandem thing with another family member assisting.

I really enjoy walking each dog and I don't want our walks to turn into a physical struggle which undermines our training so far. The end goal is to have two dogs nicely walking beside me.

[Guest DBT]

when you are doing the training walk with a co walker, try not to stop and fuss around if things aren't going well. Try as hard as you can to make transitions on the move and move as fast as you can. Don't give Hunter a second to think about anything else but the exercise at hand!