PDTE 2010 January Newsletter

WALKING with my dog TO the TOWN
CENTRE
Karina Doose, GERMANY
Just imagine it is midday on a Saturday.
You are going with your dog to the city.
You have been looking forward to it all
week — and now the day has arrived. You
can stroll through town with your dog. It
is the beginning of summer and you need
new T-shirts, shorts and shoes. When
you’ve bought these, you plan to go into
a restaurant for lunch. And this should be
fun for your dog too. Shouldn’t it? Just
imagine you are your dog — having his
1st visit to the city. There are masses of
people pushing and shoving. Perhaps as
a dog you only reach the knees of your
owner. Not everybody is prudent and gives
you sufficient space. You can feel people
pushing against you and so you don’t
feel much enjoyment in strolling through
the town. There are not only masses of
people, there are so many noises from the
street: sounds of car horns, sometimes
the music in cars is so loud that you feel
you are about to go deaf! Mothers carrying
screaming babies are pushing through
the pedestrian zone. Think about all the
above while you are imagining one day in
the life of your dog! And as a dog you can
hear all this noise at least four times louder
than people do! Because you are such a
sweet and and well mannered dog, lots of
strangers’ hands are stroking you. Well,
on reflection, would you, as a pet dog- always
enjoy a stroll through town with your
owner?
When you do decide to take your dog into
a busy city centre, there are some points
to bear In mind…
Don’t throw your dog “in at the deep end”
and don’t overburden him. Also don’t be
too hasty in what you expect of your dog.
It will take time for a dog to get used to
going into the city with you. The first time
you take him, don’t spend hours there.
Increase the time span from perhaps ten
minutes, in gradual increments - until
your dog feels more able to cope with the
stresses (crowds, narrow streets, speeding
cars, bikes etc...). Observe your dog
to see if he is trying to avoid something. Is
he anxious? Is he frequently lip licking or
yawning? In this way your dog will show
you if he feels stressed. If he is feeling
stressed stop the training. Your dog is
telling you the experience was too much.
Start the next training session in 2 or 3
days and stop earlier than the last training
session. And please do remember to end
every training session on a positive happy
note.
Whether you want to get to the city centre
by car, bus or train, your dog should be
comfortable with travelling in such a way.
When this is a problem, your training will
need to address this issue. Otherwise your
dog will be stressed out before you reach
the city, because the journey by car /bus/
train etc. was too stressful for your dog.
When travelling in any such vehicle is not
stressful, your dog will associate it with a
happy experience. And this is an important
training issue for all city dogs. Before you
travel to the city centre, give your dog
time to defecate and have a run.
Use a dog harness, not a collar. This
removes any pressure from the cervical
vertebrae. Do everything you can to make
the experience a happy one for your dog.
Remember that dogs are not allowed
inside every shop, and so you may have
to tie your dog up outside. However, It may
not be possible to tie the dog up on the
wall outside the shop. Some owners tie
dogs onto cycle stands. This is not a
good alternative. The dog cannot move
away if a cyclist wants to park his bike at
the stand. In addition, cyclists may approach
the dog head on as they arrive at
the bike stand. Remember that dogs do
not like strangers invading their personal
sace. Hence such a dog could bark at
- or try to bite - cyclists who try to enter
the dog’s space to tie their bikes up to the
cycle stand.
Photo: Andrea Knoblauch, Switzerland
Similarly, dogs should not be left in the
sun - they prefer shade. Remember that if
you do tie your dog outside, you have no
control over what happens to him! Someone
may try to steal your dog or provoke
him to bark or even bite. Someone could
kick him. People may take a liking to
your dog - puppies are very attractive to
everyone, and vulnerable to theft if tied up
outside. There are so many missing dogs
which end up stolen, because the owner
left them alone outside and went shopping!
“Fighting dogs” are stolen and used for
horrific dog fights. Please, don’t let your
dog out of your sight! We must be there to
help our dogs when they need our support!
Why not take someone with you when
shopping, a friend or family member? She
could wait outside with your dog until you
come out of the shop.
This makes the dog feel safe as there is
someone around who can help him if the
need arises.
PDTE NEWS Page 10