Walking a three dog pack

SheltieChe said:
since I am dealing with somewhat similar problems I have been learning...
management is when you do not eliminate behavior but manage situation.... Che is big time countersurfer, I have installed baby gate in the kitchen, I did not eliminated his behavior but I have managed situation and reclaimed my kitchen back... training is when Che jumps at people he is trained to sit or down instead- we are substituting one behavior/ unwanted one/ for desired one... there is difference what are you trying to achieve which specifies your goals...
You are describing Sadie being human aggressive/ she lunges at people passing by/ on leash and have 10/10 stimulus for distractions and no regard for you/ see yea mommy gotta chase that furry rat deal/. You are describing Toby as having high auditory/ reacts to sounds/ and motion/car chaser/ reactive dog.
Now combine Sadie and Toby and you get Leo, who lunges at people, chases furry rats and is huge car chaser. Leo is HIGHLY motion sensitive and comes from very strong lines of herding dogs, so fast body movements drive him nuts, I would not be surprised that Sadie is same way... so while it is not true "aggression" in a way people would define the term... it still is...
what Leo is working on is auto check in which is different from putting dog into sit or down while cars passing by... when we work around distractions I am mindful of distance, duration and intensity of distraction...
I am also fast learning about one dog setting each other off... Che was never reactive to windshield wipers but Leo is... now Che is barking his fool's head off every time they on... my choice is either sit in a car with Che and feed him food and retrain him back to being insensitive to w/shield wipers motion/ training part/ or manage the situation by putting both dogs in a crates and cover crates with blankets so they can not see the movement...
So I would agree with your trainer... you can choose to manage the situation, walk your dogs at 5 am and after midnight when distractions at minimum/ everything quiet, no humans and very few cars/ or you can separate dogs and train individual behavior... so Toby chooses not to pay attention to the cars and noise and be rewarded by you and Sadie chooses to sit or down and wait for her reward when furry rat is running across...
Sorry for long post, I feel I am dealing with pretty similar issues and sometimes I feel pretty low when all my training goes step forward and two steps backward... there is light at the end of the tunnel though, sometimes on a good day I am even seeing it with my gang:sadsmile:
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Don't worry about the long post, mine are usually pretty long too and I appreciate all the advice that people can give me.

I just hate to use the word 'aggressive,' because while they definitely LOOK aggressive, they're not. Reactive is a better word because neither of them is aggressive. Toby barked his head off last night at a lady who startled him when she was unloading her car. I apologized to her (because he startled her), explained the situation and she happily petted him and he let her and even cuddled into her. As soon as we backed away he went right back to barking at the car, which he'd been nervous about approaching.

Yeah, I am trying to manage the situation and I'm hoping to desensitize them to the things that bother them. Some time soon I'm planning on bringing them to a parking lot to practice around people and cars, which are the biggest issues.

Sadie is definitely as you described, easily set off by movement. She's set off by animals but I can redirect her if I notice she's seen something. The only thing that driver her crazy are skateboards, which I plan on working on with her. Toby I'm noticing is set off by motion as well (Lately he's been barking at blowing leaves :lol:),but mostly he is extremely noise sensitive and afraid of cars. He's doing MUCH better with redirection though.

I mentioned this in my last post, but my trainer DID NOT suggest managing the situation at all, she specifically said to NEVER walk them together. That's why I'm annoyed, I WANT to manage them, but she just brushed of my question because she couldn't be bothered to answer it properly.
 
I have no experience walking 3 shelties...but I do have a very reactive sheltie. Bailey is getting better, but she still barks and lunges at people, dogs, and birds. She is improving, but it can be a struggle.

I was recommended this book "Scaredy Dog! Understanding and Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog." I ordered it from Amazon and just started reading it. I'm not up to the training part yet, but so far I like what I'm reading.

My suggestion would be to not walk all 3 at the same time until all their leash issues are resolved. Walk them individually, so you work on their leash reactivity without distractions from the other dogs.
 
take4roll10 said:
My suggestion would be to not walk all 3 at the same time until all their leash issues are resolved. Walk them individually, so you work on their leash reactivity without distractions from the other dogs.
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This is a great tip, Randi. You want to get them all to behave on their own before putting them together.

We definitely do a lot of individual work with each dog, which I am sure helps with the ability for me to walk all three at once.
 
Toby is easily the biggest problem. I've been jogging with him lately so I'll make sure I keep jogging with him every day then walk the girls separately.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
 
The dog trainer told me to walk them seperately too, especially Charlie. But I feel bad as the other see me leave with him and not them. But occasionally I have taken Charlie only for more of a training session rather than a long walk.
Today I we went along with 2 of my daughters and we actually had 5 dogs walking. My shelties, my oldest daughter's dog, because she was at work, and my other daughter who is married and gone for the day her dog. I put on Charlie's thundershirt and off we went. It went really pretty well, I was surprised.
 
Going back to puppy school 101....I remember them teaching us to walk our dogs past "distractions". These distractions were either toys, other dogs, or food.

The technique was to be firm and confidant and to keep walking past the distraction. As soon as the pup gave attention back to you (i.e. face forward and glanced at you), then it was praised and treated. Then repeat, repeat, repeat.

I don't think it makes a difference one dog or three. The idea is for them to focus on you, not what's around them.

It may be that you have to practice this with each pup individually, then bring it to two, then three. Doesn't have to be 45 minutes each session. Even 10 minutes a pup training will get through.
 
BarbV said:
Going back to puppy school 101....I remember them teaching us to walk our dogs past "distractions". These distractions were either toys, other dogs, or food.

The technique was to be firm and confidant and to keep walking past the distraction. As soon as the pup gave attention back to you (i.e. face forward and glanced at you), then it was praised and treated. Then repeat, repeat, repeat.

I don't think it makes a difference one dog or three. The idea is for them to focus on you, not what's around them.

It may be that you have to practice this with each pup individually, then bring it to two, then three. Doesn't have to be 45 minutes each session. Even 10 minutes a pup training will get through.
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Already do that daily, plus at obedience class.
 
When Cran was old enough to walk outside- I got a coupler for him. I hooked him to Callie who walks well on a leash. Happy was on the right side. Worked ok except that Callie and Cran don't have the same speed. then we lost Happy and got Dixie. we didn't walk much because Cran and Dixie were in classes and we didn't have many free evenings. so this year, I did start walking each individually- basically giving Callie time away from the pups walking and then teaching the pups to walk nicely.
They do all three go on leashes to lots of places together. The vet's, the pet store, friend's house, etc. They usually do fine- except for getting tangled together but that keeps them closer and less ability to get into trouble.
I am hoping to have all three walking together nicely by the end of the year but we'll see how that goes.:winkgrin:
 
OntarioSheltie said:
I mentioned this in my last post, but my trainer DID NOT suggest managing the situation at all, she specifically said to NEVER walk them together. That's why I'm annoyed, I WANT to manage them, but she just brushed of my question because she couldn't be bothered to answer it properly.
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I'm guessing that she didn't know what to tell you so didn't bother with anything helpful. You should be able to walk your dogs together if you so choose. :yes:
sorry that I don't have any better advice than what you have already received.
 
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