Confidence building in ME not the dog

[Nicole]

Dom, repeat after me...I do not need to go to the mental institution...

Seriously, I went through exactly the same thing..the feeling of information overload..not concerning training or anything but concerning health. I read too much. I thought my dog had every single disease and ailment, that anything the vet did would kill him and that anything I did would kill him from giving fish oil to raw because blah blah blah... I walked around my house for three months with a magnifying glass looking for parasites because he itched. Oh man talk about needing Prozac. My husband was going to put me in a straight jacket!! I stopped reading and drank some which I found works as good as Prozac!!

Anyway, so you are not alone in feeling overwhelmed. As to your situation, why are there so many loose dogs. That would freak me too. Is there something that can be done about that...talk to the owners, call animal control.

Can you find someplace safe to walk where there aren't loose dogs, even if you have to drive so you can enjoy your walk.

Also, you need to distract yourself when you feel nervous because the dog absolutely picks up on your fears. They can hear your heart beating and smell the adrenalin. What I did when I started to feel uneasy...let us say we were walking toward a disabled person who was jerking around...or someone with a hat and sunglasses. ..I was unsure what Sunny would do...so I sang a happy song out loud...not too loud. That distracted me so that my body didn’t react to give signals to the dog. Interestingly, what has happened is that if Sunny is alerting to something and I sing the song, he instantly relaxes, ears back, no more stare. Funny how things work. He must connect that to my relaxation.

And I don’t look at what is making me uneasy, I look straight ahead, walk tall and confidant and we pass right by while I am singing. Of course people think I am nuts which brings us back to this topic... ;D But loose dogs is really another issue. It isn't something that you should have to deal with. There is no way to know the temperament of a loose dog. You really need to contact the authorities about that problem.

Carry pepper spray and a walking stick. I carry pepper spray. It gives me peace of mind and thus I am relaxed. But we don't have many loose dogs.

[sibemom]

Good post Nicki We have had our share of incidents with loose dogs, but like you I carry a stick, and some sort of SPRAY to ward them off. Lately we have been lucky but that day I was approached by a pack of 6 don't ask me where they came from it got a bit tense. I try to find the safest dogless areas to go for walks, and Dom you need to do the same. The trick is to keep your dog and yourself calm as hard as that maybe, because if the approaching dogs pick up on any uneasy feelings or your dog picks up on your feelings and gets excited or tense things can get a bit touchy Do not over anylize all the information out there common sense is your best information. Like Nicki said you can get so overwhelmed by the info that you completly loose your perspective on normal dog behavior and every time you see a strange dog you are reading more into their body language then need be. Some aggresive signals are very apparent but sometimes pure curiosity or submissive behaviors can be read as Warning or Challanging postures. RELAX TAKE DEEP BREATHS and remember YOU ARE THE ONE IN CONTROLL NO MATTER WHAT

[Dom]

I am pretty sure I am just stressed from work and everything going on at home. My husband has had five surgerys since we got Sadie and she isn't even two years yet. And you all are right, information over load was in full gear.

In our area very few have fences so they just let their dogs out with no leash or anything. A lot of farm land is around us although we do live in a small neighborhood. I decided to talk my husband into walking with us and it worked out great. Sadie is fearful of other dogs and her hackles will raise, bark, growl and try to hide behind me. All that behavior was caused by me picking the wrong trainer when she was young but that is another story.

This time when a dog in the neighborhood started charging us I could block Sadie's reaction and keep her walking while my husband delt with the dog coming at us. The other owner wasn't too pleased when my husband threatened the dog for getting too close but oh well. My dog was on a leash and his wasn't. ;D