Different dog, different play 🐕
For those that follow the page and see my stories, you may notice that Flossy is often walked on her own. Whereas, Dutch and Chop are often walked together. There's a couple of reasons for this.....
Firstly, Flossy is quite temperamental. She's playful one minute, but the next, she's finished playing and wants to stop. But, she's not all that good at communicating that, so the other dogs can get a bit confused. I'll admit, as she's gotten older, her tolerance has improved. But, she does have a bit of a chip on her shoulder and I just don't need her starting something, especially when she can't follow through and defend herself, she's a chunky girl, but she's all weight, and she really doesn't know how to throw down.
Secondly, age. We have quite an age gap between Flossy and the other two. Flossy will be 7 years old in a couple of months, technically a vetaran, more so as she's a large breed. After her is Dutch, who has only just turned 4 years old this month. Then Chop, who is only a year and a half old, so a baby who's still got to learn a bit more about how to play appropriately.
I'm a firm believer in young dogs keeping old dogs youthful, but I still need to keep Flossy safe. And as you can see in the video, she plays for a short while, then gasses out and needs a sniff 😂 Whereas Dutch likes to play, and play hard.
I'll admit, it's a pain in the arse walking them separately, but it just wouldn't be that enjoyable for any of them if they were all walked together. And I want them to enjoy themselves.
I'd also always recommend solo walks now and then for people with multi-dog homes. Just to get a bit of one-to-one time with each dog 👌
Some owners have a really cohesive pack of dogs, and they can walk together no problem. We used to have that set up, it just isn't the case anymore and that's fine.
Flossy can be as much of a party proper as she likes.....I've got the time 😉
Training vs Safety
I'm a dog trainer, so, my dogs should be trained right? So why is my dog wearing a longline whilst out? Because I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Chop is trained, he has a brilliant recall. But, we haven't come across Deer yet, or Pheasants. Do I want to risk that under those distractions, he might actually act like a dog and chase them?
No I bloody don't.
Sometimes, you have to leave your ego at home and appreciate that even with all the training in the world, your dogs response can be unreliable or even just unknown. I've trained his recall under distraction, but it's hard to find a Deer willing to hang about as a stooge whilst I train 😉
The field I'm in has lots of holes in the fences, holes we've left open so the wildlife has easy access and so that the young Deer don't have to jump the fences. We have a huge wildlife population here and the longline keeps them safe as well as Chop. In other environments, we don't need the line, but it changes depending on the level and type of possible stimulus'.
Again, Chop is trained, but in this environment, with the multiple scenarios that can happen, is it worth me risking him chasing something because he wanted to, because it ran out infront of him, or because I wasn't looking so didn't recall in time. No. I'd rather just stick a simple line on him and everyone can enjoy their day.
Don't feel bad or be made to feel like you are doing something wrong because you are being cautious and sensible. Some people use lines just to help ease their own anxiety, and that is absolutely fine.
Do you and f**k everyone else 😁
Have a good weekend all 🐾
BALLS....I'm talking about the type you play with 😏.....I mean the toy kind! 🥎😂
So, we often just chuck balls for our dogs to fetch. Which is a norm for most. And that's fine, in moderation.
But, I've seen the negative side effects of too much ball chasing.
Dogs getting over stimulated, becoming obsessed, dogs that can't actually enjoy their walk or exercise without a ball being thrown for them, and also dogs excessively barking at their owners until a ball is presented.
A good way to mix things up is to hide a ball for your dog to find!
If you're on a walk, you can drop the ball whilst you walk for a few meters and then send your dog back to find it. Or, as I'm doing with Dutch in the video, practice some impulse control too, ask them to leave it whilst you throw, then release to find it.
Changing it up can really help bring some variety to your dogs play and also help reduce or prevent any negative impact too much ball chasing can cause.
Have fun with those balls 😉
Thank dog for that......the sun is finally here ☀️
It's looking good all week so don't forget, we also rent our field out for private use. And with the weather warming up, what better time for a swim at All Things Dog Secure Fun Fields 🐾
Working dogs at work 💪
This week we've been doing some maintenance in the field clearing some overhanging trees from around the pond.
Once cut, we struggled to get the line across the pond to the clear side to pull the trees out. In steps Dutch and Chop, who have no idea just how helpful they were 😁
#dogsatwork #Rottweiler #workingdogs #dutchpup #chopdog
What is this thing?!?!? 🌞🫨😂
Little bit of one-on-one time with the big boss lady 🧡 #bossyflossy
Watch the whole video.....it's worth it 🤦🏼♀️😂
He got me good 🐾 That face though 🙄😘
#rottweilerchop
Apparently Chop doesn't need a human to play ball....he makes his own fun 🤷🏼♀️😂 #Rottweiler
