Dog-sitting In The City

We're taking care of the family dog, Oliver, for a couple of weeks. It's been lovely because I grew up with Oliver, raised him, and appreciate being able to spend some good time with him now that he's a ten year old. Oliver is an example of a dog that thrives under positive reinforcement training and will never need corrections. He was well socialized as a young dog and has a great genetic disposition. Any minor tension on Oliver's leash is met with an immediate response, typically of moving towards the handler. His only little thing that I have to manage while he's here is that he gets SO excited when he meets new dogs, so much so that he often tries to mount them; this is because in his adulthood, socializing with other dogs isn't a part of his routine. Oliver and Pierre are vastly different in terms of energy levels due to their age and breed difference. Pierre is a pretty high energy dog who needs a lot of exercise and mental stimulation whereas Oliver is extremely mellow and typically goes on one long walk a day at my parent's house and otherwise hangs in the backyard. He does love to run so it's been fun giving him the space to do this regularly while he's staying with us.

Walking the two of them has allowed me to get out of my head and refrain from over-thinking Pierre's behaviour, as well, it forces us to walk at a variety of speeds and to stop regularly, instead of me absentmindedly speeding up to match Pierre's pace. Pierre had been extremely mindful at first and I had wondered if it was helping him pay more attention to my pace and location on walks, but after a few days, Pierre was showing signs that he's getting impatient with Oliver's sometimes slower and more leisurely pace.

Pierre's usual routine is:

• off-leash at a park in the early morning with our regular small crew of dogs (~1 hour all together)
• 30 minute walk mid-day most days
• off-leash at a school field in the evening with some neighbourhood dogs (~45minutes to 1 hour)
• a  ~15-20 minute walk before bed

I had hoped we could magically keep Pierre's schedule going as usual but his exercise and stimulation needs are significantly higher than Oliver's so we have been slowly re-adjusting and taking him for an extra walk or two by himself. Managing two off-leash dogs that aren't 100% reliable is a terrible idea in distracting, city locations. We have been generally limiting the off-leash component as a result which, in turn, has Pierre becoming antsier.  It's been great for them during quiet parts of the day when they have the field to themselves and can run together. I have been mindful that one of them goes back on the leash when another dog enters, however, because otherwise they excitedly gang up to run at and greet the newby. It turns out that it is pretty impossible to constantly predict and prevent; we had one run in with a young puppy while Oliver was on leash and Pierre was off. Neither of them are great with young puppies. Pierre wants to control them and Oliver wants to mount them, and lucky for us, there seem to be a number of young puppies in our neighbourhood lately. Now, they both stay on the leash, Pierre on a long-line, for the full duration of our park visits. I let the leashes drag if there's an appropriate playmate but have the option to quickly collect them or redirect them if needed.  Today, we had a successful morning park adventure with some short off-leash time, though the walk home became frustrating as we couldn't find a good pace for the three of us (Oliver was tired and satisfied whereas Pierre was definitely not). They're getting a walk mid-day with our wonderful dog walker, Natasha, and then Tim is planning to take only Pierre out for a long walk when he gets home from work. For the morning exercise bit, I'm going to try getting up extra early so that they can run in the school field by themselves I guess!?! Or separate walks?? We'll figure something out. Accidentally limiting Pierre's outdoor exercise means an annoying, frustrated Pierre in the home and we don't want that!

Following up with my last post, many of those cues and trained behaviours that may seem strange and excessive have really come in handy while Oliver is here. Pierre is a controlling, intense guy and whether he wants to eat Oliver's food is just being bossy, being able to give him a command or a verbal correction and have him respond and redirect immediately has been amazing! His, "on your spot", command has been especially key and extremely helpful. Rewarding him primarily with one-on-one play and attention is working great. Very happy to be able to manage his behaviours in our home and to feel confident that we have a good mutual understanding. Oliver is a great distraction to help proof Pierre's training inside. It's been wonderful having him around.