Today’s walk wasn’t easy!
Don’t get me wrong, there were some really lovely moments, and if you just saw the pictures on my socials without an explanation then you wouldn’t see the realities of navigating a walk with a dog who is more sensitive than most.
That is the trouble with social media, it only gives you a glimpse! People usually only put on their highlights creating an unrealistic perception of their actual life that can lead you down a spiral of self criticism, self doubt, and feeling like a failure when your life doesn’t match up to their glossy appearance.
I’m here to show you it all, warts an all!
Todays walk was a 3 mile loop, and on it, there were some challenging times!
We were not long into the walk, and Quest decided to plunge into the undergrowth, which is not usually a problem, but today, he got some sticky buds stuck on his back end and in between his toes. This was only apparent to me when he threw himself on his back and refused to move 🤦♀️.
Quest hates anything being stuck on his back end. It is an area he is really sensitive about since a traumatic event at the vets left him not wanting anyone to even touch it!
I’ve spent lots of time training cooperative care, and I’m now able to touch, groom, and remove things without him getting upset, but it has taken a lot of work. In the early days he could growl and mouth you if you went near his rear end, even without touching it he would just know what I was planning and his stress levels would rise.
Even after all the training and the fact I knew I could help him feel better by removing the buds, it wasn’t an ideal situation when he literally threw himself on his back at the start of the walk on a walk that I was wanting to do to to relax!
So that was the first tricky situation, removal of said sticky buds so we could carry on our walk. We then had to make sure he didn’t repeat this by doing the same again, not always easy when all the pavements are overgrown!
We then had a squirrel run straight across our path, literally inches from his nose! He then proceeded to try to follow the squirrel over the wall 🤦♀️.
When we got off the main road, I thought it would get easier as I wasn’t navigating the tiny pavements. It did in parts, but there were certainly other challenges along the route:
- A lady strimming her grass high above his head (her garden was above the road, so a novel situation towering above him)
- A scffolder drilling really loudly as soon as we got next to him.
- A cat running across our path.
- Quest’s favourite water stop. He absolutely LOVES water!
- Cars coming past us on a tiny road with no way of getting past and them not slowing down.
- A large reactive Husky coming straight for us (I crossed the road) but it still barked and lunged at us from a distance.
- Bin men with their large lorry emptying bins and clanging about right beside him.
- Walking past the village butchers, which Quest isn’t keen on (he can obviously smell death 😔)
- Disengaging from people and dogs, some more friendly than others!
So as you can see, for an hours walk there was lots going on, both for me but more importantly for Quest!
Each example I have given you above is a situation where Quest had a certain amount of ‘stress’ he had to recover from, but this also filled his emotional ‘bucket’.
Quest isn’t a barky dog so not once on this walk did he react with noise, I only noticed how he was feeling because I know him better than anyone else, but also because I keep an eye on his body language and the subtle signs he shows me.
On the walk I was utilising these ‘opportunities’ to do some training to change what could be a negative experience to have a positive association, and to work on disengagement. I always like to view these scenarios as learning opportunities rather than letting them stress me out, otherwise the walk would be no good for either of us!
Dogs can smell our emotions and will often change their behaviour if they sense we are acting a certain way, so learning to manage your own emotions and expectations is crucial especially when you have an anxious dog!
Managing your own emotions, understanding your dog’s stress bucket and knowing what to do in these situations isn’t easy, but don’t fear, this is exactly why I created The Anxious Agility Queen because I want to help more owners like you!
There are actually 5 ways you can get your hands on FREE information TODAY that will help both you and your anxious dog:
- Download my FREE 13 page PDF Guide ‘How To Manage Your Dogs Stress Levels For Success’ Click here!
- Join my FREE Facebook Support Group which is full of training, hints and tips and is a community of people experiencing the exact same things that you are! Click here.
- Follow me on Instagram as I do FREE weekly live training. Click here.
- Sign up to my weekly newsletter that gives you a personal glimpse into my world and access to exclusive tips and information! Click here.
- Listen to my FREE podcast that has over 30 episodes dedicated to helping you and your anxious dog!
I know how stressful life with a sensitive or anxious dog can be. It isn’t always a ‘walk in the park’ and life can look very different to what we imagined it to be when we first brought our dog home.
I also realise that many people are unaware just how difficult things are when you walk an anxious dog, so please help me to spread the word by sharing this blog on your socials or to people who you think will benefit from this information and free guidance.
Understanding our dogs and how they are feeling on a day to day basis is the one thing you can do to help your anxious or sensitive dog. Understanding that it isn’t their fault, being compassionate instead of frustrated but also giving yourself some time to destress from the experiences that having an anxious dog can bring.
Keep smiling, keep going, and keep being an advocate for your anxious dog. Their opinion of you is the only opinion that matters!
Till next time,
Katrina and Quest x
KB Dog Agility 