I read once that you should never worry about bad things happening because you will attract negative energy and cause said bad things to happen. Whether or not that is true is another matter, but I am anticipating bad things and would welcome comments, advice or even just sympathy! A few months ago some of my female friends decided that us girls must go away for a weekend and relax without OHs or kids. I told them, "Thanks for the invite, but I am a single mother to 4 paws and can't go with." They (bless them) found a pet friendly place (not too common in South Africa) and booked us in. We leave on Friday. Now...Shadow has only ever been off lead in a safe, fenced off area. That is normal here in SA, when out in public law says your dog must be on a lead. I emailed the place yesterday to ask if the chalets where we are staying are fenced off and this is the reply I got: "Hi Clair Thank you for the enquiry. The chalets are not fenced off entirely. We have walking trails along the river and the chalets are built up on the river bank with easy access to the river trails and all the other areas of the farm. Just be aware that we have duck , chickens, cattle horses and other dog on the farm. All are reasonably friendly ……you will just have to monitor your dog’s curiosity and movement around the farm." Shadow is 7 months old and full of curiosity and wants to explore. Her recall is pretty good, but I wouldn't even try to call her away from a delicious flapping chicken. She has seen cows once before when we were walking on a farm (on lead) and barked at them, ridge up on her back. Do you see why I'm stressing? I called the girls and wanted to cancel, but they said no. They all want to take her for walks and said she will enjoy being on a farm, this can be a learning experience for her, they want her with and we will manage it. Should I take her for a walk straight away when we get there? My idea is to make her tired so she wants to sleep and not cause me grey hair. How can I let her know this is our home for 2 nights? I couldn't sleep last night, picturing all that could go wrong! Help!
Re: Help! I'm stressing! i took jasper to my brothers farm when he was 6 month old, horses, chickens,geese and other dogs, no reaction what so ever, just had his nose to the ground taking in all the new smells, try not to worry i am sure he will be fine
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Don't worry!!!! Will she be able to sleep inside with you? She will probably bark at all the new animals - but so what? They will have been barked at a thousand times before. And barking is just a noise. When she can't see them she won't bark. Just take a huge stock of treats and use it as a brilliant opportunity to teach her to be calm(ish) and quiet(ish) around different types of animals. Just try to maintain a distance that she can cope with without being completely distracted, then treat her for being able to control herself. Personally, I would not let your friends take her for walks. You be the one to manage her at all times. Make sure your friends understand that she is going to be taking a lot of your focus because you are helping her to learn good manners in a strange place. Also make sure they are very careful about not leaving doors open. They sound like really good friends, so I'm sure they'll be totally on board Go, take Shadow, and have a great time
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Yes - I can see why you are stressing. But take plenty of treats and a nice squeaky toy for distraction and reward - she will soon get used to the animals and I am sure she will love all the walks
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Lead on round the animals = no stress Go have fun with your friends and your dog
Re: Help! I'm stressing! I think it will be a really good experience for her. She will probably just accept it is' home' because you are there, and will enjoy being the centre of attention! Hope you can relax and enjoy the weekend too!
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Try to look on it as a great training opportunity. If you have a lead which is a bit longer than normal, try to teach her to look away from the animals, and turn towards you when you ask. You might want to prepare for this by teaching her to look towards you on cue, or any noise you decide on, and asking her to do it when not too close to chickens etc at first. It can be great fun!
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Hi Clair, you've had good advice from everyone, the only other thing to remember is to be relaxed when you take Shadow for her walk. Our furries are very clever at picking up on our moods. Go and enjoy, it's a little holiday for Shadow as well.
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Don't panic! It's normal to stress and worry as you're going somewhere new and taking your pup into a new situation. I just wanted to share my experience of taking Penny into a situation she had been in before in the hope it will help you. We took Penny camping this past weekend - my parents are away in their touring caravan for a week and we went to stay with them for a couple of nights. Penny is familiar with a caravan as we've visited them on day trips before, but never stayed overnight. They weren't staying on a proper campsite, but as part of a club rally on a rugby pitch, so essentially an open field. They had the awning set up with the caravan but it's not that secure for the dog. We were going to be staying in a bedroom compartment attached to the awning, no space for Penny's crate. We knew that she was quite happy to sleep on a bed with us so figured she would be ok sleeping in the bedroom with us. The first night she was a bit restless but other than they she was fine. She's never been tethered before but had to be for this weekend so she didn't run off anywhere, she coped surprisingly well with this and if ever I moved far enough away that the tie out didn't allow her to reach me she just led down and watched me until I came back. She had also never been left alone anywhere except in crate, which obviously we didn't have for this weekend as no space for it. The first night I left her for a few hours in the bedroom compartment with a blanket from her crate at home (so she had her scent) and obviously our bedding was in there too (so she had our scent). I was worried she might try to scratch or chew her way out - the compartment was basically like an inner tent hanging inside the awning, or chew up our bedding as she can be a bit chewy with her own bedding at home. Apart from a couple of whines and barks the first ten minutes, she was an angel!! We were only sat round at a neighbouring caravan so I could hear if she was getting distressed, and for the first half hour I crept back to listen to see if she was ok and couldn't hear a peep - not even a rustle of her moving around so she must have just led down and gone to sleep. I know this is a different experience from what you will be having but I think you will pleasantly surprises, as I was, at how well it will go. I agree with the others in not allowing your friends to take the dog out - she needs to be your responsibility. If you are worried about her settling try and make it as home like as possible - take her blankets/bed and your own bedding if possible so there's lots of familiar scents. I also took a couple of Penny's favourite toys and lots of chews to keep her occupied. If it were me I would make sure I kept her on lead, especially around the other animals. It's bad enough trying to proof or practise recall in an unfamiliar surrounding, without the added excitement or distraction of other animals. Above all, just try to relax and enjoy it! I'm sure your friends will understand if there are a couple of activities you can't/don't want to take part in because of having the dog there - they sound like good friends if they already changed the venue to a dog friendly one.
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Clair,what lovely friends you have that understand you don't want to leave your dog and looked for somewhere that would accommodate you all so you weren't excluded,I think that is so kind.with folks like that around you ,please don't be stressed,you will have a brilliant time.however,like Rachael says,you take control of Shadow,with a group of well meaning girls ,you might find they are the bigger distraction than the husbandry elements of your stay! ;D I have a lot of visitors that stay with us and the ones that love Dogs could get Dexter in a right spin if I didn't exert a little caution over proceedings ;D Enjoy your break and let's is know how it goes x
Re: Help! I'm stressing! I think that keeping me calm is going to be the biggest worry. As everyone said, LOTS of treats, and her toys and blanket and bed will go with. At home she sleeps on my bed and it will be the same this weekend. Luckily my friends are very understanding, they know what she means to me and have promised to help and support me. I'll just see how things go and apply a bit of common sense. Thanks so much for all the advice, I am feeling a bit better about the weekend after reading all your replies. I'll definitely report back on how it went!
Re: Help! I'm stressing! [quote author=Dexter link=topic=6285.msg82872#msg82872 date=1401301144] like Rachael says,you take control of Shadow,with a group of well meaning girls ,you might find they are the bigger distraction than the husbandry elements of your stay! [/quote] This is very true! We had a lot of visitors yesterday and several needed a little training in lab handling!
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Great mates, have a lovely time Clair and let us know all about your weekend xx
Re: Help! I'm stressing! Have Fun Claire , Dont worry "Everything is gonna be ok !!!" . Please Post pics on return . Cheers
Re: Help! I'm stressing! I'm back! Have been without internet for a whole week... very bad for my sanity. Our weekend away: The first 24 hours was wonderful. Shadow was running around, smelling all the smells and exploring, but didn't go far from our chalet. We went on some lovely walks along the river where she saw the cows. She was very curious and wanted to go up to them, but when a curious calf walked towards her she turned around and ran straight back to me. Thank heavens! https://www.dropbox.com/s/bm31dzq3ov3hrcx/20140531_075855.jpg The next 24 hours was hell! The place got very busy, all the chalets around us were full and Shadow, being a puppy, wanted to go and meet everyone and jump on them. And join in (I mean eat) their picnics. Then I had to keep her on her lead or inside. But inside wasn't too bad... https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj45abtrodgcjad/20140531_180010.jpg All in all I learned that she is much better behaved than I realise and that she does listen to me and will not run away (my biggest fear), but stay close to me. I also saw that we need to work on the recall (but I knew that), but that the recall she has is better than I thought. I will definitely go back to that place, but during their quiet time. Thanks for all the advice and reassurances!
