Hi all, We've only just started taking Harvey out for walks (second vaccination was last Monday). He seems very keen and excited to go for his walks but this evening after about 5 minutes (we're only doing 15 minute walks) he would make a brief whining noise and look up at me and then carry on. This happened a few times. Is it just excitement? (he pulls a little but there is a fair amount of loose-lead walking which we're pleased with at this early stage) Bonus question. All previously used treats seem to lose their appeal compared to the excitement of a walk! What do you use as a reward while on a walk? (Am going to try some roast chicken next time).
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) I suspect that the whining is just excitement and a general spilling-over of puppy emotion Some dogs are more vocal than others. My dog Obi is. My hubby calls him 'The Sommelier' because he is an Expert in Whine. Definitely get your hands on some roast or bbq'd chicken. Making the treats closer (touching the nose) also helps to increase their power.
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=UncleBob link=topic=3434.msg37641#msg37641 date=1385420840] Bonus question. All previously used treats seem to lose their appeal compared to the excitement of a walk! What do you use as a reward while on a walk? (Am going to try some roast chicken next time). [/quote] ;D ;D ;D If just an exciting walk - sea biscuits (fish and rice, very smelly), or supermarket chicken breast. Big guns for, eg, the beach, tinned or fresh sardines. My very serious weapons are roast beef and emmental cheese. Nuclear are sea wraps (very large bits of fish skin wrapped round sweet potato), and home roasted warm chicken, juice 'an all.
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=Oberon link=topic=3434.msg37646#msg37646 date=1385422358] My hubby calls him 'The Sommelier' because he is an Expert in Whine. [/quote] ;D
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=JulieT link=topic=3434.msg37648#msg37648 date=1385422796] If just an exciting walk - sea biscuits (fish and rice, very smelly), or supermarket chicken breast. Big guns for, eg, the beach, tinned or fresh sardines. My very serious weapons are roast beef and emmental cheese. Nuclear are sea wraps (very large bits of fish skin wrapped round sweet potato), and home roasted warm chicken, juice 'an all. [/quote] I'm coming round yours for dinner! Riley gets toast, cheddar and occasionally roast chicken. I need to up my game on the treats front! ;D On the OP, I remember Riley just sitting down 2 seconds out of the house and frequently on his first walks. I was advisedto just be patient. Reward the behaviour you want - starting to walk again - and not bribe him to walk as you're actually rewarding the stopping. He'll get the hang of it in no time, it's all just super exciting and overwhelming at the moment
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=UncleBob link=topic=3434.msg37641#msg37641 date=1385420840] What do you use as a reward while on a walk?[/quote] What is it that you are rewarding or wanting to reward?
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) Definitely deserving of double merits for the alliteration! I won't repeat what the OH said when he realised that the dog gets emmental for training treats - but actually, I reckon it's fairly economical! Honest. I buy a pack of emmental slices, that are then easy to cut into tiny little squares. It doesn't then crumble or fall apart, and if you keep a day's worth of treats out of the fridge in a plastic bag, it's nice and sweaty and strong smelling when you need it! Brew will also lick the same tiny square repeatedly, making it a long lasting treat too... OH's reaction was worse when he realised I was also preparing chicken breasts as bonus treats - I'm a vegetarian, and have never been prepared to cook meat for him... Fortunately she prefers the emmental! If the walk itself is the ultimate reward, I'm with Barbara's comments - try waiting until Harvey is quiet before you move on. Our walks are slow right now because there is so much to sniff and so many new scents and sights. If she pauses, I'm waiting until the leash goes loose again - which I'm taking as the sign that she's taken the new thing on board - and then off we go again. Not sure if it's right, but it seems to be working ok so far. We are getting quicker the more familiar she is becoming with everything. Clare
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=ClareJ link=topic=3434.msg37665#msg37665 date=1385456835] the dog gets emmental for training treats - but actually, I reckon it's fairly economical! Honest. I buy a pack of emmental slices, that are then easy to cut into tiny little squares. It doesn't then crumble or fall apart, and if you keep a day's worth of treats out of the fridge in a plastic bag, it's nice and sweaty and strong smelling when you need it! [/quote] It's a great treat - my Charlie loves it and will work for really tiny squares of emmental slices and you can cut them really, really small.
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=bbrown link=topic=3434.msg37663#msg37663 date=1385454888] I'm coming round yours for dinner! Riley gets toast, cheddar and occasionally roast chicken. I need to up my game on the treats front! ;D [/quote] Riley is a sensible, sensitive, field bred, working star, who wants to please you. Charlie is a show bred hooligan with the concentration span of a fruit fly and he thinks the universe was designed around him. ;D ;D ;D
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) Hi there, taking puppies for walks on leads is best kept to an absolute minimum i.e. for safety reasons only. The reason being that pulling is bound to occur at some point, and that pulling is much harder to stop than to avoid. If you are using treats for recall then you can increase your puppy's desire to be with you by running away from him, and by falling on the ground and letting him jump all over you when he 'catches' you. Be wary of trying to teach heel work as part of a walk. Puppies cannot concentrate for very long and you can end up sending very mixed signals (i.e. now you can pull, and now you can't)
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) Thanks for the feedback people. [quote author=editor link=topic=3434.msg37674#msg37674 date=1385460502] Hi there, taking puppies for walks on leads is best kept to an absolute minimum ...[/quote] Hi Pippa. I'm sure what you say is the ideal way to do things. However, we live in an urban area rather than a rural one and that does present certain challenges - for example, it's not really practical to drive to the nearest park or other open area, which will be in the dark anyway at the times that we are doing our walks, just for 15 minutes or so of walking. We will do as much off-lead work as we can but I don't think that we can abandon the walks.
Re: Whining while walking (how's that for alliteration?!) [quote author=UncleBob link=topic=3434.msg37809#msg37809 date=1385505806] we live in an urban area rather than a rural one and that does present certain challenges - for example, it's not really practical to drive to the nearest park or other open area, which will be in the dark anyway at the times that we are doing our walks, just for 15 minutes or so of walking. [/quote] Much sympathy, I'm in London - it can be difficult. Part of my solution was to keep the pup on a back fastening harness in between training sessions in off lead areas. I did spend a huge amount of time driving to off lead areas though :, and I just quit the 15 mins down the street and back - he didn't really need it. Instead I did 20 - 30 mins 3 times a week (60 - 90 mins) rather than 15 mins a day (105 mins).
