Take it to the Max
Created | Updated Jul 8, 2009
4 legs good, 8 legs better!
About a month ago, my sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. And she had to be operated on almost immediately. Ever the pragmatist, I offered some assistance with practical matters, and so I ended up volunteering to take her little Jack Russell for walkies. Mac, short for Mackenzie, is only about 6 months old, and I remember when they got him as a pup at Christmas that he would fit in the palm of my hand. How would Max (short for Maxim von Thunder)get on with his tiny cousin?
I kept Max on his head collar and lead when we went into the house, and allowed the pair of them a good 20 minutes or so to sniff each other out. At first Mac retreated to the safety of his crate, but he soon seemed content enough to be around the bigger animal. We decided to walk the pair of them in the grounds of Belfast Castle, a fine redbrick building that lies in the shadow of Napoleon's nose, and has striking views over the comings and goings on Belfast Lough. This was familiar territory to Mac, but it was a new venue for Max. We kept Mac's familiarity with travel arrangements by transporting him in his usual travel crate. Once we'd got to the park, I kept Max on his short lead and head collar the whole time—he's given me a few worries recently when off lead, and I didn't want to risk any mishaps. But Mac seemed safe enough off his lead. He's a fast little thing, but faithfully returned to us each time we called. He also seemed very content to follow Max's footsteps, and cock his little leg at every bush and tree that Max did.
Emboldened by our success, I took the two dogs at once for a walk up the hill behind the castle. Mac was on an extendable lead, which meant he could run on ahead, but the tangling of the two leads wasn't as bad as it might have been, although I had to do the occasional twisting dance to get them both in the right position.
Later, I asked hootoo's own Dog-whisperer, Mina, for her advice on walking more than one dog. Here's what she suggests:
- Train recall, and practise, practise, practise in as many different circumstances as you can (alone and all together). Even if the dogs won't be off lead, they should reorient to you when you ask them.
- Teach the dogs to return to you automatically if you stop walking, to poop scoop, stop to chat, stop to open a gate, fall over etc, again even if on lead as it's annoying to have dogs straining on the end of the lead.
- Carry food or toys kept just for the walk so you can distract them from things you really don't want them to do.
I hope the rain stops soon, because I can't wait to take the pair of them out walking together again!
