Living in Harmony a.k.a "How to Understand Dog Walker Behavior"
Over the years, I've made friends with the other dog walkers at the park. We're all there every day, often on the same schedule and while it may seem counter-intuitive to make friends with your competition but eventually you need someone to talk with and so far, the dogs haven't started talking back. :) As these friendships have formed, we've started walking together with our groups. Combining forces so to speak. We keep an eye on each others' dogs and the park in general. We'll alert each other to potential obstacles or bad encounters. But by walking together and combining forces, we're also combining our groups and that can look a little intimidating to some people. We're aware of that and we try to respond accordingly.
We recognize that we aren't walking our client's dogs at a private dog walker park, oftentimes we're around other dog owners who are out with their dogs and people who are just out to enjoy nature. Some interactions are wonderful! We've made great friends with dog owners we see regularly and joined a local owners group and park-care consortium named CAL-DOG. While most of our park encounters are positive and reassuring some interactions are not. There are definitely park users who would prefer not to have to "deal" with the dog walkers. We do our best to keep a low profile, and to keep our dogs away from disinterested parties, pulling as far and as quickly off the trail into the woods as possible and entertaining our dogs to keep them preoccupied so that these people can pass with space and without exuberant dog attention. We aren't always successful but we try!
There is also a group of people who come to the park with their dogs and love us. They're fascinated by us and our packs and they recognize that their dogs want so badly to join in the fun. We get a lot of questions from this particular group. Most of the time, this is fine. I'm a social person and I really enjoy people's interest in my pack and also my profession. Plus, my packs are generally well socialized and fun! But it's also a job for us and ultimately we're there to work and do the best thing by our clients and their dogs.
The difficult part for me, and I think for other dog walkers is to keep a clear division of what is good socially, between us and other private owners at the park, and what is good for the dogs, and for their fitness and well being. I constantly evaluate and try to best balance what I find acceptable for interaction with other groups at the park that aren't professionals, knowing well that sometimes they are not used to pack behavior or even their own dog's behavior in this unique setting. Not a week goes by that my fellow dog professionals don't comment to each other, "how did they not read our body language? how did they not understand that we were pulled into the woods, trying to let them pass?"
As a result of this contemplation, I've decided to share some of my inner dog walker thoughts and inner workings of dog walking at an off leash park. My hope is to address some of the common problems we encounter and maybe the information will get out there. Maybe people will start to understand at least how I try to operate, and use this perspective to better understand others in my profession.
The other day I was hiking with another dog walker. We saw a couple approaching with a small pug on leash. Because we had about 15 dogs between the two of us and most of them were larger and more rambunctious dogs, we pulled off to the side of the trail. I also had my dog Gus with me and if you read the About Us section, you know he can be a little protective and rough with dogs he doesn't know. My dog walker friend also had a dog that has social issues and some "stranger danger" problems. We immediately leashed those two dogs and a couple of others who could have been overwhelming to a young, small dog. The couple reached us and stood on the trail marveling (there really isn't a better word) at all of our dogs. And a couple of our dogs ran over to say hi. Their dog immediately tucked it's tail and hid behind the owner. We called our dogs away and remained off the trail. And then the couple did the thing I was hoping with all my might that they wouldn't do. They walked off the trail and up to where we were standing. While I can applaud them for wanting to socialize their clearly uncomfortable dog, this was not the right situation. As they approached, the two of us were left scrambling to re-position our dogs so that the less social ones in our pack were away from them and their dog. Nothing could be worse than bringing a scared, un-socialized dog into a pack that is unfamiliar with him and expecting that just because all the dogs are in a pack that they'll be equally accepting of a newcomer.
My packs are carefully constructed and I will credit other walkers with doing the same. We screen dogs and work with them to slowly add them into groups. For some dogs, it's an easy mix. They meet the new pack happily and they're easy going enough (read: not alpha and not submissive) that it doesn't create any craziness. Other dogs are slower. They come from rescue situations. Or they're just skittish to begin with. The point is that we know all our dogs well and we know when it's better to remove them from a situation.
This pug was beyond-adorable and while she wasn't psyched with her owners' choice to bring her into the group, she did pretty well. Gus did well also but mostly because he has a thing for fawn pugs thanks to my niece Penelope. The stress on both their dog and on us could have been avoided with one simple question:
"Is it ok if we come over to you?"
This is good question to ask anytime someone (dog walker or owner) steps away from you or off a trail. Chances are there's a good reason behind it. Maybe it's for your ease of passing and by asking you'll quickly determine that your dogs will soon be best friends! Consequently, they may be doing it because they have a dog with social issues.... or they're just having a bad day
In either situation, asking to approach the group will be a sign to the dog walker that you are considering the above variables and also demonstrate that you are an owner with a higher-than-normal understanding of dog behavior. Both pluses.