09/15/2025
Something that I hear a lot when I tell people about my job... "wow, that must be very hard to manage that many dogs, they must get so crazy!"
I am going to babble on a bit about why this is not the case!
..
This video clip was taken about 40 minutes into my (3 hour) hike, and represents how the hikes go, almost the whole time.
I see some other dog walkers (not at all bashing them, we all do things differently!) talking about stick play, games of chase, throwing balls for the dogs, how excited everyone was... This is not what I do, infact, I encourage the dogs to NOT play at all! I do not try to train or motivate them with treats or objects, as I feel this often ends up being a situation where an excited state is rewarded.
We hike. We travel, we explore. The dogs are using their noses, and moving together as a pack! I am covering as much ground as I can, with the most diversity in terrain as I can in this time frame and location. I am trying to exercise the brains and bodies of these dogs. As a person, I do not enjoy backtracking, and will go through any means possible to make a 'loop'. This is for my own entertainment, in an effort to not feel bored. I have noticed that it works very well for the dogs, as well! They continually have new ground to explore and smell, whereas when we turn around and backtrack, they tend to pay more attention to each other, as they have already been here. Play is fine in some situations, but especially with a group this big, play can lead to overstimulation, bad habits, and excitement can quickly turn to frustration.
This may be a huge group of dogs, but they are all in the same emotional state, and they make up a balanced pack.
There is a brand new dog in this crew, who has never had this type of an experience before, and this big group of strangers showed him exactly how we behave appropriately and have a great, rewarding and tiring hike!
