Reactive & Anxious Dog Walks
It can be hard to find a trusted dog walker when your dog is reactive, anxious, and/or potentially aggressive. Not only is your dog practicing insecure, unwanted behaviors, but there is a scary liability if a well-intentioned dog walker loses control of a dog that has potential to harm another. These dogs often end up enduring long, isolated hours at home that can add to their pent up energy and increased anxiety.
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Mountain Manners Dog Walking Services is here to help! There is no magical “quick fix” for reactive and anxious behaviors but, through developing walk engagement, trust-building, and receiving emphatic praise, your dog will start to look for guidance when faced with a stressful situation. This will help your dog become more confident on walks.
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A typical neighborhood walk can be very scary for a dog who sees the outside world as inherently dangerous. As I build confidence in your dog and your dog develops trust in my guidance, the walk duration will gradually increase in length. Initially, time will be split between walking and engagement within the home/home yard. In-home activities may include: basic obedience, playing with toys/fetch, basic nose work, relaxation within the home when there are outside stressors (i.e. barking at dogs/people outside the home), and general house manners.
As a new client, you will start off with a 60-minute intake training focused on tools for walking your reactive and/or anxious dog. This way you know exactly how your dog is being worked with on training walks and can become consistent with walk skills. At the end of the intake session, you will receive a summary handout to begin practicing with your dog. It is easy to then schedule training walks using the Time to Pet app.
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While Mountain Manners Dog Walking Services is geared towards dogs who are reactive (to dogs and/or people), anxious, and otherwise struggling on walks, I am happy to work with dogs who have less severe behavioral concerns. These services benefit anyone who wants to keep their dog mentally and physically engaged during the day, especially when dog daycare may not be the right fit for your individual dog. All dogs can benefit from this type of intentional engagement.
A well-maintained paw!
Nail Trims and/or Paw Trims
Did you know that keeping your dog’s nails maintained means trimming them at least every three weeks for the average pet dog?
Once a dog’s nails are long enough to touch the floor, they start to push up on the dog’s joints which can cause joint pain, premature arthritis, affect your dog’s gait, and can create muscular tightness in your dog’s body. Unsurprisingly, body pain can play a part in your dog’s behavior and can exacerbate reactivity. Similarly, those fluffy “grinch” paws affect your dog’s traction which can lead to joint issues as your dog ages.
Clients can add nail trims and/or paw trims to Mountain Manners Reactive & Anxious Dog Walks.* Dogs with overgrown quicks (live flesh within the nail) may need weekly dremeling for a limited time to help the quicks recede and allow for future maintenance trims. Each dog will be assessed on whether nail clipping or grinding is right for that dog’s nail texture and condition.
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*Dogs who are extremely fearful about nail trims may not be eligible for this service, but are encouraged to sign up for Fear-Free Nail Clipping Training Sessions.
