Must run in the family
So Ciqala decided to go solo today on our morning walk.
Her leash fell out of my hand as I turned to pick up the trash which, i guess, for her is THE scariest thing in the world. At this point the wild side has been unleashed. She bolts down the stairs, pees and keeps on booking it out of my line of sight and into the street and into the parking lot greenbelt. I send Saru after her, no such luck because in typical shiba fashion, suddenly he doesn't care. thankfully she stops in the greenbelt and now wants to play "catch me." but she was still on edge. I grab some random toddler;s ball who was paying in the street (sorry kid) and throw it, she's interested, but still no dice. I ease my way across the street and pretend like I'm greeting her knowing her greeting protocol is to do the happy ears and stand up, SUCCESS! One crazy Kai in hand...no Shiba. WTF. I yell out, "Saru Bu don't move!". luckily, he listens and I find him standing by a tree waiting for me. Phew. I think recall training is in order.
Her leash fell out of my hand as I turned to pick up the trash which, i guess, for her is THE scariest thing in the world. At this point the wild side has been unleashed. She bolts down the stairs, pees and keeps on booking it out of my line of sight and into the street and into the parking lot greenbelt. I send Saru after her, no such luck because in typical shiba fashion, suddenly he doesn't care. thankfully she stops in the greenbelt and now wants to play "catch me." but she was still on edge. I grab some random toddler;s ball who was paying in the street (sorry kid) and throw it, she's interested, but still no dice. I ease my way across the street and pretend like I'm greeting her knowing her greeting protocol is to do the happy ears and stand up, SUCCESS! One crazy Kai in hand...no Shiba. WTF. I yell out, "Saru Bu don't move!". luckily, he listens and I find him standing by a tree waiting for me. Phew. I think recall training is in order.
Comments
We've been proofing our recalls with Juno lately too in light of recent events, but I know that that's working her in her 'front brain.' I don't how much good it will do in the event of her clicking over to the Wild Side in a pinch, because the problem isnt that dogs dont know to come or want to, its that nothing matters when on the Wild Side. I know this from Sage, because all the best treats and methodical click-to-calm positive reinforcement training couldn't cut thru the 'noise.' Perhaps in addition to recall proofing, distraction work is order for our kais, a-la "Control Unleashed'...to exercise the 'switch' so that they can bring their brains back from the wild side/hind brain. Possibly (I hope, anyway) the fact that she can divide her attention in the woods offleash between me and a really stimulating environment is the best exercise this particular dog has established in her toolbox. It's not recall on a dime though...
Yeah trash cans can be scary to some dogs. I remember on a forum a shiba was afraid to walk by trash cans on trash day when young.
I have to drag my trash can to the house it makes loud noise and Bella isn't fond of it luckily she just stays in the yard, but doesn't run off Saya she doesn't care about the sound.
Glad you got the two back safely.
Both were scary.
So I'm thinking, yeah, some special training (and a gps collar) are needed.
In fact, maybe I'll start a thread about the Kai Ken flight response and we can figure out some strategies and what has worked for people.
I usually don't just hold the leash. I wear a thick leather belt all the time and have heavy duty D rings slid all over it, usually 3 of them since I've got three dogs. If the leash isn't double sided (two clips), I use a high-quality carabiner through the leash's handle and clip it to one of the rings. That way, if I drop the leash (if I happened to he holding it) the dog can't get away. I do that with long-lines too.