Dear Alecia,
I have a very shy 6-month-old mini Aussie. She barks at all other dogs she sees. She is very difficult to walk.
She constantly will sit down and refuse to move. Sometimes she will be lured by treats, but after a while she just stops. How can I get her to go on a walk with me?
She was very sick as a puppy and missed out on a lot of socialization. She gets along great with our other dog, but he is leash reactive so I do not like to walk them together.–Jessica
Dear Jessica,
Mini Aussies are so cute. The only issue that I see with them is that it’s like taking the energy of a full size Aussie and putting it into a small body, so that’s a whole lotta energy in a little dog.
The other thing is that the minis tend to be a bit more skittish and nervous. Aussies are working dogs that are one of the most intelligent dogs on the planet, so they need a job or they start to become a little nervous and misdirected. This behavior is what she is using to control the relationship and be in charge.
In the case of your puppy I would like to suggest going back to retraining and giving her a better sense of body awareness by working with her on a harness. (Check out: www.dogwalkinsync.com) This will give her a much better body awareness and have her paying better attention to her boundaries.
Go back to working with her on focus exercises such as: sit, stay, come and walking with you on the leash.
Keep your energy up and positive while also allowing yourself to take charge of the relationship so she feels safe enough to let go of her need to protect and be on alert.
When she is around dogs that she does like, make sure you get in there and pet her body and give her a few treats she loves and make it a very fun experience to be around other dogs.
Paws Up!
Alecia
Alecia Evans, PDT, MA
Alecia Evans is the inventor of The Walk In Sync™ Humane Dog Walking and Training System with her exclusive 5 Minute Manners Makeovers using the Walk In Sync™ Harness and Accu-Grip Leash, along with her Walk In Sync™ 3 Easy Steps to teach any human/dog duos to Walk In Sync in just minutes.
The former host of the award-winning GrassRoots Aspen TV Series, The Whole Animal-An Alternative Approach to Animal Care, Alecia takes a natural approach to dog training and health care. Her work has been featured on Fox and Friends, The Sandra Glosser Show, NY 1, and in Aspen Magazine, DogTipper.com, The New York Daily News and Woof Report.
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