Dog Walks

After I retired, and continuing through the pandemic, I got in the habit of driving downtown on Sundays for a sunrise walk. I don't do it often, and until this last week I hadn't done it since acquiring Bixby. In fact, my last time was the morning of the day I acquired Bixby, in December of last year.

Having a dog to walk with was one of my main goals in getting another dog, but Bixby has been challenging to get to the point where I was comfortable walking with him far from home, or far at all. The problem is he is a scaredy-dog, afraid of all people and dogs he doesn't know. This turns into barking and lunging at potential dangers. I've worked hard with him, under the guidance of a trainer, to counter-condition him. Instead of "stranger-danger" I'm trying to condition him to "strangers=treats!".  Now, most days, around the neighborhood, we can walk around people, and with a sufficient physical distance, can even pass other dogs. It seems like after some time, or after a surprise close encounter, his anxiety tank is full to overflowing, and he's like a two year old having a temper tantrum, unable to control himself at all. The trick is to prevent his tank from filling up. When I see him approaching the limit, the only solution to prevent a melt-down is to pick him up and hold him, oriented so he can't see the approaching danger, and move away from it. I've acquired a shoulder bag that can act like a baby sling, holding him close while still having at least one hand free. I use that also for rest breaks - he is, after all, a very small dog.

So last Sunday we did a sunrise tour of the monuments. It was perfect weather, and I (at least) had a great time. We parked literally at sunrise by the Smithsonian, and spent about an hour and a half total walking and sniffing, accumulating 3.5 miles. At first, there were very few people and no dogs. By the time we were done, after nine o'clock, the mall was getting crowded. But in the whole time, he never had a meltdown. I'm not sure Bixby had a great time, because he was on high alert so much. But he has serious FOMO so I'm sure it was better than leaving him behind.

In the sling - my arms aren't long enough for a good view