Our Walking Journey So Far: An Honest Update from a Husky Owner


Loki may look like a floofy (often grumpy-looking) angel, but in all honesty, he has always been a nightmare on a walk. We mentioned previously that we were working on loose lead walking with him, and so far it's going very well! Just maybe not as fast as I was hoping. It definitely seems slower than some guides may lead you to believe... Maybe this is because he is a husky?

Compared to when we first began, Loki has made a tonne of progress. He has gone from jolting in all directions, not listening at all, and making me feel like I was being walked by him, to:

  1. Waiting nicely and leaving the front door to start our walk at my side.
  2. Spending 70% of his walk trotting next to me.
  3. He now knows the "come back" command, and when I call this out and come to a stop he will come back to my side.
However, we're still tackling a few problems. These being:

Grass

Yes... Grass, of all things. I can't even imagine how these smell to dogs, but Loki becomes very excited when we approach any patch of grass. He seems to catch scents, and will suddenly stop walking so well and jolt ahead to a pull. 

To get around this, I've started doing a 180 and walking in the opposite direction when he pulls approaching grass. When he starts walking well, we will begin making our way towards the area again but he only gets to go if he isn't pulling. This often means I'm walking up and down the same bit of road for a while, but he typically gets it in the end. Until the next patch of grass of course...

Side note: I'm pretty sure he would be happy to live in some tall grass and prance around all day, sniffing and chasing butterflies. 

Treato Frequency

I'm struggling with slowing the reward frequency down. He will sometimes lose interest if he thinks he's not going to get a treat, and pull ahead to something more interesting instead. Obviously, I come to a stop and tell him to "come back" which he does, it's just making it difficult to slow down the frequency of treats on a walk. Boy loves his sprats.

People

Loki loves people. From a person, he just wants a fuss - but as a medium to large-sized floofball, he can be a little intimidating of course. 

We've been working on the "leave it" command and attempting to keep him distracted/encouraging ignoring anyone passing by. But at the moment, any person he sees is much more interesting than me and the treatos I have to offer. I'm hoping this gets better with time and further positive reinforcement training.

Dogs

Loki has had experience socialising with other dogs, and he's great with them! He is very friendly and loves a good playfight. When he sees another dog on a walk, he will usually start "husky talking" and pulling towards them. 

No treat, reward, or silent prayer seems to do the trick to distract him or relax him. He is definitely better than he used to be, but we are considering some group training to get him used to seeing other dogs on the lead and teaching him manners around them.

To Summarise

I guess some dogs are naturals on a lead, but Loki is hard work! If you're reading this and having similar problems, know you're not alone. Every dog's journey will be unique, and I'm sure we'll get there in the end!



Thanks for reading!
- Charlotte and Loki

Location: United Kingdom

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