Getting down low, to eye level, meant setting the camera down on the floor, with me lying on the floor to see through the viewfinder. But just imagine this same photo taken from a standing position, or even a sitting position… Right? There would not have been a photo.
If you want to improve your photography the get-down-low-tip is probably the most important tip you could ever get. I have seen almost every single photographer dole out this one piece of advice. So why I am repeating it here? Well, maybe because sometimes you just need to hear something from a different person or at a different time. So who knows, for you, reading this, this could be that time?
Or maybe, it can simply serve as a good reminder. Possibly though I am writing simply to remind myself not to be lazy…
Because I mean, I get it. You see something fun to photograph. Let’s make that something your pet, or let’s make it a someone, your kid maybe, doing something worthy of an “Awwwww!!!!” and you snap a pic.
So what did you do? Well, you documented the action, the thing, the person. It’s caught on sensor. So there’s that. But it’s not wowww, it’s not great, and it’s lacking a bit of connection possibly.
Please note that I am using “you” but consider that I am equally addressing me. My address to me would run along the lines of: “Great, Kajs, so what are you going to do with that shot? Let it live on your phone forever and ever, or till it runs out of storage, whichever comes first? (Hint: the latter will definitely come first). Cause you and I both know, that shot is not making it into the family album, because it’s not up to standards girl.”
The Solution
So what would the solution have been?
To get down low! At least eyelevel or lower when we are talking living subjects.
It’s awful. It’s going to make you aware of those muscles in your rear end and upper legs. It will remind you that you hate doing squats. But these are the situations for which you practice them (or not). Truthfully though, you should probably kneel, as a squatting position isn’t the greatest for photography. Because:
a) One tends to be somewhat unstable in the position which is not ideal for keeping your camera balanced and still. Yes, there’s image stabilization and no image stabilization is not the be all, end all. Keeping your camera steady matters.
and
b) (do not ask me how I know this) the instability involved can lead to mishaps when the object of your photograph is, say, your 50lbs dog, who considers your squatting to be an invite for a hug. Imagine said dog inbound in a straight line to join the hug-fest that he is certain will ensue, as you quickly press the shutter in hopes of getting maybe at least a running shot of said dog, whilst mentally preparing yourself for the backward roll that you will inevitably be performing soon.
Voluntarily tipped over for cuddles in the snow…
Don’t want to work those glutes?
So.
Alternatives.
The flat-on-your-belly-propped-up-on-your-elbows-position is always a good one. The value of clean clothes is overrated anyway. If you’re a parent or a dog parent, then your washing machine is doing overtime anyway.
There are definite benefits to the lying-flat-on-the-ground-photography-pose, especially when super cuddly puppies are involved
Everything’s relative… put your subject up higher than you are
Or cheat:
If you’re not going documentary style, there is no need to practice your downward dog. Just put your subject up on something higher than you. Saves you time, energy and a herniated disc… the effect is the same. A hopefully striking shot.
Super simple. Ask your canine family member to “hop it up” on a tree trunk, boulder, or what not, and you’re instantly at eye level.
Use the flipscreen
If you have camera with a flip-screen, then I am not even talking to you. Use the screen, Luke! May the screen be with you! (Cue the cringes from the teenage sons: “So not even half funny mom… Star Wars desecration! Not something to be toyed with…”)
Seriously though, you could put your camera all the way on the floor, tilt the screen up et voilà! It makes photographing from that low vantage point child’s play. My SLR only has an optical view finder, so I usually end up lying flat on the ground, with my eye pressed to the eye cup, to get an idea of what kind of image I am going to get, see above.
My neighbor, Babette Lassing, and I went on a fall walk in a gorgeous nature preserve in the Netherlands and used the opportunity to mess with our cameras. Babette got a new Olympus EM-5 mirrorless camera specifically for activities like this, to allow her to leave her hefty full frame camera at home. So there we were, messing around shooting mushrooms… She was already not shooting “down” on the fly agaric in the first shot, but just check out the difference moving the camera only a couple of inches down makes. The second image is already so much better than the first.
If you’ve made it till here, thanks for reading this far, but you know you could have stopped at the title, right?
Have you ever thought about replacing your leash? Well your dog’s leash?
I’m not talking about buying an additional leash.
Though I don’t own a giant variety of leashes myself I totally get you if you are the type to color coordinate your leashes to your coats and have a leash in every color, pattern and material available. Zero judgement there.
It’s just I really want to talk replacement for a moment.
For the longest time I owned only a single leash, a very nice textile Hunter training leash with neoprene backing. The backing didn’t last very long unfortunately from the leash scraping against the pavement. I would leave the leash on Rusty’s harness when practicing stays and the neoprene edges would get scuffed, when it dragged behind him on the recall.
Other than that it quite quickly looked a bit frazzled, the leash was pretty good.
Up until when… it wasn’t. And at a most inconvenient time I might add.
Best actor in a LEADing roll … You can see where the swivel head wore down as well as how eroded the pivot hole is on the leash-sided part of the snap. Now compare this to the unused leash below so you know what to look out for.
Rusty and I were working on impulse control and doing really well or so I thought. Walking down the footpath past the football pitch I saw a mother and kindergarten-aged son practicing some soccer moves.
Ball!!!!!
Moving ball!!!!
Alright, so far, so good. Rusty was leashed, so management was in place. We had quite some distance to our mother-son soccer team too. In short, we had the perfect training setup.
Rusty was doing great, observing the play, but checking in with me and then finally able to ignore them and focus on the cues I was giving. I was silently beaming.
And then I found myself on my butt, leash in hand, watching Rusty dive for the ball in the distance, unable to comprehend what had happened.
I was somehow still lucid enough to attempt recalling him. It failed miserably.
At that point I remember hoping he would show a little restraint and simply nose bump the football. This as opposed to him using his teeth on it, resulting in yet another ball being turned into a sad punctured sack of leather. Moreover, it would likely also result in a very distraught kid.
I knew of course it was the ball he was after, but I am 200% sure that the mom was of a different opinion, fear big in her eyes as 50 pounds of cattle dog came storming towards her child. Not good. Not a proud a dog owner moment. All around crappy to be precise.
Miraculously I managed to get to Rusty before any teeth had punctured the ball. I grabbed him by his collar whilst profusely apologizing to the mother and trying to make light of the situation to the kid by explaining that “the dog really loves to play football too”. The kid didn’t seem as fazed as the mom was, and was looking on with interest at what the wolf-like dog was doing to his ball. So, though I was mortified about the incident I thought I would try my best at damage control for the boy’s sake, you know, preventing a lifelong fear of dogs and all that, especially as he seemed more amused than scared and did not seem too affected.
More apologies and an explanation to the mom that the leash broke (I showed her) and I backed away leading Rusty by the collar. I tied his leash through the collar with a double knot, made my way home and then was off straight to the pet store to buy a new leash.
The emergency replacement and therefor current leash, bought at the local Fressnapf. You can clearly see the difference two years of intense use makes. A new snap is supposed to look like this. There is a clearly distinguishable swivel head (i.e. not worn down) and very little play in the swivel eye.
It wasn’t my fault, but then again it was.
I hadn’t thought to inspect his leash. It just hadn’t crossed my mind. Simple as that.
When I went all Sherlock on the leash I saw what the problem had been. The swivel head of the snap had worn down and the swivel eye had become eroded, allowing the head to be pulled cleanly through the eye when Rusty decided playing football was more fun than interacting with me.
In hindsight this makes total sense, as all things do with that benefit.
Yep, if you dig long enough on the internet, the information is out there, like it is on this website of a manufacturer of hardware for dog leashes.
So…. my fellow dog people of the interweb…
Inspect your swivels regularly and replace your leash when you see there has been too much wear. It could potentially help in not traumatizing unsuspecting people for life, or you know save your dog’s life in an emergency, or… well I could come up with some more dramatically sounding stuff, but you probably get the gist of it.
We also own a Ruffwear Roamer leash for backpacking. I’m not sure how you could visually determine whether it needs replacement here, but I have asked Ruffwear to comment on when they recommend replacing their leashes and if I receive a reply will get back to it.
Links:
(product links to Amazon.de are affiliate links from which I may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase anything. I would love that as it will help me keep this site running)
The Hunter leash we started out with is one of the most comfortable leashes to hold. If you are not going to let it drag on the ground like we did you should be golden. Just remember to check that swivel regularly.
The Ruffwear Roamer leash is great for active outdoorsy stuff. I will do a more thorough write-up about it later, but do know that I would not recommend it for everyday use in which it may be necessary to restrain your dog, as it is flexible and extends!
Fressnapf is our local petstore chain in Austria. We visit the one in St. Johann in Tirol and the people there are always helpful.
Anione is the store brand for Fressnapf. The red replacement leash we bought is this one in medium.
This cautionary tale serves as a valuable reminder for all dog owners about the importance of regularly inspecting and, when necessary, replacing dog leashes. The author’s personal experience highlights the potential risks of using a worn-out leash and emphasizes the need for preventive measures.
The detailed explanation of the leash’s wear and tear, particularly the worn-down swivel head of the snap and the eroded swivel eye, provides a clear visual guide for dog owners to check their leashes for signs of damage. The incident involving Rusty’s leash breaking during a training session illustrates how unforeseen situations can arise, leading to potential dangers for both the dog and those around.
The author’s self-reflection on not having thought to inspect the leash earlier adds a relatable human element to the narrative, making it more than just a cautionary tale. The subsequent advice to fellow dog owners to inspect swivels regularly and replace leashes when signs of wear are evident serves as a practical takeaway for readers.
Including links to specific leash products and reaching out to manufacturers for recommendations on leash replacement adds a helpful layer to the post. The use of affiliate links is transparently communicated, maintaining trust with the audience.
In conclusion, this post effectively combines personal experience, practical advice, and product recommendations to create an informative and relatable piece that resonates with dog owners. It serves as a gentle but crucial reminder to prioritize the safety of our furry friends by keeping their equipment in top condition.ReplyCancel
Lately I have been reading a pile of books about using your past experiences to create a career that fits you. The premise is that nothing you have ever done in life, whether work-wise or hobby-wise, goes to waste. You will have acquired skills that you can put to use later in a new field. The skill set you will have created is unique to you which, will allow you to pursue a career that is similarly uniquely you. Sounds good… on paper.
But what about in practice? Are there real people out there, who have done just that? You know, people who have walked maybe a bit of a meandering path to get to where they are, who have taken some side trails in life? People who used what they found along the way to come up with something new and creative, something that allowed their personality to shine and something that was therefore truly and completely uniquely them? I decided to go and find a real-life example, but when I started to really think about it, I realized I already knew one such person.
Kirstin runs her own business and provides different types of dog care, such as a dog walking service, doggy daycare and dog boarding, but she also sells high quality raw food and dog snacks and the list is not complete. Although I am sure there are dog lovers out there, who knew from an early age that running a dog care business was their calling in life, I also knew that Kirstin was not one of those people. She is fluent in Dutch and I knew through my family that she picked up the language whilst living in the Netherlands. I also knew she wasn’t running a dog boarding business there. Over the time we have spent together walking our dogs I had gotten to know bits and pieces of her story, but now we decided to sit down together and do a full blown tell-me-all-about-your-life-interview. Of course, what was supposed to last for an hour turned into three hours with a lunch break in between. I’m pretty sure it would’ve lasted even longer if other appointments hadn’t stopped us from talking more. It turns out her story is even more fascinating than I thought. At least in her case I am thinking some of the stories that I’ve read in the books may actually be true.
Guest Toby receiving some ear scratches from Kirstin
We started at the beginning. It turns out her choice of high school was not the straightforward one. She knew she didn’t want to go off to college. Wait, what? Talk about already staying true to yourself at a young age. In a society that seems to value the linear career path of “finish high school, complete your higher education if you can and then get a job”, knowing, saying, and acting upon your own feeling that college is not for you is something special indeed. Austria, from where Kirstin hails, has a quite particular option when it comes to higher education, something I didn’t know about until Kirstin told me. I looked it up and thought it was actually a pretty cool thing. You basically go to high school, get your proper high school diploma, which in Austria is called “Matura” and in Germany “Abitur”, and simultaneously get to delve into cool stuff such as communications and media design, but also international communication in business, which obviously includes studying foreign languages but also focuses on business skills etc. It’s pretty cool if you ask me, kind of like a high school “plus”. One of the things that was taught there was bookkeeping. Can you already start seeing part of what I was saying about skills being picked up throughout life that can come in handy later on, for example when you are running your own business and say need to do your books?
Internships at EGGER, one of the leading woodworking companies in the region led to a job there in a technical domain, where she was an intermediary translating between the wishes of the customers and the needs of the production department. “You want to produce that type of kitchen? Well you’ll need so and so many panels of those specs, with that amount of predrilled holes and a specific amount of screws and fasteners”. And not unimportantly: “By the way, that is gonna cost you an X amount of Schillings (anyone remember those still?) and no, unfortunately we can’t do it for any less than that.” Saying no is still a skill I am working on myself.
On the side she worked in the hospitality business, waiting tables in places well known to the international public for their après-ski.
A feeling of “I want and need to see more of the world” led her to quit the EGGER job. What peaks my interest, is how she describes the reason for this move. Kirstin tells me that she felt that if she did not leave then, she might not do it at all and though there was certainly nothing wrong about becoming a “lifer” at such a reputable company, she did not like feeling that way. I will call it a gut decision. It’s definitely her staying true to herself. After her father’s death she knew it was time. Using her local connections, she landed a job at Crystal Cruises. Starting off as a chamber maid, her language skills (the perks of having had a high school sweetheart from Britain and her chosen specialisation in high school) quickly got her noticed and allowed her to move up, to become first a bar waitress and then a barkeeper.
Two tours on the ship ended with a move to Holland to be with her Dutch then-boyfriend and with the adoption of her first dog, Sandor, a Rhodesian ridgeback. Ridgebacks are an immensely athletic, strong-willed and confident breed. Their origins lie, as the name suggests, in Africa, where one of their uses was to keep lions at bay until the hunter arrived to deal with them. You can imagine what Kirstin found when she drove up to a farm in the southern part of the Netherlands, where such a dog, having received no real training, getting by on a diet of cold cuts and horses bix, was kept confined to the property.
Lady of the house, Kira, and her guests Toby and Rusty enjoy the comforts of the garden.
The garden is fully fenced in. Noone needs to doubt what is behind the gate.
It would be simple enough to picture a straightforward path from here to the start of her dog boarding business. Rescued dog – rehabilitated it – fell in love with everything dog – started her own business. But no… of course not. Life has a way of throwing you curve balls, and we humans have a tendency to explore the side trails. What did start here was Kirstin’s passion for everything related to the canine diet. Sandor’s horses bix diet had not been conducive to his weight or health. And so his and by extension Kirstin’s exercise and diet journey started. Kirstin made trips to the butcher to buy him raw meat, chicken, lamb, and horse (which turned out to be good for his damaged stomach) in hopes of overcoming the gastrointestinal issues that plagued him. He had to be taught how to move again. Bit by bit he recovered. His callouses disappeared, his bow legs straightened out, his coat started to get its luster back and he no longer had to vomit. Kirstin became convinced that feeding a raw diet played a large part in his recovery. However, not much was known about any of it at the time and so it became learn as you go, as she figured out what worked and what didn’t piecemeal.
Sandor died young at age 6, but instilled the love for the breed. After having waited for the right litter to come along, Ridgeback puppy Kingston entered onto the scene. It was around about this time that Kirstin also started her training to become a certified dog trainer.
The curve ball in the form of a relationship break-up put a stop to all of it and saw a move back home to Austria, where she found a job at a marketing agency. It was there that Kingston’s life unfortunately got cut short when he was runover in an accident at the young age of 18 months.
Nonetheless being flat mates with her dog trainer cousin and fostering rescue dogs helped her recover from burning out at her marketing job. This also revived her interest in dog training which led her to follow a whole slew of trainings and courses.
Some of the products Kirstin sells, as well as informational flyers on how to get the most out of your vacation with your dog in the Kitzbüheler Alps.
At this point Kirstin had figured out she wanted to see if she could make a living out of “dogs”. This is where I sat up a little straighter in my chair, because how she went about it was fascinating.
As sadly was to be expected, she did not get lots of shoulder pats, attagirls and go-for-its. The talk was more along the lines of “that’s not a real job”, “you’ve already been sick for so long, are you sure?”. It would have been enough to make anyone doubt, but she did not let it stop her.
In a tourist town with lots of holiday homes there is always a need for cleaning services. The timing of those services is not that critical, and can be planned flexibly. So, Kirstin started her own cleaning company, which gave her the financial stability and enough time to grow first a dog walking service and later on a dog boarding service on the side. As her dog business grew she could let go of some of the cleaning work.
A completely converted van allows for the safe transportation of the dogs to the starting point of the different hikes or to a dog park on occasion.
Though the dog walking and boarding market in the region is certainly very far from saturated, Kirstin’s service is also not the only one. So how does she find clients? And if clients have a choice, why do they come to her?
Her answer to the latter question is instantaneous: “Noone does what I do, the way I do it”. The majority of clients are a good fit for her and her concept. She credits this partly to her website. Remember her background in marketing? A good deal of thought went into how she describes who she is and what her vision is. Because it reflects her authentic self, the people drawn to it, usually jive with her too.
In fact, she says, the reason her business differs from the others, is because she is the one running it. She does so in a way true to hér heart. As there are no two Kirstins there can simply be no two the same businesses. Kirstin draws the parallel to dog training. She could tell me how she trains her dog, but if I were to copy her method to train mine, there’s a good chance it wouldn’t work. Her energy, her body language, all of it is unique to her. And do you know what’s fun? What dogs are really good at? Picking out a phony. They have built-in authenticity detectors (humans often do too by the way, they just don’t always realize it). Merely mimicking her methods would only work when those methods are in line with my personality too. Not to mention, we have not even considered the differences in the dog on the receiving end, but that’s a discussion for another time. The point is, she brings something to her business that only she can, and she attracts the customers that value that. Now that’s starting to sound an awful lot to what my books were saying…
Using the connections fostered through her stints in the hospitality business and simply from being a local to the region she also managed to tap into a whole new client base. Working with the local hotels and camping, guests bringing their dogs along on holidays and wanting to go out for a bout of shopping, or skiing are now able to bring their dog to doggy daycare. Those feeding their dog a raw menu at home but stymied as to how to do so on holidays, have the option of buying complete raw meat meals (BARF-menu or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food menus) from her shop, a cooperation between her and hundefeinkostladen.at. No need for others to repeat Sandor’s raw food journey of discovery.
Freezers full of raw food meals await both locals and tourists wanting to feed their pooches a raw food diet.
So, what’s still hard? Surprisingly the first answer that comes is not one that I expected. I would have expected something along the lines of “dealing with the owners”, but, no, that’s not it, because, well read the above about the customers she attracts. Draining is when she ends up with a combination of dog guests that don’t jive together. This doubles her work and makes her wish there were more hours in the day. When the group of dog guests cannot all be walked together, this means Kirstin has to double the walks, taking them out in turns, and as her walks aren’t 30 minute walks around the block but generally full-blown hikes, it takes a good chunk out of her day and leaves little time for anything else.
Whether in summer or winter, there are no ordinary “walks around the block”.
Which brings us to the topic of saying “no”, no to dogs that just aren’t a good fit for her concept, even though the owners may be wonderful, or no because she is full for example. It’s something she sometimes still struggles with but is getting better at too. Avoiding having to say no by getting creative and making things work regardless is in her character. That’s not something she wants to stop doing because it’s who she is, but it is important to know when to draw a hard line in the sand.
She recalls that observing her own dog, Kira, taught her a valuable lesson in that respect. Kira is her heart-dog and foster-fail because of that. She is the lady of the house and chief overseer of the doggy hotel. Having arrived as a rescue youngster right when Kirstin got started with her business Kira had to deal with a lot right from the git-go, such as tolerating an ever-changing mixture of strange dogs in her home. By observing her dog well, Kirstin realized in time that some things were simply “a lot” to ask of such a young dog. She changed her expectations, allowed Kira to take a step back, recover and to be her own dog. If only we could all head that lesson, and allow ourselves to take a step back when we realize we are asking too much of us. This may be just be as simple as uttering that two-letter word: no.
Kira, queen of the dog hotel, keeping watch.
And if she could do one thing? Well, there is still that overarching goal of teaching more people to read dog body language, contributing to a better relationship between dogs and people, and a reduction in bite incidents.
What is my personal big takeaway from our gettogether? Listen to you, and follow your heart. When I look back through Kirstin’s timeline, each time she truly listened to herself, it took her in a direction that better aligned her with her inner self.
I want to thank Kirstin for taking the time out of her busy schedule to sit down with me. I hope her story inspires other people to make the unconventional choice if it is what is right for them. First and foremost, though, I wish Kirstin all the best in weathering the COVID-19 crisis. It has hit Kirstin’s region, which relies heavily on tourism, hard, and by extension her business as well.
Rusty as a puppy on top of my photo bag, together with some of his littermates (Surprisingly none of them peed on my bag).
Did you just get a puppy? Or are you getting one? Did the COVID crisis finally give you the time to spend on the ever so important puppy phase?
I started thinking about what I would have liked to know with the benefit of hindsight. I also thought about what I would like other puppy-owners to know based on my current situation.
Today’s morning walk triggered maybe my number one tip (mind you, before today’s walk I had wanted to write about something else, but I feel it might not be wrong to write about his first.).
Until you know otherwise, consider every unknown dog you meet, to be a dog that potentially wants to eat your dog for supper!
(for what this means in practice scroll down or read to the end of this post)
There, that’s it.
Ok, maybe that is a bit dramatic, but if I were to write:
“Please don’t let your dog run up to dogs you don’t know”, you might not take the warning as seriously as when I impressed upon you that I actually have your dog’s safety at heart.
So what do I mean.
A little backstory
My dog, Rusty, is a little under 3 years old now (2 and ¾ to be precise), which means we’ve made it past the puppy stage and perhaps more importantly past the teenage stage as well.
Supposedly we are now entering the relatively peaceful stage of adulthood, of stability. Or so they say.
He is an Australian Cattle Dog, and pretty awesome if I say so myself. I will be the first to admit that I have often felt I had bitten off more than I could chew.
He’s great with humans and as a puppy loved playing rambunctiously with other dogs. As he got older (particularly during puberty) and his personality developed he became more dog selective.
Some of his dog friends could jump all over him and neigh break his back and it would cause him no concern. To others, often other males, he would take affront. They simply weren’t his cup of tea. Similarly, he wouldn’t do too well with uninhibited puppies and youngsters rushing up to him and crowding his space.
I don’t attribute this to any bad experiences, but just to genetic coding (and probably some of my ignorance as a dog owner when raising him).
I find this infographic by Lili Chin incredibly helpful in understanding dog tolerance levels.
I like to draw the parallel to people. There are the extroverted among us who are happy to converse and chat with anyone and everyone, and then there are others who are most comfortable engaging with a select group of close friends, or who, when at a party enjoy observing everyone’s comings and goings but get all nervous when someone approaches them to make small talk.
Of course, there are strategies introverted people can apply when they find themselves in uncomfortable situations. You can learn and force yourself to make small talk at a party for example. Still it doesn’t mean you would go and seek out such situations if given the choice. This equally applies to dogs.
So why is this important. Well, just as dog-dog tolerance levels vary with age and between dogs, so do aptitude levels when it comes to inter-dog communication. Some dogs are simply clueless as to what another dog is communicating (or choose to ignore it).
When the message doesn’t appear to come across, this will (usually) lead the dog to try and clarify.
Similarly again, we humans tend to first repeat what we said, then say it a little more loudly maybe, gesticulate a bit more, only to go back to repeating what we said before, except now we’re getting a little more agitated and annoyed that the other person is not getting us, and so we end up shouting the message in the other person’s face (if we don’t have any other tools in our toolbox to deal with the situation)).
A little about dog body language
Guess, how this works in dogs?
A dog may look away first or turn his body sideways, signaling he’s not interested in interaction, but if signs are being ignored he may try and repeat the message a little bit louder by, say, issuing a warning growl, and guess what, if that’s being ignored the dog may resort to shouting the message, as in (gasp)… snap or bite.
He or she may, in other words, have the other dog for supper!
As a side note, there’s nothing wrong with a dog that growls, in the sense that it’s a dog showing restraint and communicating: “Hey I don’t want to bite you but I will if you don’t stop what you’re doing”.
Rusty chilling with his girl Ronja, one of his dog friends. Ronja can do whatever she wants with him and is clearly “boss”.
What happened
Now let’s go back to this morning.
We had two interactions very close together, really within a couple hundred yards of each other.
Since I know Rusty is dog selective and especially hates being run up to and crowded by other dogs, we have worked a lot on training. We are now to the point where, for the majority, he will check in with me when he sees another dog coming, which is the cue for him that either one of a few things are going to happen. They all involve working with me, which to him is fun. We do twists and turns, look-at-me’s, left-to-right-changes and more, whilst walking past the other dog; or we’ll step off the path and work together a little there, while we wait for the other dog to pass. In other words, to Rusty, another dog coming equals working with me to earn treats. It’s remarkably succesful.
Also, he is always on leash whilst the other dog passes as a safety precaution.
So, picture interaction 1:
Two ladies, one with two off-leash older dogs, one with an off-leash older rescue puppy (6 months maybe?) approach.
Rusty checks in, I pick up his leash and we do our thing. The two older dogs are still way off as they have found some interesting smells and the puppy is close by. Lady 2, puppy-lady, asks me: “Are we good to pass or would you like me to leash my dog?” (cue majestic music, heavens opening up and golden rays of light shining down on this lady in my mind).
“Well, my dog won’t go up to your dog, but if you’re not sure if your dog will go up to him, then I would leash him to be sure, as my dog generally doesn’t like dogs coming up to him like that”.
“Well, he’s an overenthusiastic puppy, so I will leash him”
We end up having a nice chat with both our dogs behaving themselves admirably, and Rusty even getting compliments on how well he keeps checking in with me (checking in, means making eye contact every now and then).
I ask about the other lady’s dogs and she is 100% convinced they will ignore Rusty to pieces so we carry on with our walk and indeed, her dogs trot past him like he’s not there.
I’m chuffed.
A bit before the interactions. Rusty has seen me take some photos during the walk. He knows I often ask him to hop up onto something for me to take his picture, so he takes the lead in hopes of earning a treat. Attached to his harness is his bright orange dragging long lead.
Now picture, interaction 2:
Unfortunately, a couple of seconds later, I see a similarly aged puppy retriever of sorts. Rusty is already happy to start our little thing. The youngster however barrels down the path making a beeline for Rusty. Its two owners, at least 200 yards away, apparently endeared with the happy-go-lucky behavior of their furry family member, look on cluelessly and take absolutely zero action.
I don’t know what Rusty is gonna make of this stranger dog. It could go either way obviously, but often this kind of “rudeness” does not sit well with him, so I step in front of him and yell a resounding no to the puppy (and its owners). As it goes with puppies, there is no stopping this one, Rusty twists away, growls and finally snaps at the relentless youngster who cowers back to his owners, who still are only slowly getting closer.
Amazingly the same thing then happens again. It’s as if him someone hit “repeat”.
Finally, the owners leash the dog and end up walking past us with Rusty ignoring the pup completely (of which I am very proud as I imagine that was not an easy thing to do for him), and the one owner of the pup just staring blankly at me.
I would have actually liked to talk to them a bit more, but I imagine they were still confused as to what had just happened and I was working with my dog as they passed.
My guess would be, that their pup had done a similar thing before and met very dog tolerant dogs at the other end of his sprints. This probably ended up in the dogs happily frolicking around and the owners enjoying some small talk.
Now, out of nowhere, there’s this cattle dog that just won’t have any of it… and there is its b&*$h owner yelling “no” at their lovely puppy. How is this possible?
Well honestly, when I got Rusty, I also didn’t realize there were that many dogs who don’t deal with this type of behavior well, nor did I realize that it is normal for dog tolerance levels to change as most dogs mature.
But HAD I known I would have dealt with a lot of situations differently. So, my apologies to those dog owners I may have put in difficult situations, because I too, at the time, thought my dog was so ruddy cute that all other dogs would be certain to love it.
Or that I held the false belief that “older dogs are always nice to puppies”. Or…, or…
I just don’t think I really saw the danger.
The above dog-for-supper-warning actually stems from one of Rusty’s and my trainers, Luceline, who used to tell us this over and over and over again during training.
She would say it in Dutch obviously: “Als ik een andere hond zie, ga ik er altijd eerst van uit dat ie mijn hond mogelijk wil opvreten.”
“If I see another dog I don’t know, I will always assume he wants to potentially eat my dog.”
Thinking back to those classes, I can only imagine how she must have felt, knowing from the looks on our faces that the majority of us were happy to let her talk, thinking “sure, whatever”.
I think the main reason for this is that that ideal image, of all dogs loving each other and frolicking and playing together is so deep-rooted, that it is hard for most of us to imagine that it could somehow be different. It’s just not what we want to hear or see. Plus, if there are dogs who are not of the frolicking kind out there, then it’s probably because they were mistreated as a youngster or it must be the owners’ fault somehow.
If you’ve read till here, then thank you. It’s time to dole out some practical advice, because let’s face it, when you and your pup come across another dog, thinking: “Hey you adorable furball, are you thinking of having my latest addition to the family for supper?” doesn’t provide much guidance from a practical point of view.
Practically Speaking
So what would I advise you do?
Keep your dog with you and communicate with the other owner, like the ladies during our first encounter today did… it’s actually that simple.
What helps though is to know basic dog owner etiquette. I did not know “unspoken rules” existed until someone told me about it (in this case it was during puppy socialization class), and I did not come to realize their importance until my own dog’s tolerance levels lowered.
For those of you in the Dutch speaking world there is an awesome pamphlet you can thumb through digitally that explains the “what” and very importantly the “why” of dog etiquette at hondenetiquette.nl.
They also summarize the content in ten tips, which are:
Visibly keep your dog under control when passing equestrians, bikers, joggers and hikers
Leash your dog when passing another leashed dog
Leash your dog when you see someone else leashing theirs
Do not allow your off-leash dog to approach a leashed dog
Do not allow two leashed dogs to meet (I will probably write another blog explaining why that is at some point)
Intervene when play becomes too rough
Respect that not all dogs want to play
Allow service dogs to fulfil their task and do not disturb them while working
Understand that not all people like dogs and give them their space
Show appreciation when someone else shows you and your dog consideration
In addition to the tips on the dog etiquette website I would like to raise awareness for the yellow dog project. When you see a dog decked out in yellow, with a yellow leash or yellow ribbon tied to his or her leash, it means this dog needs extra space. Give them a wide berth if you can and do not approach the owner-dog team.
Before I answer, maybe I should say that the more appropriate question to ask nowadays would be how I GOT them do so, as in past-tense.
The oldest is now a teenager, and presumably like most
teenagers, is more interested in all things screen. We went on a week-long
backpacking trip this past summer, which in his own words, he’s now been there,
done that, never again….
Regular day hikes are still not out of the picture though I
imagine.
Coming back to the question, the short answer is nonetheless: “I never asked”.
We just went.
There’s more to it than that of course, so I thought I would
share some of the insights I gained throughout the years.
TIP 1
There is one key tip I stumbled upon, back then, that thinking back to it now, had so much truth to it, that I would like to repeat it here.
I would impress upon anyone wanting their kids to actually
like hiking to do the following and that is:
“DO NOT GO FOR THE EASY TRAILS, PICK THE SINGLE TRACKS AND
ROCK SCRAMBLES”
This is where the title comes in.
Solid, dashed or dotted lines are used in most hiking maps
to indicate hiking trails. Solid lines often indicate the wider more gently
graded paths (German: Wege), following, say for example, logging roads.
Dashed lines often indicate the more fun (there, I said it
already) single file trails (German: Pfade) and finally the dotted lines are
the generally even more strenuous tracks, often found in more Alpine terrain.
Follow the dashed lines whenever you can, or depending on
terrain, the dotted lines, even, or especially, with little kids. It’s better,
in my opinion, and when it came to my kids (everyone is different) to do a one-hour
fun trail, than walk for two hours on a logging road. Kids want to scramble,
get dirty, jump and climb. They do not want to slog along a road. Nothing kills
enthusiasm faster than that.
My kids learnt to ask me within no time, whether the hike I
had planned for them was fun or not. There were two ways they would ask.
“Mam, het is toch wel streepjes of stippeltjes?”, or
“Toch wel klim en klauter hè?”
Translated this means:
“Mom, it’ll be dashes or dots, right?”, or
“It’ll be climb and scramble, won’t it?”.
Clearly this isn’t always possible and there are of course
many gorgeous hikes that involve “solid red line” paths, so there are other
things you can do to make it fun.
TIP 2
Cue therefor my second tip; Make sure there’s a reward in sight!
Because all of us love to eat well, and because we are lucky
enough to spend so much time in the Austrian Alps, this is not a problem. Food
is an excellent motivator.
Plan your hike to one or by one of the mountain huts and see
how much a plate of Kaiserschmarrn is worth to your kids.
To this day we still always earn our Kaiserschmarrn by either
hiking or skiing towards them.
My husband considers this to border on idiocy and finds it
perfectly okay to eat his Apfelstrudel at a hut he arrived at by (cable) car,
but we feel good earning/ burning our carbs.
We are of course in the privileged position to be able to eat
out quite a bit on holidays, but it is just as much fun to pack some awesome
goodies and chocolate into a backpack, find a nice spot with a view somewhere
at the halfway point, and make that the reward. This is what we do anyway when
there is no hut along our trail.
On top of that, how about making the reward an outdoor playground? (See below)
TIP 3
And lastly
Give them a job or a small task if they are so inclined.
We explained our kids how the trails in the Alps are marked
in blue (and white) and red (and white) and when they were little they would
often just keep themselves busy finding the next blaze, babbling “red-white! ;
red-white!” and finding blazes that I would have overlooked myself.
(I know, I know, there are black blazes too, but I found
those to be a bit much for 4-year olds…, or myself for that matter).
Our youngest has always been our navigator, he would either
carry the GPS and “create a route” or carry the map or guide book. Together we
would try to figure out how he could see where to go based on what the map
showed. Other times he would be the photographer or botanist, identifying the
different plants enroute.
Tracking the route on the GPS
Not every kid will like that or have the patience for it,
but the point is, there is probably something your child is interested in that
can make things more fun.
According to my older son he generally had more useful
things to do than that, such as thinking about how many plates of Kaiserschmarrn
he could shove down his pie hole… Mind you these are his words, not mine, but
they do underline the importance of the previous tip.
Fieberbrunner hiking path no. 8 takes you up to Timok’s Alm. Be sure to follow the (you guessed it) dashed lines wherever possible.
What could this mean when you’re in our beloved Fieberbrunn and want to do a hike to start out with?
Well take the 8 route up to the cable car middle station, but stay away from the road wherever there’s a path available. You will still be on the road for a little bit but much of the path goes through the trees and kids will be able to make their way over tree roots whilst walking on a bed of pine needles, all to get to the double reward of both Streuboeden Alm for drinks and Timok’s Alm, a kids’s nature playground with what must be the bouncing castle with the most gorgeous view… …in the world (cue Jeremy Clarkson’s voice).
Have your Weizenbier in the sun while your kids demonstrate the walk was not enough to rob them of their energy and take the cable car down.
Timok’s Alm bosts the bouncing castle with most beautiful view in the world.
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