It really is important for us to understand that walks are a completely new concept and experience for our dogs.
They will have rarely been walked (unless they have been in foster care in Spain or even here in the UK). They may have been taken out for hunts or training (where they are dragged behind vehicles in intense heat, on leads and tight collars – if they fall, or injure themselves, they are either left to rot, or will be tortured for simply failing), or used for breeding (chained up and bred from over and over again), or abandoned, usually in poor condition, potentially with broken limbs, and also ill.
They are not walked at the shelters either.
Given the above insight, we can understand that walks could easily be difficult and full of uncertainties for them, with many strange and unknown, scary situations arising.
When we talk of overwhelm, we also talk of the layers of trauma and in order to best support our dogs, we need to look into this aspect very thoughtfully. We also need to think of all these new sensations and sights and scents and how stimulating this can be for them. It will likely blow their minds. We need to give them time to process.
Our dogs actually do not need to be walked to begin with. Not only because of the overwhelm they will all feel, but because of what their bodies have been through previous to rescue. Considerations are needed around their healing. They really don’t heal after their brutal regimes in a matter of days or weeks, moreover it can take months, even years in some cases. On top of that they would have just gone through hours on the road. It takes 3-4 days from shelter to the UK. They will be bewildered, sleep deprived and stressed. This is not an easy combination to cope with.
Generally prior to rescue, they are kept in squalor with no comfort and regularly starved, punished on a daily basis and have been for a while, some many years. We must keep this in mind when we are introducing them to life and what we consider ‘normality’ for dogs. It is so far from normal to them.
It is reasonable for us to expect a dog to have accidents in the house, to feel tetchy and on edge, to feel restless and out of sorts.
As much as possible we need to see it from their point of view. We need to think about their needs as individuals and in order to do so, we need to observe, listen and learn. And what we may also need to do is be open to a new way of thinking and shift our perception.
Please do read this very interesting study which was completed on street dogs in India:
When you start walking them, 10 minutes is enough in calm and quiet areas.
This may need a bit more thought if you are a solo dog parent and need to walk your other dogs. Perhaps you can enlist the help of a neighbour or friend to just sit with your new foster while you take your other dogs out. Or for the first few days, you could even put walks on hold and instead do some enrichment with the new foster and your own dogs.
Those without gardens will of course need to be even more mindful of finding quiet areas for toilet time. Stress and anxiety can impact on a dog feeling safe enough to relieve themselves.
Rather than thinking from A to B, think of walks as more an exploration of the environment. We often see people ‘frogmarching’ along, where the dog doesn’t even get a chance to sniff the air let alone a bit of grass. Who and what is that walk for? Who is benefiting?
Think of all they have to process just in a home environment, and then on a walk. It can be full of stress and stress can accumulate very quickly where anxiety and overwhelm are also components.
When stress builds up, our capacity to cope in every day situations can change dramatically. It can make us feel on edge, irritable, we can find it hard to sleep, or relax and when our stress reaches full capacity, it doesn’t take much to ‘flick our switches.’ This is when reactivity can occur in dogs and it can then spill out into other areas of their behaviour. When your body is flooded with stress chemicals, all sorts of physiological havoc can be triggered.
Going back to the study on street dogs, isn’t it interesting how naturally, dogs prefer to be calm?
Please build up very, very gradually. It should take a number of weeks before they are ready for 30 minutes and they may need a day or two in between to process. So do some enrichment instead, give them duvet days.
Why rush?
You will be doing the very best for them by taking things very slowly and this will help build trust also.
