$30 Wasted?
There's a wonderful off-leash ravine hiking trail about a 10 minute drive from my house. The last two times we were there, we spotted Coyotes. The first time I saw one, he was quite a ways in the distance, just milling about minding his own business. The second time, we were nearing the end of our walk and he (or she) was watching myself and Casey quite intently from about 15 feet away up a little side path from the main trail.
Not surprisingly, I was a little freaked out after the last time (I made eye contact with the bloody thing; I was so close I could see him breath in and out!) so we hadn't gone back since then.
But as I mentioned in the opening line, it's a beautiful trail that's very close to my home and it is a nice change of pace from walking on the boring old suburban sidewalk to go to an undeveloped woody area.
So, I set in motion some plans to minimize the danger of my dog getting eaten by a coyote, while still enjoying this beautiful area. I rummaged up an old cross-country ski pole from my garage, which has a sharp metal prong on its end; I purchased some bells from a craft store and made a little bell collar for Casey, and attached several of the bells to my new "walking stick" (AKA - sharp poky ski pole), and I purchased a $30 extendable leash.
While it is an off-leash trail, Casey likes to run through the brush, which is exactly what I want to avoid because that's where hungry and/or bored Coyotes like to hang out. I figured an extendable leash would be a nice compromise, because she would still be leashed, but it would give her some freedom to roam about and sniff as she sees fit (one of the benefits of a nice ravine trail).
Well was I ever wrong. Yesterday, we went back to the ravine since the Coyote spotting(s), and I put the new extendy leash on her for the walk. The thing about those extendy leashes, as oppose to the plain old nylon ones she's always had, is that she has to pull slightly to overcome the tension of the lead and get it to unravel past the 2 feet that always stays out. Except that the second she feels the slightest tension on the lead, she immediately slows down and moves back into a heel position. Every time I tried to get her to pull on the stupid thing, it would give the slightest bit of tension on her collar, and she would go back into a heel. I tried stopping, but then she would walk back and sit next to me. I tried moving backward, but she would notice the tension and start walking backward with me.
I basically spent $30 on a two foot lead.
Now I'm pretty sure with a bit of work I could train her to use the lead, but I don't know if I want to now, because then she might start pulling when we walk with the nylon lead, thinking that that's OK. I'm sort of undecided, but annoyed at myself for not thinking about this and buying the stupid thing with grand thoughts of ravine trail walks in mind instead of practical things like whether it would actually work.
Comment
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Comment by christy fry on August 18, 2010 at 6:39pm
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Do you attach the extendo to her collar? If you do you could try buying her a harness and only using that with the extendo so she may learn that having it attched to a harness is ok to wonder and regular leashe to collar not ok? She I imagine might be less sensitive to the pressure while it's attached to a harness....
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Comment by Carla on August 18, 2010 at 6:34pm
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@Gromit and Doug - Thanks for the concern. Perhaps my post mistakenly represented my approach to the situation as callous, but I assure you the decision to revisit the ravine was not undertaken lightly. What may seem like a few days when described in this post was actually three months. Our last coyote spotting (and thus the last time we were at the ravine) was actually in May. I spent time over the last three months researching urban coyotes and discussing the issue with my husband, who actually works with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (the Fish and Wildlife, Forestry, and Lands branch of the AB government). He has also spent nearly 10 years managing fire camps in northern Alberta, and is very familiar with Alberta wildlife. After much research and discussion, I did what I always do and calmly and critically analyzed the risks and benefits of returning to the ravine for regular walks with the dog. I concluded that, with several precautions in place, such as a long, sharp walking stick, noise makers, a whistle and a leash, as well as ensuring we walk in mid-day and educating myself about appropriate coyote “hazing,” that the benefits of walking in this beautiful ravine outweighed the small likelihood of a coyote attack.
@Heather and Ella - We actually have a long nylon leash for her, but it's terribly impractical; she's constantly stepping on it and tripping over it, or I'm stepping on it and choking her. It also becomes terrible dirty, muddy and wet when walking in a ravine, and because it usually trails between her legs when we walk, if I'm not paying close enough attention, she ends up peeing on it! I was hoping the extendy leash would provide a solution to some of these problems.
@Beth - What a great idea. I'm going to start her training tonight!
@ Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn - Good to know it's worked for someone else!
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Comment by Gromit, Sparkle, and Doug on August 18, 2010 at 6:01pm
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Comment by Heather and Ella on August 18, 2010 at 5:21pm
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We have an extension leash for Ella that has very little resistance. When the "thumb lock" thing is on then we can just make it whatever size she needs. If the one you have has a lock, you may want to just lock it at a certain "roaming" length until she gets used to it. You could also go to a pet store and maybe "try" a few kinds out. If she still doesn't like it, maybe buy a really long nylon leash and just kinda hold the extra when you don't need it.
Good luck.
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Comment by Beth on August 18, 2010 at 5:17pm
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What you want is a release word that signals to the dog that slight pulling at the end of the leash is ok to do.
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Comment by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on August 18, 2010 at 4:32pm
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Both Soffie and Griffyn transition between the retractable leash and the 6 ft leash we use for heeling. They know the retractable is for fun, roaming around walks, and the other is for down to business stay in heel walks. So I'm sure you'll be able to teach Casey the difference between each. Good luck!!
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