Out and about with a group of dogs

When we take the jacket and leash from the hook, the joy of our four-legged friends is almost uncontrollable, because now it's time to go out into nature together. For dogs, this active time with their humans is just as important as regular meals.

If you're out with more than one, two, even three, four or more dogs, the challenges increase. Especially in densely populated cities and their peripheral areas, the stimuli add up: traffic, other dogs, children, joggers, cyclists and much more. Every dog reacts differently: one barks and goes forward, another avoids or flees and the next gets tangled in the leash. If unorganized encounters with free-roaming strange dogs are added, the chaos is complete. The walk with the dogs, which was actually intended as relaxation, becomes an effort, because the more dogs you have with you, the greater the dynamic.

However, the dog owner can control this dynamic in a group-oriented way, so that the dogs do not become independent in an uncontrolled manner. Rules, rituals and the concept of space help the "leading human" to set boundaries. To communicate this understandably to all dogs, the use of body language (gestures, facial expressions, touch) and voice is crucial. The leash is more than just an aid; it is the hand to the dog and a valuable communication instrument. With many photos and films, I vividly explain how this can succeed.

Among other things, we will talk about:

• Joint adventures: raising awareness for nature and the environment.
• Rules and rituals.
• Creating and maintaining spaces.
• the leash as a hand to the dog.
• Off-leash, the supreme discipline: a "can" not a "must"
• Encounters with strange dogs: Friend or foe?
• Self-reflection.

Our Speaker

Ursula Löckenhoff is the founder of the animal welfare association Galgo-Hilfe e.V.. The trained canine physiotherapist runs a dog hotel in Düsseldorf and shares her daily life with well-socialized dogs, as well as dogs less imprinted on humans. She regularly appears on television as a dog and animal welfare expert.

More about the speaker: www.bene-bello.de and www.dog-media-team.de/

Photo credit: Anna Auerbach/ Kosmos