Diana
I’ve got about five weeks worth of Saturday dog walking that I haven’t discussed. Sadly I can’t share details of two of those dogs but here is the first of hopefully three posts of our recent Saturday morning adventures with our dog friends.
We walked Diana back on 19th September. She is a big beautiful girl but was a bit of a handful. Fortunately I had one of the excellent Animal Attendants at RSPCA Queensland to give me some advice, tips and tricks with walking Diana.
She was reacting a bit as we passed the other dog kennels on our way out of the shelter. Diana is ~45kg and very strong. We went to Oxley Creek Common - a great suggestion from a friend. It’s a beautiful spot and best of all it seems that everyone pays attention to the “Dogs must remain on leash” signs! During the walk Diana was pretty good - she had decent pull on the lead a lot of the time but we tried working on loose-lead walking as much as possible. She didn’t react much to other dogs but certainly some wildlife and birds caught her attention. As much as I thought I was prepared, her first lurch when she spotted a bird very nearly pulled me off my feet. Another time she managed to dislodge my glasses hanging from the v-neck of my shirt - it was probably 15 minutes of walking before I noticed they were missing but by some miracle I found them when we retraced our steps.
We had a great morning but the walk with Diana was a real workout both physically and mentally - always looking out for and anticipate the next thing that she might lurch at. If I was onto it, she was very good at maintaining focus, or pretty quick to regain focus if I didn’t. She was a bit of a handful for me to walk and I thought she would benefit from someone more knowledgeable & experienced.
Fortunately writing this a couple of weeks later I can say that I’ve been on two more walks with Diana around the Wacol campus. Another one of the excellent Animal Attendants tried Diana with a Halti (pictured above). She spent time getting Diana used to and building up a positive association to the Halti. Diana is a completely different dog when she’s on it. The sudden lurches and reactions are almost completely gone and definitely a lot more subdued. I did one walk with the Animal Attendant and Diana two weeks ago and then took her again for a walk by myself this weekend. I wasn’t able to get photos/video of her walking on the Halti but did grab a couple of her off-leash with it still on. She isn’t the biggest fan of the Halti so likes to rub her face in the bushes if she’s given the chance, but it’s made such a difference to her walking. She’s a lovely girl - I would love to keep walking her each weekend but I would rather she finds a new home soon.
Update from 17th October 2020
Today, just as I was arriving for my volunteer shift I overheard on the radio that Diana was going to her furever home. Everyone was super excited, especially for the one amazing Animal Attendant who put in so much extra effort and attention into working with Diana. I think Diana’s new parents were a bit overwhelmed by all the love for her. It was an awesome day and really created a positive energy around the shelter for the afternoon!
