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Help Me Avoid Disaster – Walking 3 Dogs at Once!
I am currently walking three dogs 2 little and 1 larger stronger dog. The leashes are extra long and they can end up tangling and presenting a tripping hazard.
Advice on walking the 3 together without causing any disaster?
Thank you for any input
Lynn
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16 Replies
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Hi @sasha52 I moved your question to the HMWTC channel so other members can find it more easily. I added a stock photo too – for color; hope you don’t mind. 🙂 I know these dogs don’t represent the actual dogs you are walking, but I thought it would help folks find and comment on your post more.
Meanwhile, can you give us a bit more background on these pups? Are they all from the same household? Also what equipment have you tried?
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I am pet sitting and they are all sisters. They are all good dogs but walking with leashes in one hand 1 dog pulls more and I end up dragging the little ones.
I don’t want to walk them using both hands going in different directions.
This causes the tangling and i have to try and quickly step over the leash. Just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
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Walking three dogs on-leash at one time is a serious challenge, even getting attention from three at once can be challenging. Heck, even walking harmoniously with two dogs on-leash can be a trick! I completely agree that the leash tangle that could happen from this situation could literally ensnare you and cause a fall.
For now, management might be the right tactic, walking them separately if possible. Learning to walk together generally needs to be taught apart.
About the dogs you are walking @sasha52 – how do their owners walk them? Might a waist leash be helpful?
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@jenwalker These photos are beautiful and made my day. What very good dogs… can we have all their names please?
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Thank you Catherine! One of the dogs, the black fluffy one, is Moon. She was my partner in training and humane education for ten years and passed on just about a year ago at fifteen. I am so grateful for all of these pictures of us together!
The other two are my current Muttley Crew (Puzzle – Aussie mix and Gusto – Border Collie mix).
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They are all just gorgeous. Sorry for your loss of Moon – those wonderful co-workers bring us such close-knit relationships.
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I agree with @jenwalker , the waist leash would be a good start (I’m thinking for the bigger pup) and you could use a single leash with a coupler for the smaller ones.
I walk dogs daily for a living as well as pet sitting and training, so occasionally I get 3 in a household, although most times I would recommend doing a 45 minute visit and walking the smaller ones together for 15-20 and then taking the bigger one out for 15-20. That all depends on your schedule and if you can handle more than one 45-minute walk a day!
Good luck! They look like super sweet doggies from the lovely picture! I’m attaching a picture of some sweet senior dachshunds that I walk together. Most of the walk is exchanging leashes from hand to hand, lol, but they are all equal size, older and extremely well-behaved. Hope you enjoy the pic! It’s Oliver (blonde, 15 years); Charky, (black and 14 years); and Zsa Zsa, (Black and Tan, 13 years)…all young at heart and man they love their walks!!!
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The different colored leads must be helpful to you, @bernerlabreclectus – This is a sweet photo of 3 very well behaved dogs. Well done.
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@sasha52 – Great photo – this really helps put it all in perspective. I think that these dogs do need different things – the two littles aren’t going to easily keep up with the large dog – and s/he looks young, to boot!
I echo what Jen said… if it’s not possible to walk all three separately, then I’d vote for at least taking two walks – one for the littles (a fixed-length leash in each hand) – and one for the biggie.
In this manner, you might even get a little training in such that one day, all three could go for short walks together. But still, they are going to have very different needs…
What do you think?
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I think the idea of two walks is a great one – best for everyone involved by meeting their specific needs. I still struggle with this in my household. To make sure that each of my dogs gets their own outings on a regular basis, I put check marks on my calendar to remind me who has gotten their outings and who still needs theirs!
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@catherine -I agree with you about splitting the walk. Most owners even agree, if you tell them your plans and why it’s beneficial to each of the dogs. Let’s not take your own safety lightly either! It is often times a better interaction with the pups and handler to decide up front on taking two separate walks and yes, Train away!
Your own safety is important. Walking 3 dogs of varying size is sometimes complicated further if any of them have any leash reactivity issues. I have also come across off-leash dogs approaching the dogs I’m walking…it is important to have your own safety in mind when they aren’t acting their very best. That’s another pet peeve of mine (off-leash dogs approaching us, clueless owners)…but totally different topic!
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Thank you for the tips. I have tried the separate walks seems like the best option but I feel bad leaving one behind.
Funnily enough the littlest girl, Bella is the “problem” lunging when she sees other dogs.
Is it correct to keep one leash in one hand and two in the other. I had been trying to keep them all in one hand one one side steering Gracie back when she would switch sides.
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Good points, @bernerlabreclectus – since you are a pro dog walker, I was hoping you’d chime in. Thanks for doing so.
@sasha52 Please do consider your safety. Three at once is a recipe for disaster, as you have already acknowledged. That one is reactive is beyond dangerous for all of you. What would you do if a loose dog comes running up?
You stated that you feel badly leaving one behind. Perhaps leave two behind, and walk one at a time until their skills improve – this is especially important with the reactive one. Walking her solo is a must.
The other two are also so mismatched that I urge you to reconsider walking them separately as well.
Another way to frame this in your mind, is you aren’t leaving anyone behind, but rather you are giving each one their own special time to sniff, explore, build confidence and have solo attention from you. Every dog needs that, don’t you think?
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Thank you I agree I don’t think the owners will follow through on this however.
On a separate note I am pet sitting a Standard Poodle for a couple of days who has a barking “issue”
The owner has a device that supposedly stops this and tell the dog “stop I’m getting the thing”
What should I do for the next 4 days to quiet him? I don’t know if they will follow through but figured I could get the practice in.
Thank yo all for you input
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@sasha52 i just saw this post about barking. My Berner started barking a lot- mostly when I started working more hours recently. I first think communication- what is the dog trying to tell me. Are their needs met for that day? Are they frustrated? After I really think of what was met that day we also started a training session. I actually taught him to bark on cue, so I could teach him a quiet cue. For a couple training sessions it was all about the bark, than I rewarded for the quiet and created a hand signal for that. So now I choose to use this at the right time. I still let him bark if he sees someone drive into our driveway, I say thank you and get up in between the window and him and he stops. But if during the day and he starts to bark for no reason- I use the quiet cue and redirect to another activity. So I guess in your case my biggest question is when is the barking happening? What do you think the dog is trying to communicate? Where their needs met that day? These questions are number one, and on the side you can do training sessions of the quiet cue. Barking is important to a dog, it’s the only way to communicate but I see why humans think it’s annoying. Let me know how it goes! Hope this helps a little.
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I think he does it all the time. He doesn’t seem to be doing it much while I am here.
I suspect because they get “the thing” and wave it around when he barks he thinks it’s a game.
Thank you for input as I pet sit and see different quirks I am trying to gain some knowledge and pracitce a bit.
Lynn
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