# Walking a leash reactive dog in the winter



## mudEpawz (Jan 20, 2011)

Too make a long story short, after I moved last year Chloe developed a bit of leash reactive attitude when she is on leash and cant say 'hi' to another dog. At first I thought she was stressed or anxious because of the move as she had never shown even the slightest hint of this behaviour at the condo. Anyways, we did a back to basics training using positive reinforcement in the spring with some success. We can walk across the street from another dog without her acting like a goof. We havent reached the level on walking past a dog on the same side of the street. So now that its winter my rewards aren’t as quick since I have to fight with mittens etc and when it gets colder (-30 plus windchill) I wont be able to use a treat as a reward without the risk of frostbite lol! Not to mention if she pulls I risk falling and slipping on ice. So my question is to you… how do you deal with a leash reactive dog in winter??? I don’t want ignore our training we did for the past few months, especially since we were making progress. Any ideas???

ps: she wont walk on a halti... i tried it for a few months it was more of a pain then it was a help


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Congrats on your progress, it is a process for sure. If you don't use one, a front clip harness can help to manage her if/when she reacts and pulls. It takes away some of the leverage, and she won't be able to pull 'as hard', and yank you off your feet. I stash treats in my mitt, whichever hand I use to deliver the treat - minimizes the 'exposure' to the cold air. I also use a 'marker word' that tells the dog he has done the right thing, and a treat is coming ASAP! - so the 'speed' at which he gets it is not such a big factor. When it is so cold I can't bear to take my mitts off, it is usally too cold for him to be out any length of time, our activities are restricted to playtimes in the back yard, 'brain work' (teaching tricks or refreshing commands), or 'time off' in the house.


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## mudEpawz (Jan 20, 2011)

Charliethree said:


> Congrats on your progress, it is a process for sure. If you don't use one, a front clip harness can help to manage her if/when she reacts and pulls. It takes away some of the leverage, and she won't be able to pull 'as hard', and yank you off your feet. I stash treats in my mitt, whichever hand I use to deliver the treat - minimizes the 'exposure' to the cold air. I also use a 'marker word' that tells the dog he has done the right thing, and a treat is coming ASAP! - so the 'speed' at which he gets it is not such a big factor. When it is so cold I can't bear to take my mitts off, it is usally too cold for him to be out any length of time, our activities are restricted to playtimes in the back yard, 'brain work' (teaching tricks or refreshing commands), or 'time off' in the house.


Thanks Charliethree! I actually did not think of having treats in the mitt. thats a great idea.


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

*Stabilicers for winter walking!*

I just noticed this thread. One item that I DEFINITELY use when walking my dog is a pair of Stabilicers. Totally PREVENTS slipping on ice. 

When I got my first pair a couple of years ago, I was skeptical. I thought, no way would these work. Well, I put them onto my boots, and stood on a slick sheet of ice and "tried" to move my feet back and forth on the ice. They wouldn't budge! Well, I was sold, and to this day I haven't once slipped on ice when wearing them!

You can Google them or here's an L.L.Bean link:

llbean boots at L.L.Bean


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## mudEpawz (Jan 20, 2011)

Wendy427 said:


> I just noticed this thread. One item that I DEFINITELY use when walking my dog is a pair of Stabilicers. Totally PREVENTS slipping on ice.
> 
> When I got my first pair a couple of years ago, I was skeptical. I thought, no way would these work. Well, I put them onto my boots, and stood on a slick sheet of ice and "tried" to move my feet back and forth on the ice. They wouldn't budge! Well, I was sold, and to this day I haven't once slipped on ice when wearing them!
> 
> ...


wow! thank you. ive never seen these before. they aren't too expensive, so I think ill invest in a pair. thanks for the tip


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