24/11/2025
Oh my goodness, what a gift for anyone who is struggling with difficult walks! 🥰 So much insight and so many fabulous things to try. 👌🐾💜
Walking Without Dread: Navigating the Maze - What Might Help
Part 4 of 4
We've talked about the dread before leaving, the threshold, the encounters, the flooding. We've explored the science - Hart & King's research on hypervigilance, stress synchronization, the nervous system responses that keep us stuck.
Now let's talk about what actually helps.
Not quick fixes. Not "just stay calm and your dog will too." Not pretending this is easy when it's not.
Just honest, evidence-based strategies that acknowledge this is hard and offer realistic ways through.
First, let's be clear about what "help" means:
Help doesn't mean:
Your dog never reacts again
Walks become stress-free overnight
You can walk anywhere at any time
Everything is suddenly easy
Help means:
Slightly more manageable days
Faster recovery after reactions
Feeling a bit more confident
Small moments of calm
Building a life that works within your dog's limitations
Both of you suffering less
That's what we're aiming for. And that's genuinely possible.
STRATEGY 1: Work with arousal levels, not against them
Research in animal behaviour shows that once a dog is over threshold (fully reactive), learning becomes extremely difficult or impossible (it's the same for us too). When flooded with stress, they're in survival mode.
What this means practically:
Before the walk:
Assess your dog's baseline arousal BEFORE you leave
Are they already wired? Pacing? Panting?
If yes, consider a calming activity first (sniffing in garden, scatter feeding) or a shorter walk, easier route, lower expectations.
During the walk:
Your job is to keep them UNDER threshold as much as possible
This means more distance than feels necessary.
This means turning away before you "need" to.
This means rewarding calm heavily before arousal builds.
But here's the reality: it's not always possible to manage the situation.
Sometimes another dog appears around the corner. Sometimes the bus arrives suddenly. Sometimes there's no escape route. Sometimes you're trapped on a narrow pavement with triggers coming from both directions. When you can't control the situation, you do what you need to do to stay safe and get through it. That's not failure - that's reality.
After a reaction:
Your dog cannot learn or train in this state - the goal is recovery.
Sniffing helps (scatter feeding if food motivated) and where possible create distance from triggers. Be aware of visible recovery time where possible.
Understanding stress:
Stress hormones don't disappear immediately after a stressful event - they take time to process and clear. So if your dog reacts on Monday's walk, they may still be carrying some of that stress on Tuesday's walk. This is why progress can feel impossible - they may not be starting from a truly calm baseline.
What helps:
Rest days between walks (use alternative enrichment)
Shorter, calmer walks more valuable than longer stressful ones
Multiple reactions in one walk = compounding stress
STRATEGY 2: Build engagement at home first
You cannot teach your dog to focus on you when there's another dog approaching or a bus passing if they don't have that skill in easier environments first.
Foundation work (in your home, garden, quiet street):
Name game:
Say dog's name once
When they look, mark ("yes!") and reward
Practice daily in different locations
This becomes your emergency "look at me" cue
"Find it" / Scatter feeding:
Scatter treats on ground, say "find it"
Dog searches and sniffs
This is your decompression tool after reactions
Practice at home so it's automatic outside
"Let's go":
Walking forward, say "let's go" cheerfully, turn 180 degrees
Reward when dog follows
This becomes your "bail out" cue when you need to leave
These aren't party tricks. These are emergency tools. But they only work under stress if they're deeply practiced in calm environments first.
STRATEGY 3: Understand your threshold distances
Distance is one of the most powerful variables you can control when working with reactivity.
Your homework:
Map your dog's threshold distances for different triggers:
Other dogs: React at _____ meters
Buses: React at _____ meters
Bikes: React at _____ meters
Joggers: React at _____ meters
Other triggers: _____
Then add a buffer:
If your dog reacts to other dogs at 20 meters, work at 30 meters.
Why?
You want to catch them BEFORE they react
Under threshold = can learn
Over threshold = cannot learn, just surviving
What this looks like:
Crossing road to create distance from approaching dog
Turning down side street to avoid close pass
Stopping and stepping back when you see another dog
Turning around and going home
Sometimes it feels like you're navigating a maze - constantly calculating routes, changing direction, backtracking to avoid triggers. And that's exhausting. But that mental load, that constant route planning - that's you doing the work of keeping your dog under threshold.
It feels like running away. But this IS dealing with it - you're managing arousal, preventing flooding, protecting the learning process.
STRATEGY 4: Your regulation matters as much as theirs.
Remember stress synchronization from Hart & King's research? Your stress affects your dog. Their stress affects you.
Breaking the cycle starts with you:
Before the walk:
Check in - do YOU have capacity today?
Three deep breaths before leaving
Permission statement: "It's okay to turn back"
Realistic expectation: "My goal is [just to the corner / one calm moment / getting home safely]"
During difficult moments:
Breathing techniques (slow, deliberate breaths)
Talking calmly to dog (helps regulate you both)
Humming (can be calming)
Remembering: "We're both doing our best"
After the walk:
Decompression for you too.
Notice the tension, the held breath.
Shake it off. Literally - physical release can help. You might have noticed that your dog does this to release tension. My go to is dancing. Put on your favourite music. Turn the volume up and dance your socks off! Such a release! My dogs seem to think so too!!
When you're regulated, you're better able to support your dog. When you're flooded, neither of you can cope effectively.
This isn't selfish. This is strategic.
STRATEGY 5: Know when to use management vs. training
TRAINING DAYS (When you have capacity):
You're rested, dog is calm, time isn't tight
Do: Controlled exposure, work on skills
MANAGEMENT DAYS (When capacity is low):
You're tired/stressed/rushed, dog is aroused
Do: Survival mode, whatever works, get home safely
Most days will be management days. That's normal. That's not failure.
STRATEGY 6: Reframe what "a good walk" means
Old definition of success:
Complete planned route
No reactions to dogs, buses, bikes, anything
Dog walks calmly past all triggers
New definition of success:
You both got home safely
There was one moment of calm
You redirected before full reaction (even once)
You spotted the other dog first and created distance
You turned back when needed (this IS success)
Dog recovered reasonably quickly
When you focus on what's within your control (your choices, your responses, your decision to bail) rather than what's outside your control (whether other dogs appeared, whether triggers passed, whether your dog reacted), you build resilience and reduce feelings of helplessness.
Celebrate what YOU did, not just what your dog did.
STRATEGY 7: Alternative enrichment is not "cheating"
If walks are too hard, your dog still needs stimulation. But not all stimulation has to come from stressful walks.
Mental enrichment:
Scatter feeding, snuffle mats
Training sessions
Puzzle toys, scent games
Physical exercise (in safer environments):
Garden play
Drive to quiet location (early morning/late evening)
Swimming if they enjoy it
Decompression:
Sniffari walks (very short, dog-led, sniff-focused)
Calm time together
Chewing (frozen Kongs, safe chews)
Mental stimulation can be genuinely tiring for dogs. Sometimes a focused training session or enrichment activity can meet their needs better than a stressful walk.
STRATEGY 8: Build your support network
Research on caregiver burden consistently shows that social support is protective against burnout.
What this means:
Find your people (online communities count!)
Talk to someone who gets it
Share the walking if possible
Professional support when needed
Permission to ask for help
You don't have to do this alone.
The Reality Check:
I'm not going to tell you this gets easy. For some dogs and their guardians, it remains hard. Management remains the primary strategy.
But here's what can improve:
Your confidence in managing it.
Your dog's recovery time.
Threshold distances (even slightly).
Frequency of full meltdowns.
Your compassion for yourself and your dog.
Understanding that you're not alone - join our support network.
That's not nothing. That's actually everything.
What Actually Helps - Summary:
Work with arousal levels (keep under threshold when possible)
Build skills at home first (tools for emergencies)
Respect threshold distances (more distance than feels necessary)
Regulate yourself first (your calm helps theirs)
Know when to train vs. manage (most days = management)
Redefine success (what's in your control)
Use alternative enrichment (meets needs differently)
Join our support network (you're not alone)
None of this is quick. None of this is easy. All of it requires patience, consistency, and compassion.
But it's possible. Improvement is possible. More manageable days are possible. You're not stuck forever 🐾💕
What strategy resonates most with you? What's helped in your experience? Let's learn from each other.
