When dogs hate wheels and babies
My ongoing apology to pedestrians with strollers
Here we go with this again. That was my first thought every time I saw a bicyclist or person with a baby stroller. I already knew it was going to be an issue. My puppy is not a fan of wheels. She doesn’t like baby strollers, bicycles, skateboards, garbage trucks or construction vehicles.
Meanwhile the City of Chicago has lost its mind and torn up at least eight neighboring streets by me. As soon as I get into a good walking routine, here come the front loaders, bulldozers and dump trucks. She sticks her butt out and won’t move. She’s terrified of the look and noise construction trucks make while destroying perfectly OK Chicago streets (and never found on pothole-ridden ones).
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Although it seems like there are a million bicyclists slowing me down while I drive, whenever I’m walking my dog, they all decide they want to move from streets to sidewalks. (Same goes for skateboarders.) My dog crouches down into fight mode, barks and tries to leap. She’s annoyed by the look and speed of them, too.
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Then there are parents (usually women) strolling with their baby strollers, or mail carriers with satchel carts. The sight of these weird push gadgets going by her probably look like aliens and what’s inside of them is sometimes loud. She’s ready for action again. There have been days where I saw the wheels before she did and picked her up like a football to save myself the drama.
I knew there had to be a middle ground, primarily because I don’t recall my other two dogs having a bone to pick with wheels or barking at babies. With any form of dog training, repetition is key. You can tell a dog something once; that doesn’t mean she’s going to do it. Your finger wagging, yelling, disappointed face, baby talk noise, authoritative tone or hand gesturing doesn’t always connect on the first round. It’s going to take a few times. I had no choice but to take on the wheel challenge — unless I wanted to carry my dog on every dog “walk.”
Getting my dog used to bicycles
Due to the neighborhood I live in, the bicycle issue needed to be resolved quickly. My puppy was leaping into the air and lunging at any bicyclist that went by. On two separate occasions, bicyclists almost fell because of the shock of seeing her jump. If they rode on bike paths, this would be less of an issue. However, I don’t own the street and neither does she.
So I took her to a public park with a long stretch where bicyclists walked. We walked in the grass and on the walk paths, close enough so she could see bicyclists but far enough not to disturb them as they rode by. She was irritated at first. Too bad. I brought her to another bike park. Same deal.