Spooked by something in the park.

[HuXen]

Hey all!

Pica's had kennel cough for the past 2 weeks which cleared up about 3-4 days ago (that's when he stopped coughing). He was on anti biotics and cough suppressors (codeine phostabs) for when he was coughing a lot during the night.

He was limited to on lead walks, at 5-6am in the morning so I could avoid other dogs, for those full two weeks. We didn't come across another dog in that time.

The past two days, I've started letting him off lead again. The first time was in the local park. The park we visit every single day for the morning walk and he normally loves it there. It's quite enclosed but has 3 open exits/entrances and one gated.

Yesterday, he did his business and was sniffing a lot, and also chased a tennis all a few times and really got some pent up energy out of his system having a good run. He then bolted towards the hedge to sniff (leaving the ball) which he does do sometimes, but normally chooses toys over sniffs for the most part.

I kept walking parallel to him, then down towards the bin to drop off a poo bag. He trotted half way then stopped, and backed away. I wasn't sure what he was doing so I called him, and he didn't come. He just stood there. His recall is extremely good now, so this was quite worrying already. I started to approach him and he turned and ran towards the exit. He waited by exit and was watching me. He wouldn't, however, let me get within 15 feet of him.

He then ran out of the park and along the pavement towards home. I was running and calling at this point getting a bit worried. He stayed the same distance away from me and kept looking to make sure I was there. If I stood still, he waited. He didn't seem to want to get away from me, it was more of a 'come on we are leaving NOW' type deal. When I realised he wasn't going to come back, I just sat down and luckily he sprinted over and I got the lead on him.

The same exact thing happened today, except when he started running to the open exit, I called and sprinted towards the gated exit as he was watching me again. He bolted after me knowing where I was heading and waited by the gate for me. I have no doubt however, that had I tried to chase him again he'd of done the same thing.

The behavior has started in roughly the same place of the park, and he won't go further down at all.

In the local wood area, he is perfect off lead. Keeps near me, runs about sniffing and chasing noises, with perfect recall. It seems to be isolated to the park. It hasn't rained in a while here so could it be a scent he's picking up?

Has anyone had anything remotely similar before with their dogs? I'll keep clear of the park for a while, I'm just worried if this keeps happening and happens in other places. I'd love to know the trigger so I could help him but I'm really at a loss.

Thanks for reading, and help/advice is greatly appreciated.

[JudyN]

If only they could talk...

You might have done this, but could you go to the park on your own and have a good look around the area where he reacted? If you go at a busy time you can talk to other regulars and ask if their dogs have behaved differently, or if they have heard about any unusual goings-on, or you could observe the other dogs in that area.

Also, when you next go to the park, could you walk him on a long lead so he can enjoy himself but you can keep him to the 'safe' areas where he won't react, and make sure he has a good fun experience there? You might be able to gauge the exact point at which he begins to look a little nervous and gradually work on getting nearer to the 'dangerous' area while keeping within his comfort zone.