SociaBulls: Unexpected Walking Distractions

When creating our Chicago SociaBulls group, we spent a lot of time creating a structure where so many different types of dogs would be comfortable walking together in a large group. We have spent a lot of time finding obscure locations without other dogs, runners, and bikers, creating a pack order for different personalities, and sticking to our rules. But then there were a couple of things we never expected that has caused some excitement within the group:

Goose Poo:

We were so proud our latest location had so few dogs, squirrels, and runners, until we realized what it did have: goose poo. This seems to be a huge delicacy for a lot of the pups, and I spent almost the entire walk trying to keep Miss M's attention on me and my treats instead of the poo on the ground. And the pups who weren't interested in eating it, were often found rolling in it.

The Windy City:

 No matter how well we plan our locations, there can always be a weather factor which can get our pups a little more excited. This weekend was extra windy making our pups extra excited. We also seem to have a more excitable group after the rain, when all of the good smells are stirred up, and when the first cold hits.

"Buffets":

 We walk in a variety of parks where we're often encountering the remnants of a variety of picnics: rib bones, chicken bones and random uneaten food. Not to mention the many broken glass bottles along the path. Sometimes it feels like an obstacle course, and we always make sure to 'call back' and tell the walkers behind us to watch out.

What are some other unplanned obstacles you've found on your walks?

To learn more about our group, join our Chicago SociaBulls Facebook page for more photos and updates. And check out the Hikabulls page where we first learned about the benefits of group walking.

You can also read about all the different types of dogs who walk with our group and why they walk: Honor (The Gift of Learning to Relax), Maria (Not Letting Age be a Limitation), Sophie (Finding a Safe Place and Building Confidence), Torre (From Learning about Pitbulls to Developing an Ambassadog),  Estelle (Waiting to Be Noticed), Franklin (A Small Dog in a Big Dog Group), Gordon (Learning to Be Social and Have Dog Friends),  Nabi (A Shy Dog Making Sense of a "People World") Sprocket (Teaching a Dog When it's not Time to Play), Lola (Living in the City with a Dog who Fears Strangers),  Zoe (The Dog who "Loves Too Hard"),  Izzy (Being a good pitbull ambassador while working with an energetic dog) and Maize (Being social with an unsocial pup).