Dog spooked walking in the dark

[CarolineEdinburgh]

Hello,
Now the winter is on its way it is dark in the mornings and soon will be in the evenings and i have to walk my 15 month old retreiver in the dark. We only got him in March and have not had to do this before and he appears to be very on edge and was so spooked by a torch yesterday he ran half way home. After that i have been walking him on his lead but he is very on edge and i am looking for some help on how to get him use to winter walks.
He has a light on his collar and on most of the walk there are street lights so it is not completely dark but every noise makes him aggitated.
I love NDT and it has helped so much in the last 8 month and we Push before every walk and play Tug at weekends.
Thank you

[donnieo]

Do you push with him during your walks? Also, I would work on getting his bark out.

[Sang]

How strong is his pushing when you do it with him? Is he sort of on the hyper friendly side?

The fact that the torch freaked him out is a sign that he’s holding back energy. As Donnie suggested, it would be good to get him to push with you during your walk. Will he push with you when something triggers him and freaks him out like the torch did?

[CarolineEdinburgh]

Thank you both for your help.
I haven't been pushing with him during walks but i will from now on. We tried it this week and it helped a lot when he got very excited about going on the walk - such an obvious solution i don't know why i didn't try it sooner. I think i have been so focused on giving Alfie a routine that i couldn't see where he needed some pushing.
The last few walks have been good but i have only let him off the lead when there is still some light. I have been trying to take him out before it is dark but as it is getting dark but as soon as dusk sets in he becomes much more aware of things, especially if there are not near by likes car headlights, and dog walkers on the other side of the field. I tried to take him towards another dogwalker the otherday to show him there is nothing to fear but he was really on edge and straining not to go near them so i ended up walking the other way because i didn't want to cause unnecessary ditress. He would not push with me until we were well away from them. At the same time if another walker just appears near by he has no problem.
I have also tried just walking the other way as soon as he starts getting aggitated but i worry this reconfirms his fear because i walk away.
So any thoughts on what to do in a situation like this? and when on our walks should i get him to push - at random times or just when something excites him?
Thank you

[Sang]

So right now Alfie is holding back energy, and he’s always looking for ways to download it. So all the things he’s reacting and responding to are “excuses” for him to be able to express it. They become the triggers that allow him to download that stress. He’s essentially “hunting” for ways to move that energy, because it doesn’t feel good to hold it back. But right now he still has resistance to you and doesn’t feel comfortable fully expressing himself with you, so he still gets fixated on those outside triggers.

Your goal needs to be to attract all his energy when there aren’t those triggers around, so that when you encounter those things on your walks, and he starts to vibrate and feel that energy start to move, he’ll remember the lessons he learned with you from before when there weren’t other distractions, and you’ll then have access to get him to channel that energy into you through the pushing or bitework/tug.

Do you crate him or keep him isolated at all? If not, I’d start crating him before taking him out to work or before going on your walks. That will compress him so he has more energy stored up to give you when you ask for it. In addition, I’d also try fasting him for a day, and then taking him out and pushing with him when he’s really hungry. When a dog is hungry, his hunger will override his fear. Some dogs take longer for hunger to take over, but it will happen. Start with that first. There’s lots of other things to try and do as well, but I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much at this point.

[CarolineEdinburgh]

Thank you Sang. That has given me lots to work on.
We do not crate him but he has his own bed area in the hall where he goes at night and when we are out of the house. We always walk before he has his breakfast or dinner because exercise comes before reward so he is usually fairly hungry but I will try not giving him breakfast and then taking him out in the evening and see if that makes a difference in the dark.
I will let you know how we get on.
Thanks again

[CarolineEdinburgh]

Alfie and I have been having some good evening walks recently with lots of pushing and tug and he is definately growing in confidence but we have had not seen anyone else until lat night. As soon as Alfie spotted something in the dark he stopped but didn't run off. I put him on the lead and we walked over to the other dog and said hello. He really wanted to play with the other dog but it was only 12 weeks old and i didn't let Alfie off the lead in case he ran off so he bit the lead and started to tug. I tuged for a bit and once the other dog had gone did some pushing. When Alfie is exited he will bite the lead or my gloves and tug and i believe this is him trying to expell energy but is it ok that he initiates this and if not any advice?
Thank you

[Sang]

Originally Posted by CarolineEdinburgh

When Alfie is exited he will bite the lead or my gloves and tug and i believe this is him trying to expell energy but is it ok that he initiates this and if not any advice?

Yep, you're exactly right. It's just Alfie having excess energy that needs resolution. So pushing and playing tug is the perfect way to help resolve that. Don't worry right now that he's going for your gloves or the lead. It's just a sign that he's got more energy to burn, and it's actually a good sign as he's feeling more and more comfortable expressing his energy with you. He's revisiting his puppyhood, which is a good thing. This will eventually go away as he learns more and more what to do with that energy, as you continue to push and play tug with him.

So great job, and keep on pushing.