Pack walking in large numbers is not advisable because of different reasons such as transmitting diseases, bullying and fighting, and also physical injuries.
For dog owners to create a bond with other dogs in a comfortable and safe environment, they exercise pack walking. Pack walks create an amazing source of exercise that stimulates dogs mentally and reduce excess energy. Dogs are usually overjoyed with the idea of getting out of the house because it is an excellent way of keeping the dog healthy and fit.
Although walking dogs in small groups are encouraged, pack walking in large numbers is not advisable because of different reasons such as transmitting diseases, bullying and fighting, and also physical injuries. This article gives a testimonial of a large pack walk gone wrong.
One afternoon, a friend suggested that as dog lovers, we could walk to the shelter and offer to walk our dogs alongside other dogs from the orphanage. At first, my wife was hesitant about taking Sky, (our dog) out with other dogs together at the same time. Many times when we have walked Sky we have been doing it in the evening when there are not many people walking their dogs in groups. So after deliberating I decided to give Sky a new experience and walk her together with other dogs.
We arrived at the animal shelter with Tim my friend at exactly 3 pm and took five dogs each plus our dogs for a walk. We had anticipated a tense atmosphere with the dogs but within the first few steps, the dogs had bonded and were already enjoying the walk. We decided to take a route that did not have many people walking past it to minimize the possibility of other dogs disturbing our dogs or creating a sense of insecurity for the other dogs.
The walk was moving on well but I started noticing resistance from my dog Sky as she interacted with the other 5 I was walking with. At some point, she tried to break free from her leash but I managed to calm her down and we continued with the walk. We came to a narrow road and this is when everything turned ugly. Since the dogs were almost ten, we had to walk them close to each other and that is when one dog from Tim’s pack started picking on Sky.
The dogs from my pack had bonded with Sky so they felt offended by the other dog bullying my dog and that is when all hell broke loose. The dogs started fighting and they became very aggressive. The fight suddenly involved all the dogs and Sky was, unfortunately, part of the fight that we were unable to break. Passersby helped separate the dogs by holding different leashes but unfortunately, some of the dogs had already been hurt.
At the end of the walk, we had to take Sky and most of the dogs to the veterinary because they had either been bitten or broken a limb. The experience left both me and Tim very traumatized because had we tried to separate the dogs on our own, we would have ended up very hurt. My wife was very disappointed because she had warned me not to pack walk Sky. Since that day I have always been afraid of walking with more than one dog and I like keeping it away from other dogs while walking it if it is possible.