Bukit Batok parc with the dogs (the hunt)

My next (and much bigger) challenge was to manage the walk (aka 'the hunt') following Jan Fennell's principles. The first thing I needed was snacks, to show the pack that I am the source of food and to ensure I reinforced their good behaviours with a positive association to food. I didn't have dog treats at home (I never used to give them any because I used to associate giving dogs treats with snacking, something I figured was unhealthy. This of course has had to change). So I dropped by the local store and picked up some crab sticks and cheese. I really don't know why I got the crab sticks, That's something I hate to eat, or even smell. But I figured the dogs might like it and it was easy to cut in small pieces.

The next step was to decide where we were going to go. I decided I would try and explore as much of Singapore as I could with the dogs so I picked the Bukit Batok park on the west coast. It is an old quarry reconverted into a beautiful park.

The whole trip started pretty badly. Leo pulled so hard to get into the car that the leashed ripped some of the skin off my finger. I had tried to make him calm down and wait in front of the car but he was just too strong. First fail of the day.

The park is indeed beautiful and we were lucky to have it pretty much all to ourselves. People often get very intimidated when I walk around with these three big dogs so it's relaxing not to have to worry about that. The other thing is that I had some more changes to implement, following Jan Fennell's tips: I was no longer going to let the dogs pull on the leash. They don't pull a lot, but they do sometimes. Leo the Doberman sometimes completely forgets I'm on the other end of the leash and bounces onto something, dragging me in the process.

What she suggests is quite simple in theory but takes a lot of patience to implement in practice. Every time the dog pulls, she says, you stop, and call the dog back to you. You reward him for coming back with a treat (hence the crab sticks) and then you can march forward again. Seems simple, right? In reality, I discovered that the dogs pulled much more than I had thought, especially since they had never gone to that park before. The result was that 30 minutes after arriving I hadn't gone further than five metres from the gate. I did one step forward and bam! they pulled. I stopped, called them back. Repeat. Palo, the black and white mongrel was not responsive. He gets too scared and stops listening, even food won't get his attention (plus I think he's like me and he doesn't like crab). Leo and Cookie responded pretty well on the other hand. But I still had to repeat that exercise about ten thousand times.

I'm not going to lie, there was some results. First, I walked incredibly slowly but they also slowed down the pace. The problem, unfortunately, is that I found the whole process exhausting and very frustrating. Once again, I realized I needed to train myself as much as I needed to train them.

Leo ignore me at one point and jumped off the small bridge into a stream. He just loves getting muddy. I didn't have the heart to interrupt it so I let him enjoy a bit.

The park is full of small roads like this. You can't see very far which makes it fun, although sometimes slightly stressful since you can't anticipate who is coming your way. Luckily there weren't many people so I could just pretend we were going through a jungle, going through it veeeery slowly.

Palo didn't really respond to my 'stops'. He was too obsessed with checking out the road and making sure nothing scary would appear.

The colours were really beautiful. It reminded me of European autumns. I don't miss the cold at all but I do miss the sense of seasons changing.

This is the small pond in the middle of the park. You can't get very close but of course Leo jumped over the barrier. Anything that is wet and muddy is terribly appealing for him.

We rested a bit in the grass towards the end. I was sitting on a bench. They seemed calm and tired so I did something that, in retrospect, was very stupid: I passed my feet through the leash. Some 20 minutes later, I was completely absorbed in my own thoughts when Cookie and Palo jumped off towards a passer by and his dog. Of course the leash was pulled right off my feet, but not without really hurting and burning them in the process. I was really lucky that man was in control and confident enough to scare Cookie and Palo away. I don't even want to think what would have happened otherwise.

The whole incident made me very sad. It just shows how much work I have ahead of me. I was so upset and tired that my husband suggested next time I only take one dog out at a time. That way I could pace myself. I think he's right. I can't let myself get that upset when things don't go my way. We are all in a learning process.