When Loui had kennel cough he was not out on walks at all for 3 weeks. Didnt want him passing it around or passing it back to himself (and the body is fighting a virus/infection) but we did have a garden so he was out there and done some training and play though not as much as usual, just let him rest when he needed to (which was more than usual)

We have only got a very small garden-the vet never mentioned about keping her in for over a month but they aren't that brilliant at our vets as she never mentioned anything about Parker and it was only when I got home that Jamie said to me "What about Parker?" that it occurred to me! Fortunately he is fine. Cherry is her normal self-I'm not convinced it is kennel cough-I think she may have a grass seed stuck and I'm probably taking her back to the vets Friday if she's not any better as she is still sneezing a bit.

just wondering if you walk with one on each side of you or do they both walk to one side of you?

Because I just have Loui on the side, I sometimes just keep walking fast whatever the other dogs intentions and I walk sideways/take sidesteps, facing Loui and say 'keep going' (sometimes I need a 'look' first to get him to keep his eye on me) and that seems to work well (I dont always need to do sidesteps now, just depends) and for the most part the other dog seems a little 'out of the circle' and so dosnt approach (find if it does I can be the one to move round and get rid of it/block...) so might help if they are both walking to one side of you (but I dont know how easily they re-direct to one another..) If there is a risk of them harming themselves on walks it may be worth starting a thread about getting a muzzle as there are a lot of people on here use them responsibly so they can allow positive training to take place while they are wearing them as a safety precaustion. Some people here use them in conjunction with a head halter and clicker etc but I dont so there will be others that could help you out better there with advice than me tbh.

I find the side steps thing works really well (how you improvise with pets eh!) as I can go fast and high pitched (no way he can ignore that lol) or slow and calm and steady, it just depends.....and I think most people leave nutters to walk in peace too lol

Stuff that helps me and Loui
1. The opinions of randoms dont matter to me because unlike Loui they A) Are not invited onto my sofa B) Are not invited for cuddles C) just are not as important or good looking as him.

This translates to 'do what works' or 'who cares what people say' and also leads to lots of compliments on his good behaviour. You know your dog so just improvise and make things good and fun.

2. Stay calm whether its a big, small, male, female dog.
I stay calm I can look after my dog, I can read my dog better, other dogs better and I have a much more enjoyable walk! (although I do have my moments!)

3. Variety. What loui likes is what he gets (now thats got to be better than flipping over a dog cos its grumpy lol) What your dogs like for different situations and different rewards will help (or at least they helped us)

So wide areas - ball and thrower or ball on a rope, plenty praise, moving around, allowed to run....

In the street - speaking/praise, light touch

In a smallish park, clicker/food and a ball, vary reward on whats being done/situation..or sometimes just a chase!

Thats what helps us but you go for what your dogs like (sometimes food is good for us because he isnt going to get as excited as he will for a ball and so on in some situations)


remember you can get support here too, there is an achievements thread, a positive training achievements thread to post your accomplishments and dogs progress, and you can also ask for advice here too.

3. If I dont have the energy to deal with conflict I dont even attempt it, I take him somewhere quieter and use a harness/headcollar. (well we are human!)

my situation is slightly different but hopefully if sharing helps..

well he may have more toerance but usually KC is highly infectious...

hope she is ok!

yes thanks for sharing i def take all thoughts and ideas as a positive yes they walk either side of me and i do usually carry tys muzzle with me and apply it as nessercary i also if confident other dog s ok ill let cas off to greet so i can leg it by with ty.ty does love is ball but hes just been diagnosed with deformed shoulder resulting in arthritis so restricted exercise for 6 weeks i must admit i always put there head collars on now feel more in control that way at the mo wouldnt trust them next to each other if it kicks off but do try and block them with my legs both are obiedient without distractions lol arent they all both have got good citizen award ty silver and cas has gold but im def dedicated to helping them so as i said i take all ideas as a positive and will try and use them so my dogs are happy and not stressed like me lol

no probs, hope I didnt go on too much but thought I'd share in case it helped any, we all have slip ups where the dog goes off to a dog unexpectantly or has a grumble or whatever so dont let it stress you too much.

kerryowner, think I meant CONtagious lol not infectious lol cos obviously its infectious!

Yes this is what makes me think it ISN'T kennel cough as I was told that Parker would more or less definitely get it too and he (fortunately) hasn't! She is also only dripping from one side of her nose so that leads me to presume she may have something stuck there? Trouble is I am not very trusting with our vets as they completely missed Cherry's entropion for years

Just because your other dog shows no signs of KC does not mean one of your dogs does not have it.

Just because something is infections does not mean another organism will go down with that disease or it may have sub-clinical infection ie it does not manifest itself in any viewable signs.

I know people who have had multiple dogs and 2 out of 5 do not get it.

Also one of your dogs may have already been exposed to the strain of KC that your other dog has (KC is a variety of strains etc just like our coughs and colds).

kerryowner, if your worried there is no harm in getting a second opinion from another vets too

I took her back to the vets this afternoon as the symptoms are still there and quite a lot of sneezing and runny nose. We saw our usual vet and he thinks she may have something stuck up her nose so she is being admitted for some exploration under anaesthetic tomorrow morning. He said if it was kennel cough she would not still be exhibiting all the sneezing she has been doing as the antibiotics should have cleared it.

At least this is not eye-related so I should be able to claim off my insurance!