taking walks....

Question
.... my 2 dogs, (one almost 10 yrs old and one 3 yrs. old.) get soo overwhelmed when we head towards the gate to go on walks, we have tried taking them away from the gate while the leash is on, and then the other person not holding the dogs opens the gate (the dogs are not able to see the gate opening. Hoping they will think they are still in the gate while really walking out, possibly being more calm when exiting the fenced in area.) But they still don't seem to be any calmer then before we tried that. Could you possibly help me w/ this problem? PLEASE!!!!  

(I am only 12 yrs. old, so everything might not "flow" or make sence.)

Answer
Hi, Melissa,

Have you tried using treats to distract them? Will they sit still for a treat?

If you haven't used this approach before, try taking treats with you, and as you get to the gate, make them stop and sit for a treat. Then walk them back toward the house, luring them with the treats. Then back to the gate, where they have to sit for a treat. Do this several times.

Then, once you can get them to sit patiently for a treat at the front gate, tell them "Wait..." and open the gate slightly. (You might need a second person to handle the gate while you handle the dogs.) If they get overly excited, the gates closes as you remind them, "Wait..." Keep doing this until they can stay fairly relaxed and wait for a few seconds, then tell them, "Okay..." and let them thru the gate.

An auxiliary exercise that might help a lot is the "Trick-or-Treat," which you'll find here: http://www.tiny.cc/TrickorTreat

I hope this helps. If you still have questions, let me know.

LCK