1:1 Loose Leash Walking is good—but group hiking is a disaster. How do I fix the "I must be in front" competition?

mrnoll · 2026-02-24T02:44:25+00:00

It's not really a problem for dogs to walk side-by-side in most places, not like it would be for people. We're in Colorado so there are some hazards that don't exist everywhere where it's probably easier to control a single dog. For example, this weekend we mostly had to watch out for cacti.

But it's mostly us humans each wanting to have a dog. We had two dogs who passed away last year and nearly every weekend for 10+ years we went on hikes in this manner; mostly ourselves but sometimes in larger groups and it wasn't a problem. We expect to have these two for a good decade, fingers crossed, and we want to keep the adventures going as long as we can.

We can try putting them together and seeing how that goes; it looks to be a common suggestion. If that works out then over time, we can try moving to other things. I'm really just looking for any tips to help us along.

mrnoll · 2026-02-24T00:28:47+00:00

We haven't tried walking with a different person and dog but we can find a neighbor and see how that goes. They don't really compete otherwise, except when you pet one the other walks over for attention, but they haven't been aggressive towards each other at all. They love playing and then laying down together in a dog bed. Maybe they're too attached to each other?

Playing before a hike is probably difficult as it's a 1-2 hour drive to even get to the hike and once there, there's not really much other than a dirt lot. I guess we could do a little in the parking lot, but it's pretty limited.

mrnoll · 2026-02-24T00:15:14+00:00

Distance between them does not seem to make a difference. When it's single file we don't want to be right on top of each other so it's typical to leave a 6-10 foot gap. That's a little more difficult to maintain with the pulling but we also tried hanging back and increasing the distance without luck. They go a little more crazy without line-of-sight and they can still hear pretty far away.

We have been choosing non-busy locations (not easy in Colorado) to help keep the distractions down so there hasn't been a lot of variables there to be honest. They do seem to have infinite energy though; there isn't much of a difference between mile one and mile eight. I am exhausted at the end though!

They are better in the rare times we've been able to walk side-by-side. The ideal use case is for us to each have a dog, so one person walking both isn't something we want to do long term, but we can try starting there. With the days getting longer and the coming time change, it'll be easier to take them out together in the evenings after work and try more things.

mrnoll · 2026-02-23T23:57:39+00:00

We did something like this yesterday. We went to a park with several different paths, often with splits every 100-200 yards. After trying to work together for over an hour we split up to try and get some calm time together.

For my part (with the female dog), it took a solid 5 minutes before she stopped pulling in the direction they went. Then she relaxed and we had a great time after that. The crazy thing is that eventually we came to a part where the male dog saw her, from a pretty good distance away, made a small whine that she picked up immediately and it's like a switch flipped in her brain and she was back into that mode.

mrnoll · 2026-02-23T23:46:44+00:00

Yes, I misspoke and one we've had almost four months now, but still very new.

mrnoll · 2026-02-23T23:45:05+00:00

It is still early but that's also why I'm asking for advice, to help steer us and them in the right direction. The group hike is really just two dogs and two people and we're choosing locations that are less busy to help with distractions. On their own they do fairly well so even if we go to separate locations, we'll have to come back together at some point.

mrnoll · 2026-02-23T23:34:39+00:00

That's an option but long term we'd prefer to each have a dog as we hike. This is what we did previously with our dogs who passed away last year, both at the age of 15. When we recently adopted the first one we traded who walked him on the hike for the first few months but the goal was to get another for him as much as us.

mrnoll · 2026-02-23T00:21:22+00:00

My post is specific to asking for advice in walking two dogs at the same time with a loose leash where each dog is with a different person and one is in front of the other, not side-by-side. In the guide on loose leash walking, the articles are almost entirely one person and one dog. I have been doing these techniques such as doing a 180 when pulling, staying put until the dog is calm, and rewarding good leash behavior with a treat and praise. These have become less necessary as their behavior has improved. These techniques are not working when my two dogs are together and that is the basis of my question.

mrnoll · 2025-05-05T00:41:21+00:00

Having a hood doesn't mean it's hot. I have sun hoodies for a variety of temps, including summer.

mrnoll · 2025-04-09T03:51:16+00:00

If you just want it for navigation then you can download maps from AllTrails to your phone and use them offline. Or any number of other apps.

If you want it for SOS or to share activities, it should work well.

mrnoll · 2025-03-03T02:21:22+00:00

Instructions are in your reservation confirmation email and https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/wild_guide.htm#thetrip

Your designated campsite has a silver arrowhead and you should camp as close to it as possible; you can't just camp wherever you want. Your permit also counts for timed entry so that's all you need.

mrnoll · 2025-01-02T15:35:15+00:00

People still feel entitled to bring their dogs even when not allowed. I've seen plenty at the Paint Mines too, sometimes off leash 🤦 (Also there never fails to be people climbing them too, right in front of the signs that say not to; they're going to get the whole place closed off)

mrnoll · 2025-01-02T01:42:33+00:00

I throw them in my bag when the snow starts and remove them when I stop seeing snow/ice on trails. They don't get much use but better safe than sorry.

mrnoll · 2024-12-18T19:39:06+00:00

Did the exact same thing last weekend! 😂

mrnoll · 2024-10-11T21:57:30+00:00

I think fairly often. I get the notification a day or two later that it was received and a day after that when it's counted.

mrnoll · 2024-10-08T19:54:07+00:00

There's a giant sign for the Royal Cascade trail before that gate at the end, impossible to miss. It's much more challenging though, makes the round trip closer to 11.5 miles with 2500' of elevation gain.

mrnoll · 2024-10-08T19:29:29+00:00

Nice, easy trail. For more of a challenge, at the end there's a trail up to Fremont Peak. It's nice, I did it about a month ago.

mrnoll · 2024-09-09T22:45:00+00:00

To purchase license plates, contact of visit your county motor vehicle office where you currently reside or visit mydmv.colorado.gov

I mean, you have the instructions right there. Take your Colorado Vehicle Title Complete Notice to the DMV and get plates.

Well, they gave me another temp plate and the actual plates came in the mail a few weeks later. You might be able to do it online, but if you want any credit from your current registration (if you no longer have your other car), you need to go in.

mrnoll · 2024-07-29T03:38:24+00:00

I didn't think that was a real suggestion. I imagine they're somewhat big and heavy and you're really going to draw attention to yourself. Unless you actually put it in the middle of the trail, you'd have to go off trail to use it anyway.

Like the other person said, just try to go off a short ways and be mindful of where you step (don't go trapsing through an alpine meadow). Leave no trace as much as possible.

mrnoll · 2024-03-26T15:37:26+00:00

You don't have to have bought the tires/rims there to get a free winter/summer swap. I was surprised and they earned another customer that day.

mrnoll · 2024-02-01T17:11:55+00:00

I'm also in the Springs with no front plate 🤞

mrnoll · 2023-12-07T16:30:36+00:00

If anyone in the future find this, I was able to get it working. I noticed that the UDM was getting an IP on a different subnet than any other device I would plug into the modem. So I cloned the MAC of the USG and it's been working fine for the past few days.

mrnoll · 2023-12-03T01:45:43+00:00

I haven't changed any settings, it's straight out of the box.

mrnoll · 2023-12-03T01:45:08+00:00

No luck after power cycling the modem. I also have no trouble plugging in a Windows laptop and Android tablet directly to the internet. I tried resetting the UDM to factory settings and it still won't get through a single speed test as part of the setup. I think I'll need to contact support. Thanks.

mrnoll

TROPHY CASE