Dog walks: enniskerry - woodland walk

Maybe is the best walk of the last few months!

I went there with two friends and three dogs on a saturday morning.
On the M50 it took us less than 30 minutes to get there.
There are many walks in Enniskerry and we did the Woodland Walk.

Some problems to find a parking space, as we were not familiar with the area, we parked in the town, but we discovered after that there is a parking space at the entrance of the walk.

It is a beautiful walk in the forest, a lot of plants and a river (Glencullen river) for the doggies to swim and cool down.

The three doggies have been running in the forest for few hours, as the place is quite big and you will not be bored to discover new paths.
The walk that we did was circular, with two bridges on the river.
We met few people there and we stopped for a while in a beautiful area to drink and give the dogs something to eat.

You can find on these websites more information about the place, I am not very familiar, but I hope to go there soon!

http://wicklowcountywalks.com/knocksink.html

http://www.wicklowtourism.ie/village-guide/enniskerry-wicklow.html

http://enniskerry.ie/

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dog training: sit

***Please note that I am NOT a dog trainer, so I am just sharing my experience with my own dogs.. 
I may be doing wrong things and I am open to suggestions :) ***

 Let's start the training series with a basic command: SIT

With Jago has been very easy to teach him sit, but maybe not for all the dogs is so easy.

First thing to remember is that the dog should have fun during the training and should be able to concentrate.
So it's easier to start in a quiet environment, if he is a puppy maybe not when he is hyper excited.
Slowly you can trying moving to more busy places trying to capture his attention.

Sit was the first command we learnt at the puppy classes.
We have been taught to give the command sit as verbal command without body signals.
He should be able to "understand the word" even if we are giving our back to him.

How to begin?
The easiest thing is to use the natural moments when your dog are going to sit down to tell him the word and praise him.
He will start the association and you are not forcing him but gently using his natural movements to teach something.
Then you can start with the training.

Stand up and show to your dog a treat.
Move the treat near his nose.
If the dog sit give him the command "sit" straight away and praise him.
The timing is very important.

Why we shouldn't give the command before?

When we start with a new command the dog wouldn't understand the word.
So it's better to say the command at the same time with his action.
When the association between movement and word will be better you can give the command in advance and expect a reaction.
You should avoid giving 100 times the command expecting a reaction.
If he doesn't get it he will not understand better if you repeat and the command will loose intensity.

When he will be able to execute the sit following your hand with the treat you can start to training him to only follow your command and giving the treat as praise later.

To reinforce the command you can ask him to sit before opening the door, or before letting him play or before giving him his meal.

Training is an important part of the relationship with your dog, will keep him entertained and you will feel more confident if you are able to control him!

Let me know if you have any issues, advice or experiences to share.

I am not a dog trainer and I am only sharing my experience with my dogs.

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Dog walks: Bull Island

Another beautiful place for a nice walk near Dublin is Bull Island, just 4 miles from the city center.
The sandy beach is called Dollymount Strand and it's long approx 5 km!!!


The island is designated as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve and is also classified as a Wetland of International importance under the Ramsar Convention.


The island is connected to the mainland by the Bull Bridge at the southern (Clontarf/Dollymount) end, and by a broad causeway at Raheny.
Usually I drive from Clontarf road heading to the Golf club / visitor centre.
There is parking space and there you have the chance to walk through the dunes or on the beautiful beach!

There is plenty of space to let you dog running and have fun, please respect the wildlife and the environment!

The first time I went there I have been walking on the beach.. for hours! You can see in the photos Jago running and jumping down from the dunes just behind the beach.

Last Sunday we have been walking with a friend and her 2 dogs on the dunes and was beautiful as well, I think that Jago enjoyed even more!
And you can see a fantastic double rainbow to create a nice atmosphere!

From another website "Bull Island is a A 300 hectare island in Dublin Bay formed after the construction of the Bull Wall in the 1820's. It is now a Nature Reserve and Bird Sanctuary of international importance with up to 25.000 wading birds using the area in Winter"


How to Get There by bus:
30, 31 from Lower Abbey Street.

Visitors Centre is open 7 days a week, 10.00am-4.30pm.


 
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Walk for Greyhounds

Saturday 21st September in Merrion Square there will be the 3d walk for Greyhound.

It is a walks organized to promote greyounds as pets and raise awareness of greyhound welfare issues.

The meeting is at 12 in Merrion Square Park and the walk will begin at 1.15 and will take 1 and half hours.

More information on the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/grai.ie

I will go with Jago and Buddy!!

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Dog walks: Portmarnock beach

Another beach where we started to go often is Portmarnock beach.
Portmarnock is on the coast between Malahide and Baldoyle, approx 15 km from Dublin city centre.
There is a big public car park and the town is served by the No. 32B and No. 42 bus service from Dublin City Centre, with a bus stop right at the beach!

The beach is very big as  you can see on the map so if it's a sunny day and there are too many people it's not difficult to find a spot where you can let the dog off leash and don't annoy children or people walking there.

The Velvet Strand is a long sandy beach, approximately 5 km in length, consisting of a large sandy dune area.
It would be better to let the dog play on the beach and not on the dunes as I read we should protect the dunes from erosion.

Here the photos of yesterday walk with Buddy and Jago.
They met few friendly dogs and they had a lot of fun running in the water and playing with the ball!

Here the rules of dogs on Fingal beaches:

Dogs On Beaches - http://www.fingalcoco.ie/Environment/BeachesinFingal/DogsOnBeaches/
During the period 1st June to 31st August in any year persons shall be allowed bring a dog onto, or allow a dog under his or her control to remain on the beach/foreshore

(i) under adequate personal control, before the hours of 11.00am and after the hours of 6.00pm
(ii) to be on a leash in all Reserved Bathing Areas (as defined in Schedule 2) between the hours of 11.00am and 6.00pm.

Persons in charge of a dog on the beach shall ensure the following:
- It is on a leash or under adequate control
- It is not causing annoyance to any person using the beach or worrying, chasing, injuring or disturbing any animals, birds or other creatures on the beach
- Removal of its faeces and depositing it in a litter bin or other receptacle which may be designated for this purpose. (Guide dogs for the blind are exempt from this bye-law as also are dogs kept by An Garda Siochana and wholly used by a member of An Garda Siochana in the execution of his/her duty).
-  Every person bringing a dog onto the beach area shall be responsible and liable for any damage or injury to property or persons which may be caused by it.


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