By Courtney Heart
A weighted vest has been the most important tool to turn my coonhound’s behavior around and change my life and his for the better. This is the story of Rusty.
I adopted Rusty when he was 6 weeks old. Now 6 years old, he's 3/4 Treeing Walker and 1/4 Bluetick. We have a very calm, quiet home. I’ve raised puppies before but never a hound; and Rusty was a handful. In addition to being a very stubborn puppy, he has always been possessive of his food and toys. Rusty has a very big personality and has always wanted to be in charge of the pack, which includes me, my 9 year old Labrador Retriever Leroy, and my roommate.
A weighted vest has been the most important tool to turn my coonhound’s behavior around and change my life and his for the better. This is the story of Rusty.
I adopted Rusty when he was 6 weeks old. Now 6 years old, he's 3/4 Treeing Walker and 1/4 Bluetick. We have a very calm, quiet home. I’ve raised puppies before but never a hound; and Rusty was a handful. In addition to being a very stubborn puppy, he has always been possessive of his food and toys. Rusty has a very big personality and has always wanted to be in charge of the pack, which includes me, my 9 year old Labrador Retriever Leroy, and my roommate.
Rusty was neutered at about 6 months old. I had hoped that would calm him down and make him less bossy and controlling, but it made no difference. At 9 months old, Rusty began showing signs of aggression (growling, snapping) and being overly territorial over practically everything. His resource guarding became excessive, and his anxiety was pretty high sometimes, too.
Rusty just takes his job of being a hound very seriously and is always on patrol. He is very sensitive and intelligent; when you speak to him calmly and gently; he seemingly understands your words and sentences. He’s extremely loyal and a velcro dog. Rusty loves to help, no matter what you’re doing, and will sit by you and protect you as you do your tasks. He’s goofy and submissive most of the time -- all the typical sweet coonhound qualities. It’s just this ONE flaw that he has: too much energy and anxiety, which turns into aggression at times.
Rusty just takes his job of being a hound very seriously and is always on patrol. He is very sensitive and intelligent; when you speak to him calmly and gently; he seemingly understands your words and sentences. He’s extremely loyal and a velcro dog. Rusty loves to help, no matter what you’re doing, and will sit by you and protect you as you do your tasks. He’s goofy and submissive most of the time -- all the typical sweet coonhound qualities. It’s just this ONE flaw that he has: too much energy and anxiety, which turns into aggression at times.
Rusty is guarding the pickup truck owned by Courtney's roommate, while the truck is being worked on.
There were times I doubted I could handle this difficult dog any longer. I walk him as much as I have time and energy for, but I work full-time. So my dogs get my left-over energy, which sometimes isn’t much. My roommate enjoys driving Rusty to the dam near us to walk across it. In all, Rusty gets walked about 5 nights a week for 45 minutes each time.
We live on an acre of fenced yard, so Rusty has plenty of space to sprint and soar around the property and get some of his energy out. I couldn’t live on a smaller property with him; he would go insane, and I know his aggression and anxiety would be much much worse. The size of my yard and the space we have for him to run around really helps.
We live on an acre of fenced yard, so Rusty has plenty of space to sprint and soar around the property and get some of his energy out. I couldn’t live on a smaller property with him; he would go insane, and I know his aggression and anxiety would be much much worse. The size of my yard and the space we have for him to run around really helps.
Rusty is relaxing on the patio.
Other than regular exercise, playing, and other typical activities and interactions that wear a dog out, the one thing that has helped most with Rusty's aggression and anxiety is a weighted vest on his nightly walks. I researched this idea for several weeks and even invested in a $110 weighted vest. I ended up returning it, because spending that much money wasn’t necessary for such a simple training tool.
In place of the vest, I looked for a backpack that would be a snug-fit to his body and sit comfortably on him. I found an Arcadia Trail Dog Backpack for only $30 from PetSmart. The improvised vest was our last resort, so once we got it I was super excited to try it.
First he walked for a night with the empty backpack; then we added about 5% of his body weight and later upped it to 7%. You can go up to 10%, but this was enough for Rusty to be worn out but not strained. For weight, I used uncooked lentils in a ziplock bag, one on each side of the backpack. Dry beans or rice would work as well. I put the backpack on him inside the house before getting into the car or leaving the property for a walk. Rusty is kind of a maniac in the car, but the vest helps keep him calmer and in place compared to when he is not wearing it. He loves his backpack now and gets excited when he gets to wear it.
The weighted pack has calmed some of the tendencies in Rusty's DNA that he can’t always control. With Rusty, working on our verbal communication with meaningful eye contact helps a lot, but he still has days where he’s a handful. I try to just accept him for who he is and keep working on his more obnoxious behaviors while enjoying his loving and sensitive coonhound qualities. He’s a nightmare on the leash when cars pass us; that’s our biggest issue right now, but he’s getting better. He’s just so protective and serious about his job that he can’t resist.
In place of the vest, I looked for a backpack that would be a snug-fit to his body and sit comfortably on him. I found an Arcadia Trail Dog Backpack for only $30 from PetSmart. The improvised vest was our last resort, so once we got it I was super excited to try it.
First he walked for a night with the empty backpack; then we added about 5% of his body weight and later upped it to 7%. You can go up to 10%, but this was enough for Rusty to be worn out but not strained. For weight, I used uncooked lentils in a ziplock bag, one on each side of the backpack. Dry beans or rice would work as well. I put the backpack on him inside the house before getting into the car or leaving the property for a walk. Rusty is kind of a maniac in the car, but the vest helps keep him calmer and in place compared to when he is not wearing it. He loves his backpack now and gets excited when he gets to wear it.
The weighted pack has calmed some of the tendencies in Rusty's DNA that he can’t always control. With Rusty, working on our verbal communication with meaningful eye contact helps a lot, but he still has days where he’s a handful. I try to just accept him for who he is and keep working on his more obnoxious behaviors while enjoying his loving and sensitive coonhound qualities. He’s a nightmare on the leash when cars pass us; that’s our biggest issue right now, but he’s getting better. He’s just so protective and serious about his job that he can’t resist.
Rusty has many adorable qualities.
If you have a hound, there are some tendencies you might need to accept just like with any dog breed. Give your hound as much exercise as possible and use consistent firm training and commands. Coonhounds can have strong, stubborn personalities; and they might think they know more than you sometimes, Having multiple people in your home who can walk your hound or take them places to get that energy out will help a lot.
If you decide to try a weighted vest, keep it on them in the car and for any and all outings. Have patience ... it took Rusty until he was 6 to chill out and accept that he is a pet hound and not a hunter. I hope using a weighted vest to exercise high-energy, anxious dogs helps other hound families!
The opinions expressed in this guest blog are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily endorsed by Coonhound and Foxhound Companions.
If you decide to try a weighted vest, keep it on them in the car and for any and all outings. Have patience ... it took Rusty until he was 6 to chill out and accept that he is a pet hound and not a hunter. I hope using a weighted vest to exercise high-energy, anxious dogs helps other hound families!
The opinions expressed in this guest blog are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily endorsed by Coonhound and Foxhound Companions.
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